Dear Colleague:

How NOT to Run PR

1. Overvalue experts in your field rather than experts in PR.

   McGraw-Hill and other magazine publishers hire writers who learn the field they're writing about on the job. Of course, the magazines prefer writers with industry background, but they know that it's far easier to teach the field than to teach writing.

   When selecting new personnel, PR firms correctly value PR expertise first, then technical knowledge. Further, knowing markets is more important than knowing a company's industry.

2. Count on existing media contacts rather than the ability to develop new ones.

   Established media contacts do offer entry, but reporters change jobs. Existing relationships don't last long.

   Second, publicists dare not jeopardize overly valued contacts by offering less than highly newsworthy, significant material — they may bend over backward to retain media friendships.

   Competent PR people must be deft enough to cut through the barrage of pitches to reporters — primarily by offering professional verbal and written presentations tailored to each reporter's interest.

   Yes, PR practitioners must constantly update and renew their media relationships. But, knowing reporters does not determine coverage, plain and simple.

3. Hire a PR firm for the wrong reasons.

   Prioritize why you're considering external PR help.

   First are reasons for any outside help (law accounting, consulting, food service): supplemental and incremental resources; and objectivity, which includes saying "no" to a client and challenging decisions rather than succumbing to politics and agreeing with the company line.

   Second are benefits you should receive from your PR firm but could derive from internal staff, if you chose to: creativity, experience, expertise, efficiency, credibility.  

   Just as you write a job description for every new hire, you should write one for the PR firm you wish to retain.

4. Assume PR is not a bottom-line function.

   We recommend that PR be used only for measurable, net-profit objectives: qualified sales leads, improved positioning, brand awareness, corporate value, finance,

recruiting, partnering development, crisis prevention — not for general image building.

    In every PR program these time-targeted objectives should be prioritized.

5. Publicity material requires industry jargon.

   Trade magazine reporters want the facts the way their readers usually hear them. But releases are more effective when they can be used by any cub reporter.

   Moreover, technical articles are more effective when they can be understood by board level executives, e.g., financial people who approve decisions of support staff.

6. Publicity volume and advertising purchases are related.

   Reputable publications with valuable readership provide objective useful news and analysis — not fluff that can be bought. (Advertorial sections are infrequent special cases.) Editorial pages are worth competing for only if they command attention.

7. Assume you can figure out Internet opportunities.

   Don't be lulled by user-friendly engines and sites. Beneath the surface are a host of possibilities that sharp PR firms continually discover. Trial and error learning is not a practical option.

What CEO's Want from PR People

• Knowledge of their business.
• Knowledge of PR strategy and execution.
• People who think the way they do — big-picture, bottom-line thinkers.
• Those who aren't afraid to challenge their concepts.
• People who get significant things done — effectively, smoothly, seamlessly.
• People they enjoy being around. Loyal, respectful, dependable, hard workers — perhaps those with a touch of class.

Essentials of PR Strategy

   Assume your customers and prospects do not know you as well as you guess. Buyers change every day; they hear from your competitors; they learn misconceptions from ill informed superiors; they rely on old ideas; they are swamped; and they must make decisions based on partial information.

   Therefore, your marketplace needs your positive story day in and day out. Repeat communications often.

   Assume you can never know too much about your markets, customers and prospects. Buyers prefer to be nice — not to tell the truth about their misgivings.

   Therefore, smart marketers continually survey their targets to supplement information they collect from their sales teams. Marketers are most effective when they continually create new ways to interact with buyers to enhance relationships.

   Assume your company is under-marketed if your top management background has little experience in the function. The vast majority of technical companies devote too little effort to marketing. Better mousetraps don't sell themselves.

   Savvy CEOs go out of their way to emphasize areas in which they are relatively inexperienced.

   Assume that every little thing counts. E.g., put complete contact information (fax, e-mail, web address) on every scrap of company material. Provide return postcards with several options to encourage prospects to respond. Invent ways to continually remind them about better ways to use your products. Educate every day.

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