The Flipside by Alternative Strategies

Successful Case Studies In PR

Tiptoeing into the world of public relations can be scary, especially if the process is new to you.

You’re not quite sure what public relations is or confident in your understanding of how it works. It sounds a little like marketing, a little like advertising but isn’t quite the same as either. Then you start hearing about editors and producers and media people and you’re really thrown for a loop.

Understanding what PR is and how it works can be a challenge for people outside the industry. What’s not difficult to understand is the success of PR campaigns and how the media exposure they generate can directly and indirectly impact the success of your business.

The success of individual PR campaigns varies from business to business, depending on what a client needs and what their agency can provide.

Some agencies focus locally and are sought out for building a strong local or regional media presence. Other agencies pride themselves in their relationships with national media and can offer their expertise, often with a hefty price tag, for securing national exposure. Other agencies have a nice mix of both, securing their clients exposure in national and local media.

Depending on your needs, you should choose your agency accordingly.

As you look at agencies, don’t be afraid to ask questions. And one of the most important questions you can ask of potential PR representation is to review some of their case studies.

If they don’t have any, calmly get up from your seat and hightail it out the door! Any PR agency worth your investment will do their due diligence to track their successful campaigns, where exposure was garnered and its impact (whether quantitative or qualitative).

Some of our agency’s most successful case studies come from clients who gave the agency creative freedom and the latitude to take ownership of their campaigns. From features in the Union-Tribune to landing national television spots, our successes as public relations agents are a direct reflection of our commitment to clients and their commitment to the PR process.

We’ve helped national start-up retailers and local restaurants who have been around for years. Each successful case study resounds with levels of customer service, industry expertise and creativity that all work together to create an exceptional public relations campaign.

If you’re looking for your own public relations agency, ask to see our case studies. You’ll like what you see!

3 Keys To Change: Reinforce, Reinforce, Reinforce

I'm sure you've heard the 3 keys to purchasing real estate...location, location, location.

Well, you'll now hear the 3 keys to inspiring change: Reinforce, reinforce, reinforce.

Many leaders in times of change grossly underestimate the need for continuous reinforcement. In a perfect world we hear something once, record it in our brain, and never need to hear it again. But in reality, our worlds are far from perfect.

During times of change we have doubts, fears and occasional disappointments. Sometimes friends, family, and co-workers reinforce those doubts by saying... "It won't work."

In the workplace, once the management team has signed off on the "change message," the challenge becomes how to keep it alive until the behavior is consistent with the stated goals.

Understand one thing: it won't happen on its own. To make it happen, you need to have a plan in place. Getting that plan successfully off the ground starts by answering three questions:

1. How do I keep it simple? Less is always more.

2. How can I make it memorable?

3. How many times can I communicate it, on a daily, weekly and monthly basis?

To some, this may sound like simple, common sense stuff, but doing it right is anything but simple. It takes creative planning and input from everyone involved. Most of all, it takes tremendous discipline to keep the "train on the track".

A lot of little things will make a big difference in convincing the team that you’re 100 percent committed to making change happens. So sweat the small stuff and remember...reinforce, reinforce, reinforce.

Prospecting For Clients Is A Golden Opportunity

As a salesperson, it can be very difficult to have a set list of practice when pursuing new business and tracking down potential customers.

That’s because sales is a tricky game, and if not played correctly, potential sales and potential money will be lost.

Additionally, everyone seems to play the game differently, but it is important to remember a few key factors when going after new customers and clients. In order to have a shot at the potential sales opportunity you need to do a number of things correctly in the sales process. 

The initial pursuit process is typically referred to as “prospecting” and can encompass a variety of methods used to qualify a potential client or customer.  Here is a list of some of the best methods to consider at the early stages of the sales cycle:

When pursuing a business to work with it is important to make sure you are going after a relationship for the long run. If your intention is to sell a company one product or one service, then you are doing yourself a large disservice and wasting a lot of time. 

It is very important to pursue clients that you can see yourself and your company working with for a long period of time.

Establishing relationships with the people you do business with will ultimately lead to new projects and a source of consistent income.

If, on the other hand, you foresee a bad relationship with a company, then it is wise to consider putting your time and efforts into other potential clients.

• Strive to work with the best
A common mistake salespeople make is to let fear and a pre-conceived negative response prevent them from pursuing the biggest and best companies.  Sure, it would be extremely difficult to get McDonalds or Nike to work with you, but they are working with someone.

Even if you cannot track down a monster in the industry look for companies with great reputations, good track records, and a solid business model.

Working with clients that have a proven record of success will only increase your business reputation and will provide you with some great relationships and honest clients. 

• Pre-Qualify and do your Research
The most important thing a salesperson can do is to pre-qualify the prospects they are pursuing.  This means a number of things; reading their website, understanding their location, discovering their management system, and, ultimately, relating to their situation.

Businesses do not expect you to know everything about them, but if you do not know who to talk to, and exactly why your service would fit their company, then you have very little chance of moving forward in the sales-process.

Just like you are going in for a job interview, make sure to impress the potential client with your knowledge about their products and services.

• Look past negative pre-conceptions
Do not let your pre-conceived notions of a company get in the way of continuing on to the qualifying process.

Maybe you initially did not like one of the factors such as the company name, logo, website, location, or office space.

Yet upon further research you may discover that other aspects of the business are very good and you can work with them on a unique angle or program.

You may have initially assumed you could not provide them with a service based on your negative perceived notion, but upon further examination maybe you can provide a service to fix the exact thing you perceived as negative about the company.

• Do not make assumptions
Never assume that a company or person will not be willing to work with you.

People are continually surprised at who responds to their sales efforts, and the majority of the time is not the businesses or people you would expect.

If you assume you will get a negative response and choose not to pursue a potential prospect, then you now have a zero percent chance of securing that business.

• Get to the decision maker
It is always important to make sure you are putting forth your sales efforts to the correct person.

Your pre-qualifying process should include research on the management system and ownership of the company.

Sales efforts will go wasted if they are not directed toward the person who ultimately will make the decision to work with you.  Keep in mind that this person is not always the owner. Sometimes, it may be the general manager, marketing manager, or other representatives who has the power to decide.

Branding Easier Than It Seems

When you're starting out, branding your company can seem like a long, complicated procedure.

 

In reality, it is actually the easiest thing.

 

You see, branding is a product, service, or concept that distinguishes your brand from others.

 

Once the product, idea, and method for your company is settled, look for your product/business name and then move forward designing the logo.

 

After the logo is completed, stationary and Web site should follow. 

 

In order to ensure your company or product has good branding and stands out from your competitors, make sure you have continuity on your design.

 

Make sure the logo is not changing constantly and that the colors connect with the logo.

 

Also, be aware of the audience your brand appeals to most. For example, if your brand appeals to a youthful demographic, it doesn't make sense to buy ads or seek publicity from publications targeting older people.

 

Most important: be true to your product.

 

Finally, don’t be taken by surprise. There's no time like the present to reconsider branding your product/company, and making it the strongest, most amazing brand there is.

Surfing The Sea of Social Media

When it comes to Social Media, there is an expansive sea of choices and it can quickly become overwhelming.

When most people think of Social Media, they typically think of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Linked in, which are the networks that receive the most media attention. Although these sites are what people see and know, they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

Yet, like an iceberg, the majority of Social Media networks are hidden under the surface.

It might seem that to be a player in Social Media, one must put all of their time and efforts into managing, updating and maintaining these major profiles. As a result, most people are afraid to get their feet wet, fearing they might get swept out to sea.

It‘s understandable. With more than 3 million tweets sent each day on Twitter, how are you going to stand out? And with more than 1 billion images accessible on Flickr, how do you get seen? Also, when more than 70,000 new blogs are debuting each week, how do YOU gain viewers?

Well, like anything, it takes time.

You have to take time to build a following. It takes time to build your credibility to the point where you can position yourself as an expert and as an open credible source that people want to engage with. You also need to spend the time in order to capitalize on all of the cross-promotion that is in place.

Under the surface, most Social Media can be interlaced. The beautiful thing about (proprietary) blogs is that they serve as a Social Media foundation.

Your blog can play host to the big Social Media players by showing your YouTube videos or Flickr pictures. Your blog entries can appear on your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, so that you only have to spend the majority of your time growing your own investment.

So swim with the tides and let the power of web 2.0 work for you.

Not ready to jump in yet? C’mon, it’s OK, dip in your toes….

For the novice, visit www.ning.com and peruse through the thousands and thousands of specialty groups.

Go ahead and start to engage in some discussions and if you don’t find one of your own specialties, start one of your own. It’s free.

Remember: Just getting acquainted with Social Media interaction is a good start for any beginner.

If you are already a seasoned swimmer who is managing multiple profiles, try using a Social Media manager browser such as www.flock.com that allows you to view activities from several of your top social networking sites.

Don’t let the sea intimidate you. Under the surface is a world of connectivity and life that will help you get along swimmingly.

-- Jay C. Peters

Realtor Redesign

Starting July 1, California’s real estate agents will be required to disclose their Department of Real Estate (DRE) license numbers on all materials they use as a first point of contact with consumers.

While the new law, Senate Bill 1461, does not specifically name what materials qualify as “first point of contact,” it has given some examples of materials that should be revised to show the DRE license number.

Some materials needing to be updated include business cards, stationery, advertising flyers and other materials used to solicit a professional relationship between a licensee and consumer.

These are some loose guidelines. As the new guidelines take effect, additional materials, including promotional items, may also need to be re-printed with the agent’s DRE license number.

There are some marketing materials that are excluded from the law, including advertisements in print or electronic media, "For Sale" signs and classified rental ads with the address or phone number of the rental property.

As realtors scramble to meet the requests of this new requirement, the DRE may adopt regulations that clarify the “first point contact” materials.

Whatever the DRE decides, it is a great idea for realtors to start re-designing and re-printing the materials that they know will need to have the DRE license number on them.

Business cards, letterhead and other flyers should be revised now. A proactive approach to re-printing materials and meeting the July 1 deadline can save realtors time, money and hassle during an economic time that is already full of headaches. There’s no better time to plan ahead than the present!

Good PR Knows No Borders

Everyone has heard the expression that location is everything, but in the PR business this expression doesn’t hold as much weight as it may in other industries. If location isn’t the primary concern for selecting a PR firm, what are some of the factors you should consider in getting your message out? 

Do They Understand You? In 2007, New York-based Porter Novelli launched a campaign in Canada for Reebok, promoting the athletic company’s new line of hockey equipment and apparel endorsed by hockey star and spokesperson Sidney Crosby. Despite not being based in Canada, Porter Novelli acknowledged the large hockey market in Canada and decided to do a fashion show at a popular sports equipment store to build publicity for the clothing line. With a Crosby appearance, the event drew more than 60 journalists to the store and generated over 30 million impressions in the first week. In addition to the large response at the store, the event drew national coverage from four of Canada’s most popular daily newspapers. It also generated coverage from regional and national TV stations.  Despite not being based in Canada, Porter Novelli researched their client, the client’s product and potential markets, and succeeded in putting together a successful event that gained national media attention. 

Do They Know Who to Contact? Ballantines PR, a firm in Los Angeles, was hired by the New Mexico Tourism Department to help increase tourism in the state.  Ballantines was able to secure 49 print placements for New Mexico in magazines, including Vogue. They also secured 18 online placements and 9 radio placements for the Tourism Department.  Over a period of nine months, the campaign received 21,893,470 audience impressions, with a $1,872,269 advertising value and a 1,772.27% positive return on investment.  This was achieved through Ballantines media outlet connections and their ability to generate media interest in New Mexico.  Public relations is about who you know, and Ballantines knew the right people to get their message out effectively. 

As technology continues to close the geographical gaps between PR agencies and their clients, businesses have more and more options for who they want to represent them to the media.  Regardless of where a PR agency is located, the agency’s connections with media and the agency’s ability to learn about it clients are what help them to create targeted messages that get clients results. 

Create Your Identity In 4 Easy Steps

During this economic crisis, brand identity -- especially positive brand identity -- is more important than ever.

Your identity not only reflects what makes your company unique, but what differentiates you from your competitors.

Here are a few basic concepts you should be aware of when creating your identity.

Message: Find out what makes you special. A strong identity carries a message that consumers acknowledge and connect with. This message need not be too complicated. In fact, the best brand messages are simple, yet carefully constructed. They resonate and relate with the target audience and leave them with a good impression.

Logo: How does a logo reflect the message you've developed? It is an intricate decision making process. Whether your logo is an icon or text, it must identify your company in a way that creates immediate recognition. When developing your brand, pay close attention to things like graphics, color and even the font.

Expand: Take your brand as far as you like. It is the icon that defines you, the product that has your logo and even your business' customer representatives. It is also an attitude. Your brand puts a new meaning to your product or services. It matters, so don't limit the creativity and let it grow organically.

Invest: You make think you can save money by creating your own brand identity or logo. Truth is, hiring a professional to create your identity is the best investment you'll ever make. They know how to create an image and how to equip you to maintain it as you grow.

Have fun!