Power
of Publicity
Whether
the mass media have lost relative influence to other proliferating alternative
communications vehicles or not, the fact remains that securing positive
publicity through the media still lies at the heart of public relations practice.
Why
attract publicity ?
The
answer, as we will see, is that publicity is regarded as more credible than
advertising. To attract positive publicity requires establishing a good working
relationship with the media.
Dealing
with the Media
An
organization must establish a philosophy for dealing with the media, keeping in
mind the following dozen principles:
1. A
reporter is a reporter. A reporter is never “off duty”. Anything you say to a
journalist is fair game to be reported.
2. You
are the organization. In the old days, reporters disdained talking to public
relations representatives, who they derisively labeled “flacks”. The PR person
represents the policy of an organization, so every word out of the PR.
3. There
is no standard issue reporter. The fact is that most business managers want
nothing to do with the press.
4. Treat
journalists professionally. As long as they understand that your job is
different than theirs and treat you with deference, you should do likewise.
5. Don’t
sweat the skepticism. Journalists aren’t
paid to ask nice questions.
6. Don’t “buy” a journalist. Never try to threaten or
source a journalist with advertising.
7. Become
a trusted source. Journalists can’t be “bought” but they can be persuaded by
becoming a source of information for them.
8. Talk
when not “selling”. Becoming a source means sharing information with
journalists, even when it has nothing to do with your company.
9. Don’t
expect “news” agreement. A reporter’s view of “news” and an organization’s view
of “news” will differ.
10. Don’t
cop a ‘tube. Meaning, don’t have an attitude with reporters.
11. Never
lie. This is the cardinal rule.
12. Read
the paper. The number-one criticism of PR people by journalists is that they
often don’t have any idea what the journalist writes about.
Attracting Publicity
Publicity is most often gained by
dealing directly with the media, either by initiating the communication or by
reacting to in inquiries. Since you pay for your ad, advertising allows you to
control the following:
ð Content : what is said and how it is portrayed
and illustrated
ð Size : how large a space is devoted
to the organization
ð Location : where in the paper the ad will
appear
ð Reach : the audience exposed to the ad, that is, how
many papers the ad is in
ð Frequency : how many times the ad is run
Value
of Publicity
For
any organization, then, publicity makes great sense in the following areas :
ð Announcing
a new product of service. Because publicity can be regarded as news, it should
be used before advertising commences.
ð Reenergizing
an old product. When a product has been around for a while, it’s difficult to
make people pay attention to advertising.
ð Explaining
a complicated product. Often there isn’t enough room in an advertisement to
explain a complex product or service.
ð Little
or no budget. Often organization don’t have the budget to accommodate
advertising.
ð Enhancing
the organization’s reputation. Advertising is, at its base, self-serving.
ð Crisis
response. In a crisis, publicity techniques are the fastest and most credible
means of response.
Measuring
Publicity
A
variety of outside print and online service can help.
ð Media
Directories. A variety of directories exist that describe in detail the various
media.
ð Press
Monitoring Bureaus. Press clipping bureaus monitor company mentions in the
press, supplying newspaper and magazine clippings on any subject and about any
company.
ð Broadcast
Transcription Services. Specialized transcription services monitor broadcast
stories. A handful of such broadcast transcription services exist in the
country.
ð Media
Distribution Service. PR people often resort to outside agencies to assist in
distributing releases and other press materials..
No comments:
Post a Comment