Mark Schlarbaum on Public Relations

By Samantha Johnson
Published by Janet Schlarbaum Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Pity those poor companies that’ve tried so hard to craft PR campaigns, only to see them land wide of the mark – or in some cases, fail outright – because they weren’t organized and cohesive enough to cut the mustard.

Professional public relations advisers have always believed that an organized, cohesive effort to develop a company’s reputation is likely to yield better results than one which happens without any thought or organization. It may seem an obvious truth, but many companies have in the past attempted to cut corners and do without it. And as we’ve already pointed out, many of them have failed miserably.

PR is a dedicated need that needs to be filled by a dedicated person and service. The person you approach to help you promote a product is probably quite different from the one you should be talking to about managing your lobbying of parliament or setting up a community relations program.

The good thing about PR is that it isn’t an all-in-one thing. It comes in all shapes and sizes and each version has a pricetag to match. You’ll have to judge the level of advice you need according to the problem you want to solve or the aspect of your communications you want to manage.

Frank Jefkin’s book “Public Relations for Your Business” seeks to teach readers exactly how to craft and implement the best PR campaign for a business. It aims to take the mystery out of PR, and present it as a practical aspect of good business. It demolishes a great many myths about PR and provides many examples of its successful application.

Areas covered by the book include corporate identity, getting media coverage, public relations on the internet, dealing with reporters and interviewers, sponsorship, corporate advertising, and good customer relations.

By Amy Nutt
Posted by Janet Schlarbaum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Anyone planning a community event should consider using a public relations agency to help promote the event. By nature, a community event is a public event, and in the interest of maximizing attendance and participation, public relations tactics must be employed. Of course you can perform the PR functions and promote the event yourself, but the best results are achieved when hiring the pros.

Below is an outline of some key benefits to hiring a public relations agency to promote your community event.

Contacts

• One of the best ways to get the word out about your upcoming community event is through the press and media. A public relations agency will have established relationships with key reporters on not only a local level but nationally as well.

• Utilizing their contacts to promote (companies, brands, events, etc.) is the lifeblood of PR
professionals and agencies. Because of this, they tend to be strategic, on the ball, and focused on the end result.

• Using a public relations agency to promote your event will increase your likelihood of getting coverage in local and/or national newspapers or on television or radio news programs.

• Because information coming from known and trusted news sources is more credible than obviously paid advertising, members of your community are much more likely to take note of your event than if they were to find out about it through paid advertising.

Event Planning

• Ideally, you should sign on with a public relations agency early in the event planning stages. Doing this will ensure coverage by long-lead media and is a must if your event is expected to have a very large turnout or is held on a national or international basis.

• Even if you plan to do all of the planning for the event in-house and handle all the details internally, a good PR agency will be able to help you strategize every aspect of your event to maximize promotion not only of the event itself, but also of your organization. A public relations agency will help you strategize an appropriate mix of promotional activities, including but not limited to:

o Sponsorships
o Program launches
o Analyst tours
o Media tours
o Press conferences

• A good PR agency will gravitate toward promoting your organization (in addition to the event) just because it is in their nature.

• Most public relations agencies have event planning and event marketing capabilities. If you are operating on a large scale and expect mass media coverage, you will be well served to have an experienced agency ensuring everything runs smoothly at the event with regards to accommodating the press. If you are on a budget, however, you can likely choose the promotion services you need the most on an “a la carte” basis.