Author Archives: Don Beehler

Ad Agency Stories Can Bring More Clients

Schatzie Brunner spent nearly a decade at Turner Broadcasting as talent coordination for “Larry King Live” and as a CNN news anchor.  Today, she does individual and group communication coaching.  In a recent article she gave some good advice:

 “We have all heard about needing a 30-second commercial or elevator speech that encapsulates all the important things about your product, service or talent.  But what you might not have at your fingertips is what I call a working inventory of stories and analogies with which to impress clients.

 Schatzie contends that if you’re asked what you do for a living and say, “I’m an accountant,” the conversation doesn’t have anywhere to go from there.  But, if you say “I save people money” or “I help clients grow their money,” you naturally invite interest and provide a way to keep the conversation going.

 If you tell interesting stories that are not about you, but the results you’ve accomplished for your company or client, “you have staked a claim to an advantage over your competitors,” she says.

Schatzie counsels businessmen and women to “Live 2009 with an inventory of responses that allow you to never miss an opportunity to engage someone else or have that person engage you.  It can pay off with new business contacts and more success.”

Good advice for small and mid-sized ad agencies that want to grow in the new year.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Ad Agencies Should Never Deny the Obvious

Early in my PR career, one of my mentors made that simply yet profound statement.  It sounds, well, obvious, not to deny the obvious.  Yet, how many times have you seen or heard someone caught in the act of wrongdoing and then turn around and deny it?

 One of my favorite examples, which I use in my media training seminars, is an AP photo of Padres pitcher Chris Young taking a swing at the Cubs’ Derrick Lee.  With his fist just inches away from the Lee’s face, the caption ends with “Young says he wasn’t trying to hit Lee.”

There’s a saying that credibility is gained in inches but lost in miles.

 Whether dealing with your client or a reporter, honesty is the best policy.  Tell the truth—but don’t necessarily tell everything you know.  In other words, don’t answer questions that aren’t being asked.  Some people use a media interview to confess all sorts of things best left unsaid.  Barbara Walters has built her career around extracting embarrassing information.

But, if you get caught in a photo about to punch someone’s lights out or something equally obvious, don’t deny it.  Instead, acknowledge that you were really upset and acted inappropriately, and then apologize without making excuses.  You and your agency will regain some lost respect and the matter will go away much more quickly.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

Ad Agencies Would Do Well to Avoid Off-the-Record Comments

Brian Lewis, a newspaper reporter, explained in a column in The Tennessean the different levels of speaking with reporters:

 Off the record:  “To have an off-the-record conversation means that the information will not be used in any way in a story.  Many editors, including mine, don’t allow reporters to have off-the-record conversations.” 

On background:  “To have an on-background conversation means that the information may be used in a story, but the person who is talking will not be named in connection with the information that is ‘on background.’” 

 On the record:  “This is the standard conversation with reporters.  However, reporters should identify themselves as working on an article before beginning an interview…once a statement has been made on the record, it cannot be taken off-record.” 

 My advice to ad agencies is to never speak off the record, unless you really know and trust the reporter. 

 Even then, there are risks. 

 Consider this headline from a story by the New York Times News Service:  “India’s nuclear identify unclear.”  The subhead reads:  “’Off the record, we are totally unprepared’ says one of its top military strategists.” 

So, the writer admits to publishing what the person he interviewed clearly thought was off the record.  I wonder how the career of the person he interviewed is going these days, and whether he is still one of India’s top military strategists?

To download the original article, click here

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

12 Keys to a Successful Media Interview for Ad Agencies

  1. Keep your messages clear, concise and consistent (the 3C’s).
  2. Know your audience, and focus on what’s important to them rather than what’s important to your agency or client.
  3. Use questions as a springboard to get to what you want to talk about. In other words, if you don’t like the question, make up your own and answer it. Politicians are great at this.
  4. Look for opportunities to use transition phrases, such as “The real issue is…” or “What I can tell you about XYZ is . . .” or “What I’m here to discuss today is…” or “What’s important to know about XYZ is…”
  5. When responding to questions, you don’t necessarily need to tell everything you know a particular matter.
  6. Answer only within the scope of your authority and responsibility.  If you don’t know something, say so—and then offer to get back to the reporter later with an answer.
  7. Look for ways to turn negatives into positives. For example, in a layoff situation, stress how many jobs were saved by taking this action.
  8. Remember to smile often, and to have energy during the interview.  Your body language often will speak louder than your words, especially on TV.
  9. If you’re on camera, look at the person conducting the interview, not into the camera (unless you are specifically asked to do so).
  10. Avoid industry jargon, being critical or loosing your temper.
  11. Never say “no comment,” which equals guilt in most people’s minds.  If you can’t discuss something, explain why. Examples: Confidentiality, Proprietary information, Pending litigation, Timing (gathering all the facts)
  12. When you’ve made your point, stop talking.

 The last point may be the most important one of all, because more times than not people make their best points in the first sentence or two they utter in response to a question.

When people elaborate too much and get “off message,” they typically end up in the swamp and say something they later regret.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

Making Your Agency’s Pitch with a Pitch Letter

When there’s news to share, ad agencies usually get the word out through a news release (or press release, which is the older but more commonly recognized term).

The problem with news releases is that reporters get so many of them they can easily be overlooked. Sometimes a short, engaging pitch letter is a better way to get attention.

What is a pitch letter? It’s simply a letter sent to a media representative that tries to sell a story idea. Often the letter works fine by itself, while other times you may want to send it along with a release or media advisory (which is used when you want to invite the media to an event). It really depends on the situation.

The great thing about a pitch letter is that it’s much more personal than a news release, and it gives you an opportunity to grab a reporter’s attention with your opening sentence.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Directing Your Agency’s PR Pitch

When it comes to pitching a story idea, getting to the right person is half the battle.

Whether you’re dealing with your local paper or The Wall Street Journal, it’s important to take the time to find out which person covers the particular area you are interested in targeting.  Sending media materials to “Editor” or “Producer” isn’t good protocol and probably won’t get you very far.

For TV stations, the assignment editor or news director are good people to contact.  For radio stations, contact the program manager or news director.  TV and radio stations with programs often have a specific person designed as a guest contact for programs; otherwise, go directly to the producer.

 

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

 

Is Your Ad Agency’s Story Newsworthy?

 

Whether you’re representing a client or your own agency, good relationships with reporters will help you communicate with important audiences and tell your side of the story in a cost-effective manner.

If you want to know which stories a reporter is interested in covering, ask him/her—just make sure the reporter isn’t on deadline.  I’ve found reporters with industry trade publications to be especially helpful in sharing topics of interest to them.  Of course, it helps to research the particular media outlet you’re pitching, and make sure you understand its audience and focus, before speaking with a reporter or editor.

Researching a reporter’s past stories on the Internet is another way to learn about his or her interests, writing style and possibly even certain biases.

Having that information helps you craft a targeted pitch so that you don’t waste your time—or the reporter’s time.

For consumer media, a local story that ties in with a national issue or trend is particularly appealing.

Here are some of the factors news media use to determine the value of news:

  • Consequence to readers/viewers
  • Prominence of individual/organization
  • Proximity to the area served
  • Conflict
  • Controversy
  • Timeliness
  • Human interest
  • Consumer trends
  • Novelty or unusualness of the story

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

Understanding the News Media for Your Agency’s Publicity

 

Every week reporters across the nation must fill up many thousands of pages in publications and fill countless hours of radio and TV air time.  As a result, they’re constantly searching for information.  At the same time, reporters are besieged daily by individuals and organizations seeking publicity for themselves or their causes.

What do they want, and how can you get their attention?

Reporters are looking for high impact stories that will capture attention.  They are very sensitive–and averse–to attempts to disguise advertising as news.  When pitching a story about your agency or one of your clients, the most important things you can tell a reporter about your story are who will care about it and why.

Before you make a pitch, always try to put yourself in the editor’s or news director’s shoes and ask:  “Would this story be interesting to my audience?”

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

Why an Ad Agency’s Publicity Matters

People make purchasing decisions every day based on an organization’s reputation.  What people see or hear in the news media and from word of mouth influences many of these decisions.  Media coverage is particularly important because it is generally considered to be more credible than advertising.  Even companies with well-established brands use public relations to nurture their reputations and to maintain awareness in the crowded communications jungle.

Publicity is especially useful in generating awareness and positive associations,and a sustained publicity effort will help generate inquiries that can be turned into sales. 

Publicity allows an objective secondary source–the news media–to tell your story, providing your agency with enhanced credibility.  More than any other discipline, effective public relations through the use of positive, ongoing publicity, is responsible for a company’s image and reputation.

Ad agencies that use publicity strategically have a competitive advantage, especially when it comes to new business development.

A start-and-stop publicity effort makes about as much sense as running a print ad once every six months – there just isn’t enough ongoing exposure to make it work, even if the ad itself is great.  Consistency is the key.

Having an ongoing public relations program will build your agency’s brand and give you a consistent presence in the marketplace.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

Ad Agencies Top 20 Topics for Publicity

Agencies often get so busy marketing their clients that they fail to market themselves.  Publicity is a great way to get your name out in the marketplace, whether its local consumer media, industry publications.  Not only is publicity free, but it also has much more credibility than advertising.

Agency executives sometimes overlook the breath of opportunities that are available to them.  Here are my “Top 20 Topics” to consider:

  1. Agency awards
  2. New clients
  3. New employees
  4. Employee promotions
  5. Human interest stories about employees
  6. Community involvement
  7. Client promotional success stories
  8. Introducing a new service your agency is providing
  9. Services or commentary that address newsworthy topics/trends
  10. Appointments to boards
  11. Publications (articles, books, etc.)
  12. New offices/geographical expansion
  13. Mergers/strategic alliances
  14. Trends, projections, forecasts
  15. Speeches
  16. Sponsorships
  17. Mentoring programs
  18. Pro bono work
  19. Guest columns
  20. Case studies that could become feature stories

 Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.