Category Archives: Public Relations

Newspapers Decline Necessitates New PR Strategy for Ad Agencies

The recent announcement that Colorado’s oldest paper, the Rocky Mountain News, was ceasing publication is a sad reminder of the changes that are taking place in the newspaper business. Many of the nation’s largest papers have cut staff and are struggling financially.

While the Denver Post, which was the News’ competitor for a more than a century, will try to fill the void, it has its own challenges ahead. According to the Denver Business Journal, both the News and Post had lost half their circulation since 2000.

When I moved to Nashville nearly 16 years ago, we had two newspapers but only one survived. It was great having a second option to pitch a local story, but in most cities the days of having two papers are gone. However, the Internet provides an array of opportunities to communicate in new ways.

Ad agencies that learn to use PR strategically via the Internet will thrive, while those that continue along the same old way will someday find themselves like the Rocky Mountain News— no longer able to compete.

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

Internet Helps Ad Agencies Put the Public Back in Public Relations

A growing trend in public relations, particularly when trying to sell something, is to do shorter online news releases on a frequent basis. For example, instead of announcing three new services, a company will do a separate release about each new service. This gives the company multiple opportunities for exposure, similar to the way an ad is run over and over again to produce better top-of-mind awareness.

The Internet has made it possible to reach customers and prospects directly. Ad agencies that include various forms of Web content in addition to traditional media relations initiatives will improve their results by connecting directly with important audiences and keeping conversations going with them.

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

Communications Audit: Helping Ad Agencies Uncover Important Issues

A communications audit gives an organization an opportunity to find out what it is doing well in its communication and where it needs to improve.

The audit may also uncover important issues or perceptions that need to be addressed, and in some cases it will significantly alter the way the organization operates.

The end product is a written report of findings, along with recommendations for improving communication.

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

Communications Audit: Ad Agency Tips for Conducting One

The best way to conduct a communications audit is through an independent, third-part individual who thoroughly understands the communication process. Ad agencies are in an ideal position to provide this third-party research for clients.

Audits typically include a review of formal and informal communication processes; one-on-one interviews with community leaders, influencers and employees; focus groups; and sometimes surveys. An audit will review the facilities (e.g. signage, displays and lights), publications, public relations activities, telephone voice messages, videos, direct mail, electronic communications (Web site, e-mail lists, etc.), meetings and outreach programs.

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

 

Communications Audit: Benefits to Ad Agencies and Their Clients

A communications audit can help organizations understand how well their messages are being received and accepted by audiences. While people may think that others understand and accept their messages, the fact of the matter is that we are often unaware of how the messages we send are received or understood.

Equally important as sending a message is listening for feedback. A communications audit also can help identify barriers to effective communication and provide practical solutions.

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

Communications Audit: An Effective Management Tool for Ad Agencies

A communications audit is a management tool that ad agencies can use to help clients understand how effectively they are communicating with various audiences. It involves the collection and analysis of in-depth information about perceptions individuals have about an organization. In essence, a communications audit is a snapshot of an organization at a given time.

An audit may be broad or narrow, focusing on a particular audience or a variety of audiences. Likewise, the audit may address a single issue or a wide range of issues affecting an organization. The bottom-line objective for any audit, however, should be to improve the effectiveness of an organization’s communication.

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

Social Networking Sites Help Ad Agencies Attract Business

Social networking sites are a great way to increase an advertising agency’s visibility, demonstrate its areas of expertise and reach specific markets.

According to a February 20 article in the Orlando Business Journal, social networking also is an effective way to attract new business. Citing local businesses’ success in reaching new customers through blogging, the article noted the explosive growth of blogs on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn:

“Today, more than 116 million Internet users in the U.S. read at least one [business] blog on such sites per month, said eMarketer, a digital media and marketing research site. That figure will jump to more than 145 million users by 2012 — meaning an even bigger audience for companies’ marketing efforts.”

Read the full article here: http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/02/23/story17.html?b=1235365200^1781524&ana=e_vert

Social networking should be part of an ad agency’s public relations strategy for telling its story. As is the case with publicity, you can reach a lot of people for free.

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

A Handy Way for Ad Agencies to Segment Audiences

Audiences are not always who you think. When I was in graduate school, I learned a handy way to identify audiences so that you don’t miss anyone, and an effective way to segment them:

Enabling links – publics that set policies or goals and may control assets.
• Board of directors
• Government regulators
• Congress

Functional links – audiences with a direct link between the services the organization performs and the product(s) it produces.
• Employees
• Suppliers
• Users of products/services

Diffused links – individual members of a public who do not belong to a formal organization but share a common interest.
• Community residents
• Minorities
• News Media
• Environmentalists
• Voters

Normative links – publics that share the organization’s goals and values.
• Religious associations
• Professional societies
• Competitors

Diffused links can quickly fuse by organizing to take action (over a common problem or opportunity) and can cause major headaches for you and your organization. Examples:
• Unions
• Coalitions
• Environmental groups

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

Questions Ad Agencies Should Ask When Creating a PR Plan

Where you’re developing a public relations plan for your agency or a client, it helps to ask yourself some important questions. Here are questions I have found are helpful to discuss with my clients before getting started on the plan:

• What are the desired results of the public relations initiative?

• Who are our primary audiences? Secondary audiences?

• What do we know about the image these audiences already have about the organization and its products/services?

• What do we know about the news media’s perceptions of the organization and its products/services?

• What is the image we wish to convey?

• How much of this plan should be geared toward creating awareness vs. changing perceptions?

• What are our key messages?

• What are the best communication vehicles to carry these messages?

• What are the organization’s greatest strengths? Weaknesses?

• What threats/obstacles exist?

• What opportunities exist that at present are not being maximized?

• What percentage of his/her time is the CEO or other designated senior-level executive willing to devote to media relations activities?

• What landmines do we need to avoid?

• What does this plan need to take into consideration in connection with the organization’s overall marketing/branding efforts?

• How will we define success?

• How will we measure success? (In other words, at the end of a year, how will we know if we have or have not been successful?)

It takes a while to plow through and answer these questions, but the end product will be much better if you take the time to go through a disciplined process like this before getting started on a PR plan.

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

Ad Agency Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics

Clients sometimes get confused about the difference of between goals, objectives, strategies and tactics. I’ve found the following football analogy helpful:

Objective: To win the game.
An objective is specific and measurable. In this case, winning is the primary objective. A secondary objective may be to enable a player to gain enough yards to break a school record or to score a certain number of points. Goals are broad and intangible, so the team’s goal could be to become the best high school football team in the world. Because there are no world playoffs at the high school level, the goal couldn’t be measured.

Strategy: The other team is bigger, but we’re faster. Therefore, we’ll utilize our superior quickness to achieve the objective (i.e. to win the game).

Tactics: The specific plays we will run throughout the game, especially those that favor quicker players. You also could think of tactics as the action plan.

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