Tag Archives: Ad Agency PR Planning

Ad Agencies: Here’s an Easy Way to Get Publicity for Your Clients

One of the easiest ways to get publicity for a client is to be able to comment on what’s already in the news, such as trends or breaking news.

Some time ago I read about a PR agency that advised a client with expertise about animal behavior as follows:  “Whenever a kid gets attacked by a dog somewhere in America, you need to contact newspapers and radio/TV shows in that city immediately and let them know you can comment on why it might have happened and how this attack could have been prevented.”

The agency suggested the client use Google Alerts to learn when a dog attack story hits the news. 

Within 90 days of using this strategy, the client had gotten publicity in more than 40 different media outlets.

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

How Ad Agencies Can Help Reporters Discover Their Clients

About three months ago, I started handling PR for a Chicago hedge-fund firm called Steel Vine Investments.

Spencer Patton, the firm’s founder and chief investment officer, had already forged a relationship with Dow Jones, and he was regularly quoted by DJ reporters on various movements in the commodities market.

One of those stories was picked up by The Wall Street Journal, so he had a good start before I began working with him.

I built on this initial coverage by sending introductory e-mails about Steel Vine to a variety of financial media, which resulted in several additional interviews.  We also created a free weekly newsletter that provides expert insights into the commodities market, and announced the newsletter through a PR Web-distributed news release.

A couple days ago, Spencer was contacted by a business writer for Associated Press, who found him after doing an Internet search for a commodities source.

He subsequently was quoted in the AP story, which received extensive online pick up from major media such as ABC News, BusinessWeek, CBS News, CNBC, Forbes, MSN and Yahoo Finance, as well as newspapers throughout the nation.

I’m fortunate to have a client who “gets it” when it comes to the value of PR and is a gifted communicator who really knows his stuff.  It also doesn’t hurt that his fund has had seven months of consecutive gains and outperformed the S&P 500 by 22.56%.

But more than anything else, this is a textbook example how publicity begets publicity.

Ad agencies that know the secret of using publicity to build their clients’ reputations, and understand how to make them “discoverable” as experts in their fields, will find it much easier to retain these clients long term.

Clients who are responsive, articulate and competent will find reporters coming back to them for future stories.  They also may hear from reporters who learn about them not through a PR pitch but from other media sources.

The result is a stream of ongoing publicity – and a happy client. 

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.

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.