I often talk to people who know they need publicity and want professional help to get it but find hiring PR agencies to be a confusing and daunting task. That’s understandable. Public relations firms differ in a thousand ways, it seems. For one, they use different business models – some charge monthly retainer fees while […]
When we scored an interview with Fox News for one of our clients last week that went global, I was both thrilled for the client, and also reminded once again of what it takes to achieve success in the publicity world. Many elements go into every campaign, but I think the following two factors are […]
When you have a great company or book that you want to promote, it’s easy to get so caught up in how things look from from your perspective that you start to think: “The media will want to talk to me the moment they hear about this!” I’m sorry to report, that won’t necessarily be […]
The start of a New Year is always a great time to focus on creating a “new you” – or at least an improved version of the old you. Sometimes we do that through resolutions about dieting and exercise that, sadly, we don’t always keep. Sometimes we enter January vowing that in the next 12 […]
Each Monday morning I meet with members of my team to brainstorm ideas for that week’s PR Insider. On occasion coming up with a topic is a challenge, but always it’s an interesting and fun time because each person involved brings a different perspective to the discussion as we toss around ideas that will help […]
When our team returned to work this week after taking a brief break for Thanksgiving, we learned we had something to celebrate. No post-holiday blahs for us! Instead, it was high fives all around! The exciting news that greeted us was that Jay York, our senior social media and marketing strategist, had been quoted extensively […]
Every day people start their day by checking in on social media – and before too long the sharing of memes, posts, videos and cat pictures starts in earnest on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. What’s driving all that sharing? Lots of things, probably, but to boil it down to its essence, people share […]
A big part of the publicity game is attracting the attention of the media and persuading them to interview you. But what happens when you’ve been successful in getting the media to look your way, only to find yourself wide-eyed, nervous and murmuring, “What now?” Governors, mayors and assorted movie stars and athletes are accustomed […]
Each morning our team assembles in our conference room for a meeting that includes a little brainstorming mixed with reports on how well things are going with our clients. This is the time when we tackle some of life’s thornier questions, such as: What do you do when a major publication wants a client’s comments […]
When their teams enjoy a great day on the gridiron, football players love to celebrate with high fives and end zone dances. I can happily report that our team isn’t much different when we experience wonderful successes in the media for our clients! And, we’ve had plenty of reason to dance around our office these […]
Everyone has a PR misstep every now and then, but few brands have experienced the kind of unmitigated publicity disaster that United Airlines has dealt with the last couple of weeks. Certainly, I hope you haven’t. By now I’m sure you and nearly everyone you know have seen that viral video of a United Airlines […]
With movies such as “Logan,” “Alien: Covenant” and many others being filmed in 3-D these days, I started thinking about how a good PR campaign also has its own 3-D elements. Although since there are four types of media outlets – TV, radio, social media and print (offline and online) – what you really need […]
Judging from the questions I’m asked by people from every walk of life, misconceptions about publicity – what it can do and who can get it – abound. By definition, publicity is media coverage you get because you’re deemed to be of interest to an audience. If a journalist or talk show host thinks you […]
Sometimes the harshest truths are the most important ones. In public relations, one of the most important truisms revolves around the primary question members of the media ask themselves as they evaluate potential stories: Who really cares? They ask that not to be rude, but out of a genuine desire to serve their audiences. Now, […]
What’s one of the first things you do when you want to learn more about a new store that opened in town or to research a financial professional a friend recommended? If you’re like me, you go in search of a website. Today of course most people realize that whether they’re running a business, operating […]
One of the challenges we often face at EMSI is helping our clients understand the need to tailor their message – or even condense it – so that it appeals to busy editors and producers whose email inboxes are inundated with pitches. That’s the name of the game with publicity. If you can’t sell the […]
The holiday season is fast approaching, which means I’ll soon start hearing the question that’s almost as much an annual tradition around here as turkey and pumpkin pie. Is it pointless to launch a publicity campaign this time of year? Those who ask usually are operating on some variation of this theory: Many people take […]
At one time or another we all probably have dreamed about what we could accomplish if we had unlimited resources. Of course, for most of us the “unlimited resources” situation never progresses beyond that dream stage. But maybe that doesn’t always matter. […]