Get Your Promotion in Shape for the Holidays: Marketing for Holidays and Beyond Starts Now
The holidays are upon us, once again, and as retailers try to get in gear sooner each year you can never start planning too early! After all, more than 70 percent of all consumer goods sold in the U.S. are sold in the fourth quarter of the year. For marketers, it’s the opportunity to meet and expand sales projections, and set the stage for the New Year. Read more on getting your promotion in shape for the holidays →
How Much PR Should You Have? Persistent and Consistent is Key to Success
I’m always asked the question about how long a good publicity campaign should last. Invariably in the media business, more publicity is always better. Still, the question is a good one, and it bears answering.
To do that, I want you to think of the consumers you’re trying to reach as a quiet pond in the wilderness. If you want to make the pond ripple, throw a pebble in it. Big rocks make more waves than small pebbles, but even so, the ripples eventually end if all you’re doing is throwing in one rock at a time. Read more on how much PR you should have →
How Familiar (and Unfamiliar) Holidays Can Drive Your PR Campaign
As the dog days of summer wind down, I think it’s only appropriate that I tell a dog story of my own.
It starts with a client of mine who is a dog crusader with a cause. She’s written seven books about it, and just released a new one. Her passion, as if you haven’t figured it out by now, is animal rescue – specifically dogs from animal shelters. It’s a reasonably narrow cause, but she has been getting a great deal of attention, and October is going to be even bigger for her. You see, October is national Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog Month, sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). For our client, it’s a month made in heaven for her message. Read more on how holidays can drive your PR campaign →
So I’m Launching a PR Campaign – How Many Sales Will I Make?
Understanding the Real ROI of PR
If I had a nickel every time a CEO or marketing executive asked me how many more sales they’d make by using PR, Bill Gates would be jealous of my island-sized yacht.
In order to answer that question, however, it’s important to understand the fallacy on which it’s based. So, let me ask you a few questions. Read more on the true ROI of PR →
Tips for Your Online Book Promotion: It’s Not About the Technology, It’s About the Customers
When I started working with authors on their publicity campaigns, the landscape was reasonably simple. Arranging phone interviews on talk radio shows, appearances on TV and getting reviews in major newspapers and magazines drove consumer interest. Everyone bought their books in bookstores and the only people interested in the Internet were some computer geeks.
Boy, have things changed. Today 44 percent of ALL books sold in North America are sold online at Amazon.com. What’s more, e-books now account for nearly 30 percent of all of Amazon’s sales. Read more on online book promotion →
When is a Good Time To Start Your PR Campaign? How About NOW?
“What may be done at any time will be done at no time.”
– Scottish Proverb
Okay, don’t ask what the Jewish grandmother from New York is doing with a Scottish proverb. My chief strategist found it for me, and it fit the tone of my message today. Read more on when is a good time to start your PR campaign →
Planning on Booking Your Own TV Publicity?
There’s More to It than Just Sending Out a Press Release
In the past few months, I’ve covered a lot of ground with regard to how to do your own public relations campaign. I’ve explained how to make yourself or your company appealing to the media, how to write pitches and why articles work better than press releases.
But I haven’t yet explained some crucial elements with regard to orchestrating a PR campaign and more specifically with regard to landing TV appearances. Radio and print publicity definitely require attention to details – but the number of logistical issues you have to deal with for TV exposure is far greater. Read more on how to book your own TV publicity →
Want to Get on TV? Follow a Daily News Routine to Increase Your Chances
Over the years, I’ve always advised my clients that if you want to get in the news, you have to watch and read the news. I know it sounds a little like “bumper sticker” advice, but it’s really not meant as a sound bite. In fact, we use a practical application of that advice every single morning at our agency.
It’s actually a very simple list of easy steps that anyone can do, and it can get blockbuster results. Read more on a strategy to get on TV →
How Steve Jobs Can Fix Apple’s iPhone PR Snafu
Let’s see how many cardinal rules of tech product launches Apple can violate in a 30-day period.
1. They released a new, bleeding-edge device behind enough hype to make the next Harry Potter movie look like a Mary Kate and Ashley video – only the darn thing wasn’t completely cooked, yet. Consumers generally understand that new releases may have their share of minor glitches here and there, but with the iPhone 4G release, it was suffering from reception problems. Now, I’m not a tech geek, but when you release a phone that doesn’t get good reception, I’d call that a primary issue. It’s like when you go to a KFC a half hour before closing, and they tell you they’ve run out of chicken. Come on! The “C” on your sign stands for chicken! How do you run out of it? (I wouldn’t be so upset about it if they didn’t put that “secret ingredient” in it that makes you crave it!) So, cardinal rule #1 – when you release a high priced, high hyped new tech device, you have to make sure it, you know, works. Read more on How Steve Jobs Can Fix Apple's iPhone PR Snafu →
When it Comes to Talk Radio, You Can’t Judge by Size Alone
Back in 1962, Avis Rent A Car began using the advertising slogan that is still in use today – “We try harder.”
The slogan was a nod to the fact that Avis was the second largest rental car company behind Hertz, and that as a result, they would always make an extra effort in a desire to overcome the competition. It’s a reasonably universal sentiment, as small corporations around the world employ the same tactic to provide better service or more flexibility than the market leaders. And the same can be said of talk radio. Read more on why you shouldn't judge talk radio shows by station size alone →
How Can BP Improve Its Public Image?
It’s the big, greasy, sloppy elephant in the room. It’s been talked about on TV and radio and in print until I – and many of my colleagues – am sick to death of hearing about it. It’s the question of how BP can revive its public image.
If the record is broken, why am I trying to super glue it back together and play it? Well, someone asked. I received an email from a college student participating in his local Public Relations Student Society of America meeting, and he asked me what I thought. It caught me off guard, because there is so much they have done wrong with regard to their media relations efforts, I was concerned I wouldn’t know where to begin. Read more on how BP can improve its public image →
Stay Focused on Your Passion: Emmy-Winning Client Proves Passion and Drive Can Overcome ANY Obstacle
I spend much of my time doling out practical marketing and PR advice based on the harsh realities of today’s new economy. People ask me constantly for ways they can market themselves affordably and more reliably, so I try to make sure most of my tips are grounded and instantly useful.
But there is one particular element I discuss quite a bit in my book, Celebritize Yourself – I also refer to it so often when speaking to clients and potential clients that I sometimes feel I run the risk of it losing its meaning. The element I talk about copiously is following your passion, and because I hate the thought of sounding like a broken record, it’s refreshing when something happens that re-emphasizes the meaning of my words. Read more on passion being the driving force behind your success →
Michael Uslan – Executive Producer of Batman Films
In the mid 1970s, Michael Uslan bought the film rights to a comic book character no movie studio cared about – Batman. For more than a decade he labored with writers and producers, pitching his darkly elegant vision of this movie. Finally, in the late 1980s, Michael was able to assemble a team that included director Tim Burton and stars Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson to create the landmark movie Batman. After its premiere in 1989, it became the highest grossing movie of all time at that point in movie history.
Since then, Michael has been the co-executive producer (along with partner Benjamin Melnicker) of the Batman franchise of films, including the recent blockbusters Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He has also been involved in other films, such as Constantine, National Treasure and upcoming film versions of The Shadow and Shazam. Read more on Michael Uslan, producer of Batman franchise →
How to Promote Your Product or Book During Your Radio Interview
Making the Host Happy Could Get You Invited Back
Recently, I put together a list of ideas to help people make the most of their TV interviews, so I thought this time we’d talk about radio. While they are both broadcast interviews, the experiences are vastly different, and really should be discussed separately. Read more on How to Promote Your Product or Book During Your Radio Interview →
How to Make the Most of Your On-Air Time
Ever since the days when every TV set was a massive 12 inches, and millions of Americans tuned in to watch I Love Lucy in glorious black and white, television has been in the center of our living rooms.
Today, the screens are larger, the picture is in high-definition color and the programming choices are near infinite. Also, in addition to shows of general interest, there are now literally hundreds of cable network shows that cater to specialized niche markets. Plus, millions are now watching TV shows on their cell phones and computers. All in all, TV viewership continues to soar. Read more on how to make the most of your on-air time →
How to Get the Media Interested in You: You May Be Newsworthy Without Even Knowing It
Do you know what the media would consider newsworthy about you or your company?
Many new clients come to us with a strong opinion about what their “pitch” should be, but often miss the mark, in terms of knowing what will get the media to sit up and pay attention to their message. But it’s very understandable that this could occur, if you’re not working with the media the way we do, day in and day out, developing story angles intended to grab their interest. Read more on getting the media interested in you →
Fox Business, May 14, 2010, Michael Uslan, Executive Producer of The Dark Knight
Watch Michael Uslan, Executive Producer of The Dark Knight and the other Batman movies, interviewed on Fox Business.
Is It Possible to Become a Successful Author Without Publicity?
Achieving success as an author isn’t like instant mashed potatoes – you don’t just add hot water and stir.
I speak with new authors every day, and occasionally I find myself saying this during a phone conversation. More often than not, the author I’m talking to has been telling me how frustrated he is about promoting and marketing his book. He’s come to the painful realization that the lengthy and arduous process of writing his book is just the first step along the road to literary success. He never really understood that the work and effort needed to get his book onto the nightstands of readers could be just as demanding, just as arduous as the writing, editing and publishing. Or, he just didn’t know how to make it happen. Read more on why you can't become a successful author without publicity →
5 Steps for Using Creative PR to Become an Expert Celebrity
One of the things I love about my job is solving problems.
Sure, it’s great to have a client walk in the door who has a unique product or service, solid credentials and a compelling angle. It makes the work easier, certainly, but it sometimes is more satisfying to solve what a client thinks is an unsolvable problem in a creative way. Read more on the 5 steps for using creative PR to become an expert celebrity →
Apple’s iPhone Debacle Shows How NOT to Do PR
(Note from Marsha: My senior campaign strategist, Tony Panaccio, was about to bust this morning if he couldn’t blog about Apple’s iPhone prototype debacle, so in the interest of getting actual work done for clients, here’s what he has to say. Enjoy! – MF)
Okay, I was going to leave this one alone, but I find myself compelled to say something.
One of my many character flaws is that I’m an intellectual snob. I love smart people. Dumb people, not so much. And that is why I want to get on a plane, head out west, take a cab to Steve Jobs’ door and ask him why he is being such a mouth-breathing, Cro-Magnon, drooling MORON. This whole thing with the iPhone 4G prototype is getting out of hand, and Steve, you’re the guy at the top. If you’re not calling the shots on this one, you should be, because whoever is calling them is making Paris Hilton look like Stephen Hawking. Read more on Apple's iPhone debacle →
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You Can Enjoy Expert Celebrity Status
Are you ready for your own brand of celebrity? Public relations expert Marsha Friedman teaches you how to Celebritize Yourself! Learn the secret to becoming an expert celebrity. Her book is the manual for becoming well known as an expert in your field!
