Public relations: A Free Lunch at Last?

By Claire Cunninghamj
Posted Saturday, October 23, 2004

Tips on adding marketing public relations to your communications mix.
Seems like everyone is looking for the proverbial free lunch these days, particularly when it comes to marketing communications. Well, I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but there's no such thing. However, there are ways to stretch your budget and marketing public relations (PR) is one of them.

By MARKETING PR I mean publicity that is directed towards your marketing target audience and carries marketing messages. (It's a different animal than investor or employee relations.) Marketing PR can generate inquiries, economically extend the reach of your advertising and direct mail programs, boost your company's credibility and enhance its standing as an expert.

Here are three basic marketing PR tactics for you to consider:

1)NEWS RELEASES Does your company bring new products or services to market? Improve existing products or services? Publish literature? These are all great subjects for news releases. Send releases to editors at relevant publications. One release a month is a good goal.

2)CASE HISTORIES These can highlight your company's problem solving abilities. And well-written case histories are in demand -- by readers and editors alike. You may want to work with a single publication to place a case history or broadcast it to many publications.

3)TECHNICAL FEATURES Getting a technical article placed in the right publication can be very rewarding in terms of enhanced credibility. To be successful this tactic must be backed with careful research and planning to ensure the topic is timely. Usually you will work with a single publication to place a technical feature.

About the Author
Claire Cunningham has over 20 years experience helping companies maximize their return on their investment in marketing communications,