Good public relations help media 'see the headline'

There is a feeling in the marketing world that public relations costs you less than other forms of advertising, and at the same time, it is the best kind of exposure you can get. This is partly true but also can be misleading.

Public relations, or "PR," can bring unknown companies to immediate attention and great success. It also has brought down well-known companies. So the first point to remember about PR is that it is a two-edged sword and has to be treated with caution.

Once something appears in writing, it never really goes away. The wrong message can live for a long time. It is important to know that good PR doesn't just happen. It is planned, scripted, practiced and nurtured. It is not free, but it is a good value if it is done correctly.

Print and electronic are the two main types of media. Each plays a role in the news cycle. Electronic tends to be immediate and short-lived. Print on the other hand tends to offer more in-depth coverage because of available time and space of newspapers and magazines.

Electronic stories create attention and print media gets into the detail. They share common keys to success for the marketer. They both have a need for unique, meaningful stories.

Two years ago the motorcoach industry was near collapse, as a result of 9-11 and the resulting downturn in travel. The industry associations and manufacturers retained my firm to help them grow new revenue. One strategy became known as "ExecConnect America." The concept was to provide daily scheduled business travel between two cities for business travelers on luxury motorcoaches of up to 250 miles. The coaches looked like first-class sections of airplanes with food service, attendants and no-hassle travel. We believed that a key to the opening of the business in each city pair would be the initial media coverage.

When we met the media, we stressed that this was first and foremost a new concept. It used existing companies in the cities and it gave their readers a chance to travel, safely and efficiently, between the two cities in less time than flying. But most importantly, it made business travel easy and enjoyable again. We did all the interviews in one of the executive coaches.

The print media loved the concept because it was news and had many features they could explore. All five members of the electronic media showed up for the pre-launch press conference and lead their evening news with the story. They liked it because it was a positive story born of the 9-11 disaster and because motorcoaches are camera friendly. They not only had a good story for the evening news, they had very interesting pictures to support the story.

The one key to success I have learned with all media is to help them see a headline in the story. We worked hard to make the point about easy and enjoyable business travel. With all the challenges of post 9-11 travel in the U.S. the headline jumped out of the story.

Dale Bunce is the founder of consulting firm International Market Development. Reach him at dale@openmarkets.com or (803) 642-5544.