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How Technology Companies Can Win at the PR Game
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The How-To Business Book
11/20/2000
By: Linda G. Mele
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The old adage “No news is good news” hardly applies to today's ever-evolving publicity grist mill.
Technology has revolutionized the old, familiar game of public relations and marketing communications.
One of the first thing companies must do is to create a media strategy, take the time to develop it and decide what they want to accomplish.
Publicity isn't just grinding out press releases, and one of the first decisions a company must make is whether to have a dedicated person (or persons) and a dedicated media department, or whether to outsource it.
Also, a dedicated person within the company who deals exclusively with the outside agency can also be effective.
Since getting their clients publicity is what P/R agencies do, it often make sense to hire a professional, even if it's just for a consultation. You may find out there's a lot more to the publicity game than you thought.
In today's tremendously cluttered and blurred media marketplace, public-relations agencies need to be creative, aggressive and savvy enough about their client's products or services to be able to effectively sell them to the media.
Just because a client has developed, for example, a creative holiday promotion does not mean the media will be excited about it simply because newspapers, magazines and television and radio stations are bombarded with press releases and telephone calls touting the next greatest thing since sliced bread.
With today's “instant news” and “sound bite” formats, a publicity campaign for a technology company has to utilize the most up-to-date technology and needs to be updated at least every three months.
PR professionals agree that any program should last no more than 90 days, because in the technical world things often change with lightning speed.
Agencies understand that developing strong media contacts is vital and that reading the publications they're trying to pitch is even more critical. “You have to know your market and who to talk to,” says one, “and make a presentation that's geared toward that market.”
For example, if you are trying to publicize the XYZ Co.'s newest computer software for architects, you wouldn't contact Seventeen magazine.
Most pros also advise companies not to go to the media until they have a compelling story to tell.
Of course, mounting an effective publicity campaign - whether from in-house or outsourced - requires time and resources. Companies must be willing and able to spend the money required to implement the strategy.
Also, in their quest for editorial coverage, companies must be willing to provide hard numbers regarding sales volume, number of employees and even annual income. Many small companies are unwilling to give out those kinds numbers, but these are the kinds of statistics business publications want today, so typically you have to pay to play.
When planning a press conference or the announcement of a great new product, reporters will be more inclined to attend and help publicize your event if they know you will provide media packets that contain a company background, a fact sheet about the event or product, biographies of key personnel involved, a list of customers and several successful case histories.
“There's nothing worse than going to a press conference and having to write down even the tiniest detail or be told that they'll be glad to fax you that information tomorrow - when you have a deadline today,” says one local business reporter.
Often companies - especially in the technology sector - expect instant results. So it's up to the public relations specialist, whether in-house or outsourced, to make it clear right from the beginning, especially if the client is a privately held company, that they can't expect to see results overnight.
Privately held companies tend to want to keep any information regarding finances to themselves, which severely limits the scope of what an agency or a P/R department can do to get them publicity.
P/R agencies can also help develop Web sites, but companies have to prepare themselves to allocate the resources it takes to keep the site current and to respond to inquiries generated by the site.
You can't just build it and forget it.
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