Ad Club January 29 2010

Copyright Gaetan Giannini 2009 www.gianninimpr.com

In Control vs. Out of Control Marketing

• Traditional advertising, sales and promotion

• PR, new media marketing, and word-of-mouth – aka Marketing Public Relations


What can it do?• Building the identity of the organization or product; • Increasing the visibility of an established organization or

product;• Establishing an organization or individual as an expert in a given

field;• Educating stakeholders on issues critical to the organization;• Shaping public opinion about an organization, idea or individual;• Maintaining the image of an organization or product – over time

or during a crisis; or• Stimulating the trial or repeat usage of a product.


Why is it powerful?• Credibility• Implied endorsement of the connector • Appears as an objective assessment• Low cost


The disadvantage

You give up control of your message


Who gets control?

• Media– Newspaper – Radio– TV– Magazines– Blogs


Select connectors by talking to customers• What TV, radio shows, newspapers, magazines, journals,

and association newsletters do you pay attention to? • What are your professional affiliations? • What personal interests, such as sports, travel, and

hobbies, do you pursue? • What is on your must-read list? • What media keep you current professionally? • Who are your favorite reporters?


Dealing with Media• Find media that reach your intended audience and do

your homework. • Discover ways your story can help selected media serve

their readers, listeners, viewers better.• Create relationships• Have an eye for what’s newsworthy.• Package and deliver your message in a way that suits

each medium.• Be there 24-7-365


Create a Press Kit• Documents illustrating the background of the

firm and interesting facts about it,• Evidence of previous press coverage,• Support materials, including studies and

statistics, and• Graphics, such as photos and video.


Press Release• Press releases are the

work horses of media based PR.

• Format them correctly• Write them well


PitchKnowing the connector is the key to a good pitch• Attention-getting first paragraph• An indication that you are familiar

with this media outlet and its audience

• Background information and research that supports your pitch

• Description of support elements available and suggestions for other sources of information for the story

• Concluding statement specifying the next step

(Beckwith, 2003)

Some things pitch better than others• One of a kind• First ever• Atypical community service• Trends• Unusual applications of

products and services• Celebrities and quirky experts• Tales of the underdog• Money, sex, or health issues

(Levinson, Frischman, & Lublin, 2002)


Select connectors using an outside source• Blog Catalog - blog directory, www.blogcatalog.com/directory (Free)• Burrelles Luce - on-demand media monitoring, research, distribution, and evaluation services,

www.burrellesluce.com • Business Wire - news distribution service, www.businesswire.com• Cision - on-demand media monitoring, research, distribution, and evaluation services, www.cision.com • Marketwire/Media Hub - on-demand media monitoring, research, distribution, and evaluation services,

www.marketwire.com• Media Contacts Pro - downloadable database, www.mediacontactspro.com • Mondo Times - media directory, www.mondotimes.com (Free)• News Link - media directory, www.newslink.org (Free)• Podcast Zoom - podcast directory, www.podcastzoom.com • PR Newswire - news distribution service, www.prnewswire.com• PR Web - news distribution service, www.prweb.com • Technorati - blog directory, http://technorati.com (Free)• USNPL - media directory, www.usnpl.com • Vocus - on-demand media monitoring, research, distribution, and evaluation services, www.vocus.com• Yahoo Directory: News and Media - media directory, http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media (Free)

http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory

http://www.burrellesluce.com/

http://www.businesswire.com/

http://www.cision.com/

http://www.marketwire.com/

http://www.mediacontactspro.com/

http://www.mondotimes.com/

http://www.newslink.org/

http://www.podcastzoom.com/

http://www.prnewswire.com/

http://www.prweb.com/

http://technorati.com/

http://www.usnpl.com/

http://www.vocus.com/

http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media