LT Public Relations

A quick blog to say thanks to Entrepreneur magazine’s cover story, “Get Thee To A PR Firm.”

As the headline says, LT Public Relations couldn’t agree more that it’s “Time to Hire A PR Firm.”  Chock full of compelling stories, stats and business anecdotes, it’s worth a read . . .

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2009/june/201746.html

After you read it, give us a call (503-477-9215)…It’s time!

 

There was dancing and singing in the streets after reading this month’s Entrepreneur magazine column–”Make It Known” by Guy Kawasaki–about how if you’ve got a great product, a great brand will follow.  In one page, Mr. Kawasaki accurately highlighted eight important steps to successfully brand a product. 

Will let you read the column to appreciate each step–but Step #6 (Focus on PR, Not Advertising) had us cheering . . .

• Focus on PR, not advertising.  Many companies waste millions of dollars trying to establish brands through advertising.  When it comes to branding, too much money is worse than too little, because when you have a lot of money, you spend a lot of money on stupid things, like Super Bowl commericials.  Brands are built on what people are saying about you, not what you’re saying about yourself. People say good things about when 1) you have a great product and 2) you get people to spread the word about it.

Bravo.  Well said.  Although he didn’t outline how to focus on PR (that’s our job at LT Public Relations), the point is that public relations is one of the most valuable, efficient and impactful ways to brand your company. 

The folks at Creative Brand Communications can certainly help with outlining a plan for the other branding steps mentioned in the article (e.g. cascade the message, create one message, etc.).  And when it comes down to guiding companies through the world of PR and generating positive buzz, look no further than LT Public Relations.

 

A good portion of public relations activitiy is supporting client’s sponsorships at events, conferences, etc.  Although “sponsorships” typically fall under the marketing department’s umbrella, we see a tremendous amount of opportunities to push sponsorships further . . . if you’re willing to be creative and know how/what to present to the event’s coordinators.

Sponsoring an event can be a very impactful and cost-effective way to communicate an organization’s message and brand.  What’s not cost-effective is half-assing the sponsorship by simply cutting a check so that the organization’s name is plastered on a sign or in the program with many other companies. 

True sponsorship means going the extra mile and being creative in how you communicate, and strategically working with the event’s coordinators to ensure your sponsorship money is being maximized. 

For example, in Hot Springs, AR, the sponsors of the Miss Arkansas Pagent (a huge event every year) receive four tickets to the event and two full-page ads in the program–but the kicker is that sponsors also have the right to have one appearance by the winner at their office or company event.  The cost . . . a mere $2000. Where most companies would have been fine with cutting a check for $2K for a little recognition, the true value is in the winner’s appearance at the office. Now that’s good PR.

Inc. Magazine’s April 2008 issue highlighted the importance of stretching the sponsorship dollar further in the article, “Blessed Events: How to make a sponsorship pay off.” The article provides additional examples of how sponsorships can be more impactful.

At LT Public Relations, we often ask our clients’ marketing executives what sponsorships they’re conducting.  We feel that each time our clients’ names are out in public is an ideal opportunity to further make an impact with the audience they’re trying to attract. Knowing that our clients hold some pretty powerful cards with their sponsorship dollars, it’s worth maximizing the sponsorship with some extra bonus activity to raise our clients’ awareness.