The Return of Local Public Relations

Businesses and communities that serve local needs are popping up everywhere; the idea of 'local' is now a media darling in the eyes of consumers, and everything from local review sites, to Google and beyond are taking up the flag of local in terms of search, food and goods. Accompanying this is Local PR, a way to increase the popularity of a local product or service with a local public relations campaign. This doesn't mean you move away from a National Campaign, but the local PR is simply a compliment to it.

When done right, Local PR really works well - it takes advantage of the great work your company is doing, and leverages that work at the grassroots level without having to reinvent your brand and message. Like local review sites like Yelp, which has customized their experience to each location, a PR Firm can present a unified voice for your company across the nation, but keep it personal at the local level. By utilizing local TV stations, newspapers and radio, it helps communicate your brand, message and products in a unified, yet personal way.

The idea here is replication: take a large company campaign and replicate the message across several mediums in several different places, yet change specific cultural messages depending on the location. The Midwest may react differently to a particular aspect of your campaign than someone from the Northwest and so on. This can be an effective way to boost awareness of your product nationally and locally at the same time while reducing costs.

So how does one go about creating this type of dual PR campaign? Hire a great PR Firm and work with them to create a great local marketing strategy and local PR program. Any thoughts? Share them below!

Reporters and Experts: A Win Win Situation

I have the utmost respect for the brainpower contained within the leadership teams at my clients' organizations. Many have either launched the enterprise, worked within the organization for decades, or have contributed significantly to the industries in which they work.

In fact, by most standards, they've achieved expert status in their given fields. They've written books, given powerful presentations, taught at universities, mentored and launched careers for others, and do all they can to stay up on the industry by constantly reading.

Knowing that they have a wealth of expertise and experience, as public relations specialists, we can leverage their intimate knowledge on a subject and position them for interviews more easily. It is helpful in both proactive media pitching, as well as reactive. In the first instance we are pitching reporters on ideas, in the latter, reporters have already began working on a story and are seeking experts for their piece.

Now, it should be said that these expert opinion/quote opportunities rarely result in full-feature stories on our clients. Rather, our clients are quoted as an expert, with their companies and specialties noted.

Nonetheless, it is a great way to build awareness and maintain visibility in an industry and reinforce the expert status. Expert positioning isn't the only way to get the good word out for our clients, but it is a tactic that provides benefits on many levels.

PR Firm USA, National Public Relations Firm, Franchise PR Agency

5 Ideas to Turn Your Press Release Into a Media Magnet

Here are five tips to turn your company's public relations beyond normal, everyday press release. These suggestions help provide additional entrance-ways into your firm’s online presence, and help promote the thought leadership of your company's leadership – opening up other media possibilities and a greater number of touchpoints between your organization and its customers.

Leverage Current Events
When choosing a story that already has or is gaining a high level of public awareness, find an unusual hook specific to your company or industry to get your information visibility. For example, a local health club could have connected with the Old Spice YouTube campaign with an article like “21 Tips to Be In Shape Like Old Spice Spokesperson, Isaiah Mustafa.” Ask yourself, what can our firm contribute to the discussion where we have a special perspective? Think in terms of giving advice, not promoting your product and/or services.

Use a survey
Gather publishable data that your market will find interesting. Charles Schwab’s 2010 Family & Money Survey found that twenty-somethings were more interested in financial fitness than physical fitness following the financial meltdown. Remember you’re looking for a way to get people’s attention related to a topic they’re interested in. Your offering shouldn’t be the main focus of the survey!

Extend holiday-related promotions
Develop PR campaigns around promotionally-driven events like back-to-school, Halloween and Thanksgiving. For example, you could write a press release on “5 Reasons Helping Your Child Get Organized for School Improves Grades” and link to a shopping list on your website or specific back-to-school products. Your goal is to provide useful information to customers, which also relates to your products. Alternatively, you could help create an event, like Mashable's “Social Media Day ”.

Incorporate Promos into your press releases
A great example that illustrates this point is from Southwest Airlines: it generated $1.5 million in sales from four press releases. When you use this form of promotion, think about creating special promo codes to track results. Consider that this type of promotion might go viral, so you must have sufficient product or your potential customers will feel cheated.

Spotlight your Clients and Customers
Take a page from American Express, which features customers who use their product in their Open advertising and Lion Brand Yarn, which features a customer project each month in their blog. For a press release, think about how to incorporate your product and something of benefit to prospective customers. For example, Lion Brand Yarn could provide a link to a pattern in their press release and give a discount on the materials. Remember to get permission and a release for using customers’ photographs. Many customers are thrilled to get the attention.

Chicago PR Firm, Franchise Public Relations Agency, Public Relations Agency

How to Gain Publicity for your Business

In business everyone is always looking for new and better ways to gain as much publicity as they can, generate as much traffic and attention to their business in a short amount of time. On of the biggest secret weapons to gaining more publicity is something that people rarely think about since it isn’t seen that much, editorial calendars.

Margie Zabel Fisher recently did an article on Small Business Trends on this way of gaining more publicity for your business. If you can gain access to editorial calendars and know about upcoming stories that will be published, or upcoming topics that are to be discussed, you can include your notes and suggestions.

This has the general idea that by you contributing your notes, suggestions and suggested topics you will in turn gain more publicity for your business. You can also incorporate your ads into some of the topics and editorials that you find.

Offer story ideas with enough lead time. The lead time for publications varies, and can be as much as six months or more. If you’re not sure of the lead time, assume three to six months. If you need help gaining publicity for your business, give All Points Public Relations a call at 847.580.4233 or email us!

How to work with the Media and Journalists

As a former reporter, I have a lot of experience working with fellow journalists and media personalities. There are certain steps and traditional etiquette that most reporters and PR consultants follow in order to keep healthy relationships with key outlets. Follow these suggestions to not only cultivate a good relationship with your media contacts, but also develop long-term contacts to further your business.

What to look for in a PR Firm: The Good and the Bad

When a company hires a Public Relations Firm, they expect to start gaining some publicity fairly quickly. Why? Because the effectiveness of Public Relations can be seen almost immediately, if the right processes and steps are taken to secure coverage. It also helps to have a firm on your side that understands the business and industry they're working with: the media.

After working in the Public Relations Industry and at a well known PR firm, it's time we take stock in our own firm, and give advice to all of you in what to look for.

Public Relations & The Media: Understanding the Reporter's Mindset

Chicago PR Firm

National Media Coverage with All Points PR

I tuned in to CNN the other night to find myself once again captivated by the storm Penn State University officials have created for themselves.

What caught my attention this time though was the reporter in the field relaying her perspective back to the anchor in the studio. The journalist in the segment was on Penn State's campus. It was Sara Ganim, the local newspaper crime beat reporter who broke the story.

She's now become a contributing reporter for CNN. A small market newspaper reporter in central Pennsylvania is on CNN in just her mid-20s, leading the coverage of one of the year's biggest stories. It honestly elicits a rage of goose bumps.

The Future Buzz: Proactive PR Reviewed

Proactive Public Relations Firm

I recently read a story on The Future Buzz, a great source for PR and Marketing news, about how Public Relations Firms should be more proactive rather than reactive, and I couldn't agree more. Public Relations is mainly about how the public 'relates' to your clients, and knowing the exact (or approximate) strategies that will garner a positive reaction to their business or event. The story went in depth on percentages and how only a certain percentage of PR firms actually practice proactive strategy and tend to simply react to the current market, and it's true. A lot of current PR is based around crisis communications and gaining control over something a company has done and painting it in a better light or doing damage control. But what the article didn't go into is this: what exactly IS proactive public relations?

Digging Deep with Grassroots PR Strategies

Chicago Grassroots PR

KFC has a secret chicken recipe. McDonald's claims possession of a secret sauce for its Big Macs. And, All Points PR has its secrets to Public Relations success as well.

We usually don't share them, but I can't hold this one in any longer.

Granted, this is just one of the many strategic PR tactics we put to use, but few people know or associate this with public relations. However, time and time again it has worked.

At All Points we call it Grassroots PR. This Grassroots effort entails All Points "digging" deep beneath the foundation of communities to "plant the seeds" for growth.

Instead of talking in broad terms, let me give you a real world example.

A client of mine seeks to expand his franchise's footprint into a new market, Springfield. One way All Points PR could tackle that for this client would be to employ a Grassroots PR approach.

Here's what it would entail:

• Researching the community-based economic and business leaders in the area
• Connecting with them to set up in-person or phone meetings between their organizations (Chambers of Commerce, economic development offices in the city and/or county) and my client
• Coaching the client to convey the right messages for that meeting, as to elicit a response from the organizations that will help share the franchise investment opportunity with their close contacts in the community

Increase Company Exposure with PR!

There are a few easy ways to start getting your business noticed: Social Media, Networking, Blogging and more. You'll increase exposure and be on your way to success.

How to Increase Company Exposure

There are several large to small scale businesses trying to brand themselves through exposure through media, social media and other PR tactics. As a Public Relations Specialist in Chicago, we help our local and national clients through special events, public press releases, getting stories published in high profile publications, local market promotions and more. For truly successful business, it is recommended that you hire a professional public relations agency or specialist. In the meantime - here are a few ideas to get you started!

Simple, but Helpful ways to reach customers:
1. Use Google Places
2. Create a Facebook or Twitter Following and link your pages
3. Write short articles (how to, expertise in an area) and publish them on article websites.
4. Create Video How-tos on Youtube
5. Develop a Blog!
6. Have well designed flyers made and distribute them to local businesses, campuses or areas that may need your specific type of service.

If you'd like assistance with your local or national Public Relations strategies, call All Points Public Relations today at 847.580.4233.

Global PR, Local Action

National Public Relations Agency 

A good portion of All Points PR's business is outside of Chicagoland and even outside of the Midwest for that matter. But I am no fool when it comes to the importance of focusing a strategic PR campaign for All Points right here in my own home market.

So, yes I'm marketing and activating programs to build awareness for the business to my niche industry and the national audience on several levels, but I'm equally as focused on heightening visibility in the Chicago suburb where I have my office and throughout the greater Chicagoland area.

I am thinking global and acting local (while still acting global too – or in this case across North America).

Local public relations is a cost-effective way for me to spread the word, build interest and generate leads. Utilizing PR, I've secured feature stories in my home market that have resulted in new business opportunities. What happens is: neighbors, acquaintances and others in the community see the news coverage, spread the good word and inquire about our services. Seems like a natural chain of events.

However, all too often companies that do business outside of their own home market primarily forget that there is an audience right in their backyard.

Here in Chicago, we get the sense that United Airlines markets a bit differently to their hometown audience – the same for Motorola and many others. They are passionate about their local customers, conducting PR campaigns focused on media coverage with major Chicago media and news organizations in the suburbs that many of their employees and neighbors read, watch or listen to on a regular basis.

All Points Public Relations has more information to share with you about our comprehensive public relations services, including local market PR. We'd be happy to share our own achievements with this tactic and the successes we've had with it on behalf of our clients.

Generating Publicity: Chicago PR Style

Chicago Public Relations Company

Have you ever found yourself contacting a company about their products or services after having read a story about them in the newspaper or a magazine? What about after hearing a specialist or CEO of a company speak?

National Media Publicity is an extremely important for building awareness and credibility for your small business or company. Example: a legitimate news story in a magazine or newspaper is an endorsement from someone else that can reach a wide audience for a low cost. All it takes is a great writer and a PR Firm with creativity and time. In addition to stories in the newspaper, there are several types of publicity:

• News/Interviews in trade-specific journals, websites dedicated to the industry, magazines, the morning news and more.
• A journalist or blogger writing a story with your 'Expert' opinion or a quote.
• Stories posted on websites or industry magazines that are self-authored. 
• Speaking engagements for your industry

Publicity is a highly cost-effective strategy than can do several things: build awareness about your company's products and services, drive visitors to your website, get people to participate in your events, help your target market to learn more about your industry and products and the problems you can solve, and great an ongoing conversation about your company.

The key to success is generating newsworthy stories that publishers want to share. They need to be interesting, relevant, and offer new information to readers.

Publicity isn't about luck at all - it's about investing in a strategic program with an effective Public Relations Agency and you can continue to reap the rewards with time.

The Important Role of Public Relations

Experienced PR agencies have developed diverse techniques such as press releases, opinion polling, focus groups, social media management, national publicity and many more techniques that come together in order to publicly shape an organization into a well oiled PR machine. Truly effective Public relations agencies have good rapport with key news contacts which greatly increases the chances that stories will get covered more often and in greater detail. While some PR agencies only stick to larger corporate clients, smaller, more specialized companies also need to reap the benefits of using a Public Relations Company.

Public Relations Firms are effective in helping the following:
1. Assist Corporations in conveying information to the public about products and services.
2. Help Businesses and Individuals reach local government and legislators.
3. PR Agents in the political realm can help politicians attract votes, raise money and craft their public image.
4. Help non-profits, schools, religious organizations and other social service programs raise awareness, build support, fund-raise and increase patronage.

The field of Public Relations is so much larger than these four items though. Public Relations Firms should be involving themselves in several different outlets of business including: Franchise PR, Social Media Services, Grassroots Public Relations Campaigns, National Publicity, and even Media Training to assist business owners in effectively talking to media outlets.

For more information regarding Public Relations Services, visit our website: PR Firm Chicago to read up on Public Relations and all that an effective PR Firm can do for businesses.

Top 5 Franchises of 2011

National Public Relations Agency

Entrepreneur.com is a wonderful website to gain insight into business, franchising, marketing and much more. Recently, they released their list of 2011's Top Ten Franchises. What makes each of these franchises great? You be the judge.

#1 Hampton Hotels
Hampton Hotels first got their start in Memphis Tennessee twenty-seven years ago in 1984. They were THE first mid-priced national hotel chain to offer free breakfast and local phone services in 1995. In that same year, they expanded into Hampton Inn & Suites, consisting of two-room hotel rooms and kitchen areas.

In 1999, Hilton Worldwide acquired Hampton Inn. Hilton currently has 84 hotels worldwide, and owns brands including Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, DoubleTree, Embassy and more. They are a giant in the Hotel Franchise industry and deserve their #1 standing.

#2 AM/PM
The first AM/PM gas station opened in 1979 in California and has since grown to over 3,000 gas stations over the United States. From a Franchise PR standpoint, they've done exceptionally well for themselves and their franchisees.

#3 McDonald's
If anyone doubts McDonald's franchising power, they can stop wondering now. With over 30,000 locations in 119 different countries, it's no wonder the Golden Arches is synonymous with burgers and good business.

#4 7-Eleven Inc.The original 7-Eleven dates back to the 20s when an ice-block company started selling sandwiches. When hours changed to 7am to 11pm, the name was changed, and 7-Eleven began opening their doors all over the place. Today they're a staple in our local strip malls and a highly profitable franchise operation to own.

#5 Supercuts
Supercuts developed a low-cost, yet great way to get a quick haircut without having to set an appointment. With over 1,000 locations in the US and Canada, Supercuts has become a giant in quick, affordable hair cutting locations in North America.

These companies, in the past year, have risen to the top 5 Franchises in the world due to effective business practices, great advertising campaigns, effective Public Relations firms, and a unique product that while always copied, can never be replaced. 

Crisis Communications and Your Business: How to plan for the future

Chicago PR Agency & National Public Relations Firm

I agree with most when it comes to living in the now. Balance can be found if you go about life with your principles intact while living day to day and minute to minute.

However, when it comes to your business and crisis communications, you can't live for today. As a business owner, you are always living for the future, be it tomorrow, next year, or two minutes from now. Similar to other business strategies that you have to plan for, but different in so many ways because of the unknown. Crises are one of PR's great variables; you never know what may happen next.

How do you work today to plan for the unknown?
I broached this topic with a client of mine recently and we talked about many of the things we could do together to ensure that catastrophe wouldn't kill her business. She works for a business-to-consumer company with storefronts nationwide. She was concerned about how to effectively communicate with customers, the press and the general public if ever the need would arise in a crisis situation.

We first started talking about who the spokesperson would be, the protocol for internal communication, employee reactions and press statements. Then we turned to the cost-benefit ratio. How much would it take to effectively carryout a communications plan that covers all stakeholders and how would you quantify that with measurable results to come up with a return on the investment? All of these considerations must be taken in to account, along with the tactics to execute the crisis communications strategy.

One part of the discussion that really sticks out is when we got on to the topic of how social media plays a role in reputation management in times like these. You'd be surprised how much forethought needs to take place in order to keep concerned customers and the public at ease by using social media.

So, lots to think about and consider for tomorrow and today. Don't forget though about the role of technology. Press conferences and press releases used to be the only way to communicate with the public and your client base. These days, Youtube and sites like Vimeo has made video sharing so instant that putting a spokesperson on every computer screen in America with just a few minutes preparation time is 100 percent viable.

All Points Public Relations has more information about our crisis communications planning on our website. We've been creating contingency plans for companies for nearly 10 years as part of our collection of comprehensive PR capabilities.

National PR Firm :: Public Relations Agency

In Honor of Social Media Week Chicago

Social Media Week: Will You Marry Me?

Today I went to the dentist and the hygienist was talking about an idea she had to start a business. She said she was going to create a one-sheet marketing piece to slip under doors of potential clients. That was her major marketing push to launch the business. She asked my opinion.

Obviously, I said she needed a cost-effective, strategic PR campaign aimed at earning bright, big media coverage that will drive client acquisition, retention and loyalty. She honestly has a good business idea.

However, PR and the one-sheet isn't enough. You have to marry that great idea and the marketing campaigns that are occurring offline (PR and the handout) with an online strategy. Now, she is a bit older than most of the savvy online marketing crowd, but I told her she needs a dynamic website and a strong, persistent social media campaign that engages her customer base and others who can spread the good word for her.

We spent a good amount of time talking about the complexities of social media (o.k. she talked and I kind of grunted as she hacked away at my teeth). The timing of this discussion couldn't have been more appropriate.

This week the global business community is engaged in Social Media Week. Sessions are being held around the world. Personally, I've been tuning in to the free online streaming video of the discussions at www.livestream.com/smw_chicago1.

Is there a silver bullet that works in social media? No. Does an effective strategy take some trial and error? Yes. However, ultimately it needs to be married with what you've developed as offline marketing tactics. Just as TV ads are consistent with newspaper ads for most campaigns, your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn messaging should be equally integrated across the board.

The talented professionals at this PR Firm have successfully developed and implemented several social media plans for our clients. We encourage you to ask us about the ways we've driven the bottom line and spread awareness for our clients. Look us up on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to engage.

PR Heavy Lifting: Gain PR Success!

Public Relations Firm

Great article in The New York Times (at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/business/media/lacoste-recasts-itself-in-its-own-prestige.html) on Lacoste – which mentions a simple but great guerrilla marketing tactic – Dressing the “wait staff, bus boys and valets at the Hamptons location of Nobu “…in clothing featuring the Lacoste logo, an open-jawed crocodile. (Not genius at all – one understands that upscale, influential people are going to the elite Japanese restaurant in the Hamptons – yet no one does things like that.)

As their marketer says: “As a consumer, you’re sitting there and Lacoste is all around you. But it’s not in your face screaming to you that there’s a branded moment here in the middle of your meal — it’s an elegantly disruptive activation.” The article goes on to explain that “at the Soho House and two Hotel Gansevoort locations — all in Manhattan — also are wearing clothing provided free by Lacoste.”Over the last year, the agency has pursued a strategy of “aligning the brand with key cultural zeitgeists and influencers.”

Brands rarely like to get chances – it’s hard to get fired for advertising in the super bowl – but try something below the line and its risky. Many brands and buyers take the easy and conventional path – rather than hiring a risqué Public Relations agency or marketer to work hard and do heavy lifting. Often less expensive the right activities provide a much bigger bang if and when done right.

Some tactics to consider from this PR Firm CEO:

Seeding product? Give it away free to an advertising agency, modeling companies, publicists, posh gyms – and anywhere people trendy are likely to be. Offer free refrigerators or things which people will actually use – and for a low cost acquire great brand advocates.

Consider pop-up events around the “official” event. We host an annual after-hours event at the Sundance film festival – where we simply rent a house and throw a great party when the “official” events are long finished. Offering a great private venue our brands get great access (and pictures), and our celebrity attendees – all of whom attend free of charge and stay for hours – have included Sean “Diddy” Combs, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Nick Cannon and many others.

Hire a celebrity to shop at a store and get “caught” by paparazzi buying your product. Do it regularly and it will create a lot of hype if placed properly by your agency – and be much cheaper than paying for a celebrity image in mass market media.
Consider guerilla guerrilla marketing, street theatre, polls and other attention getting maneuvers rather than the easy way out.

And just think, for something as basic as gifting the NOBU staff you may even get a great feature guerrilla marketing story in The New York Times.

PR Goodies: Why We Love Franchising

PR Firm Chicago

It's the people. The people of franchising that I can connect with on so many levels. They are the reason why I have completely fallen for the industry. As the owner of a PR Company in Chicago that serves the Franchising industry with exceptional Franchise PR, I feel I can talk about this.

The bonds that I've formed as a pr consultant within franchising over the years have opened my eyes to countless new personal and professional discoveries. I know millions worldwide feel the same way about franchising's impact on their lives. That shared respect for the industry is what keeps franchising moving forward. Whether at the local level or at company headquarters, franchising feeds the fire in all of us.

It truly brings out the best in us. We share a common passion for perfection, a belief that we must always go beyond expectations. I think this need to succeed comes from a vibe that emanates out of all of us. The energy I feel, which I think many of us can relate to, stems from our entrepreneurial instincts. We in franchising are optimists by nature but pragmatic in what we do. We have hard time wasting time and setting daily goals isn't about punching in or pounding the keyboard. it's about progress that pushes our visions forward. For us, the future is now; tomorrow is just as important as today.

We're franchisors, franchisees and suppliers. Our organizations may serve different purposes but the drive deep inside of us is the same. And, it serves all of us well because we relish the opportunity to inspire each other to reach our potential.

Most importantly, the people of franchising harness their talents to support others. It is this element that is unique to franchising. Innovation occurs at all levels and is then shared throughout franchise systems. Franchisors develop new products, franchisees share best practices and suppliers turn visions into reality. Our businesses become better because of each other. We're independent but gladly reap the benefits of working collaboratively. No other industry I've come across offers this much independence with as much networking and sharing.

It feels good to be a piece of a larger whole that is working together.