by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
On February 14 – Valentine’s Day – Amazon announced a break up with New York City. The company faced intense backlash from community members after it was announced that the much-anticipated HQ2 would be split between New York and Arlington Virginia.
Here are some takeaways from a marketing perspective on the tech giant’s big decision. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
In recent weeks there have been multiple high-profile instances of company policies garnering unwanted national attention. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
The marketing world can be fickle. Marketers and advertisers are lauded as geniuses when their bold or creative plans pan out. But they’re derided as fools or worse when their plans fall flat. Often, it’s just the benefit of hindsight that makes a great idea turn out to be idiotic.
Well, in hindsight, a Valentines-themed gimmick looks like a pretty bad idea. (more…)
(excerpted from 21st Century Secrets to Effective PR: Tips and Best Practices for Gaining Media Exposure)
What’s the most important thing that any business person should know about working with the media? Relationships matter! I’ve been working with the media for a number of years — both as one of them in my role as a business journalist and on the other side of the relationship as a PR professional. Because I’ve had a foot in both camps for so long, I don’t have the same level of fear or anxiety about working with the media as many often do. I don’t view the media as “the enemy,” but as an ally in most cases. I need the media to help me get important messages out to various audiences. The goal: (more…)
(excerpted from 21st Century Secrets to Effective PR: Tips and Best Practices for Gaining Media Exposure)
In the “old days,” there was advertising and there was PR. Advertising was paid communication that we created about ourselves. PR was communication that we earned through creating relationships and clever pitches to the media gatekeepers who would then share information about us on our behalf. Social media represents a new communication option that has had, and will continue to have, a marked impact on both advertising and PR. (more…)
In a highly publicized conference call, first reported by Forbes, Papa John’s founder John Schnatter used the “N-word” during a discussion between Papa John’s executives and marketing agency Laundry Service. What followed was weeks of turmoil where Schnatter first stepped down as chairman of the Papa John’s board of directors, then said his decision to step down was a mistake, and then filed a lawsuit against the company he founded for what he describes as the “heavy-handed” way he was treated. The company’s stock has (more…)
For any business, getting your name out there in the marketplace and in front of potential customers is crucial for bringing in revenue. This is particularly true for new or small businesses that don’t have much, if any, name recognition. This is where public relations, or “PR,” can be extremely beneficial; it’s a low-cost, high-impact means of generating awareness, preference and driving business to your doorstep or website.
Here are some important things to know about PR and how you can put it to work for you. (more…)
Thought leadership is something we talk about a lot, and for good reason: it can be a great marketing vehicle—if done correctly.Because content marketing is so prevalent these days, creating and disseminating content across a wide range of channels (traditional and digital) is more cost-effective than ever before. And people are hungry for useful, relevant content.
There have been some long, lengthy and actually quite interesting (for communication nerds like me, anyway) discussions in LinkedIn and other groups about the proper terminology for a commonly used communication tool designed to generate interest from the media — is it a “press” release, a “news” release, a “media” release or something else? Truth be told, it probably doesn’t matter what we call it — what really matters, pointed out the pragmatists in the group — is whether or not the desired results are achieved. And that created an entirely separate discussion!
Regardless of what you call it, is the practice of sending out self-proclaiming statements via “snail” mail or, now, email, a thing of the past? Are there better, more effective means of generating media attention? The answer is yes, and no… (more…)
Public relations can be a tricky business. Issues can emerge very quickly and unexpectedly, and just as quickly become very public. Both experienced PR professionals, as well as non-professionals forced into a PR role from time to time, have to think on their feet, acting on both instinct and experience. Particularly in a lightening-fast communication environment, it’s not surprising that there are often mistakes made by PR professionals and others in the public eye. (more…)
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