The potential placement is also directly dependent upon how quickly and efficiently your publicist or PR agency can help media secure placement. Media relations is crucial. Your publicist's job is to make reporter/editor/producer's job as easy and as effortless as possible - which will lead to quicker and more numerous placements for your business.

When it comes to publicity pitches, facts are: placement is totally up to discretion of particular media outlet; and very few media responses are immediate. I have in fact had media outlets respond even before media release seemed to settle in fax machine tray. Conversely, I also had one media outlet that responded 17 months after a pitch. (I had to ask reporter what YEAR was on release!) NO placement is guaranteed, but you can definitely increase odds. Even if your product/business if a dead-on perfect match for a media outlet's editorial profile, you are not guaranteed placement without some hard work and media relations. That's why timing of your publicity pitch is so critical. Have your publicist get your pitch to media, allow editorial staff to digest it a bit, and strategically and professionally "rattle cage" over next several weeks to generate as many placements as possible.

What we are trying to do is plant seeds in media outlets' editorial garden so they will bear fruit -- in form of articles/show placements -- continuously over next several weeks and months. Like plant that comes from a seed, publicity placements can also grow roots and lead to other arterial media placements in other media outlets. Given right tending, publicity seeds you plant over next few weeks/months will indeed germinate and you'll reap a wonderful harvest for your business well past first quarter of next year.

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Every good PR goal needs an equally good strategy showing you how to achieve your goal. But when it comes to matters of opinion and perception, there are only three choices available to you: reinforce existing perception/ opinion, create perception where there is none, or change existing perception. Just be certain your choice of strategies is a natural fit for your new PR goal.

Your public relations people should be especially useful to you for next step, writing a message positioned to alter perception among members of target audience. You should, however, be closely involved in putting message together. It must be not only persuasive, but compelling as well. And it must be very clear as to why offending perception is simply wrong, or unfair, including how you propose to correct, clarify or change it. I’m certain you will agree that, as you make case for your point of view, you must be believable.

No easy task to alter what people have come to believe, but certainly worth effort.

Your public relations people will help you deliver your message to attention of members of your key target audience. They will identify communications tactics to help you do job. As they will tell you, you have a broad choice of tactics such as newsletters, radio and newspaper interviews, newsworthy special events, brochures, speeches and scores of others. The only caveat here, check carefully that your chosen tactics have a record of reaching people like those who make up your target audience.

In short order, all concerned will wonder aloud whether progress is being made toward public relations goal. Obviously, to satisfy yourself that offending perceptions are actually being altered, leading to behavior change you desire, you must remonitor perceptions of members of your target audience.

The difference this time is, you will be watching carefully for clear indications that perceptions are, in fact, being altered.

Now, if you’re not pleased with rate of progress, add a few more communications tactics, as well as using them more frequently, to increase impact.

So, as a manager, you’ve pretty much ignored those important outside audiences until now. But, hopefully, these comments have convinced you to ramp up your unit’s public relations effort and pursue behavior changes you really need and want, and that lead directly to achieving your department, division or subsidiary’s objectives.

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Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com