The call came into my office and
voice on other end was very energetic, almost giddy: “I have finalized my marketing budget and need your help launching an advertising campaign for my new product,” he breathed. “Congratulations,” I replied, “but before we implement an ad campaign, I want to make sure you have explored potential PUBLICITY opportunities that could generate some cost-efficient media exposure first.” Then, silence. “I never thought about that,” he sighed. “Frankly, I don’t know much about it.”He is not alone. It’s a common conversation. Although many entrepreneurs or business people know a bit about publicity or media exposure, majority of them simply don’t understand full benefits of “publicity placements” or how to go about generating them successfully. Publicity placements have always been a cost-efficient way to market a product/business and generate clients or customers, but because of lack of knowledge or a misunderstanding of what publicity is and does, many entrepreneurs don’t take full advantage of publicity opportunities -- and that can lead to missed marketing chances.
I recently surveyed a few dozen business owners and entrepreneurs in some newsgroups and business chat rooms about their knowledge of “publicity placements” in media. I found out that only 37% knew that a simple “product profile” in a magazine was generated as a result of publicity efforts. Most thought company had paid media outlet to run feature, much like an ad. And of that 37%, less than half of them knew HOW to generate a similar placement.
Another interesting fact, because of recent slowdown in economy, expensive advertising budgets have been slashed. As a result, many businesses, like your competitors, are turning to publicity/PR campaigns as a more affordable means of marketing to compete with other companies. Here are some ways to use publicity placements to help your business:
Editorial Placements/Media Notification What some entrepreneurs might not realize is that we see editorial placements from publicity efforts everyday in media: product profiles, feature articles and contributed by-lined articles in magazines, newspapers, trade industry newsletters or on TV/radio/cable newscasts & shows. This is not advertising, this is “EDITORIAL Placement” or “Media Notification” of a product, business or industry expert. Notify appropriate media that your newsworthy product is on market or your business is offering a unique new service and let them run a feature placement that will spread that message to your consumer market. These placements can detail your product or business very effectively, giving consumers some objective, pertinent information that may well entice them to become future customers.
These editorial placements are looked upon much more credibly than ad placements. That is not a slam on advertising. Paying for advertising placements is indeed an effective way to market your product. But fact is, a positive editorial placement such as a product profile in a magazine or a newspaper can be much more persuasive than a glossy, over-hyped advertisement – and a fraction of cost. My point is that editorial placements are an often time overlooked marketing vehicle for a business, and that entrepreneurs should understand full benefits of these placements to make most of their marketing efforts.
