How do publicists get coverage in the media? Ask most people and they'll say "by sending out a press release." While some press releases are good for announcing news, most of the time they are over-used. Today's media operates with a leaner staff. Journalists don't have time to read news releases with no news. So don't spend time or money writing and distributing a news release until you ask yourself these questions:
Just because your meetings and events budget has shrunk, you certainly don't want it to look as though you're skimping. Here are a few ideas to keep up your image with less cash:
Don't try to fit your budget within a printed banquet menu. Tell the hotel or caterer what you can afford to spend on each person, and let them customize your menu.
Even if you can't afford shrimp, you don't need to resort to weenies and deviled eggs! Consider a theme party -- like Mexican Fiesta or Italian -- that costs less without anyone noticing.
When serving hors d'oeuvres at cocktail receptions, offer napkins but no plates. Guests will tend to eat less.
Whenever possible, order food and beverages on a consumption basis, rather than a per-person basis. This way, the hotel buys back unopened items such as sodas, cereals, yogurts, etc.
Ask if the venue allows you to handle the beverages -- you can save a bundle by buying your own liquor in bulk.
If the hotel won't give you a break on room rates, ask for a free continental breakfast delivered to each room. Then you don't have to buy breakfast for the group.
Hire seminar or conference speakers or entertainment in the city where you're meeting, thus eliminating their transportation and lodging costs.
Skip dessert at lunch and serve it instead with the afternoon coffee break. This saves you from having to order food for the break.
Get quotes on audio/visual services outside the hotel. Or deal directly with the AV company the hotel uses to save mark-up charges.
Think about off-peak season to hold your event. You'll probably find better rates and easier negotiating.
Consider eliminating liquor at dinner. Serve guests a glass of champagne or wine as they enter the room, but not throughout the meal.
Re-think having flowers for cocktail tables; most hotels can provide attractive candles at no charge.
Don't be afraid to negotiate everything. Hotels will negotiate room rates and meeting room rentals if your group is large enough or if you promise the hotel early checkouts.
And one final thought on negotiating: Do not commit to the venue early in the process. Keep asking, "If we were to have this event, would you be able to...?"
That's not a typo. It's a wonderful old Yiddish word I'd like to borrow to describe the role of the modern cross-promotion marketing specialist. Tsunoyfporn, pronounced soo-noyeff-paw-ren, translates literally, "to find a mate."
Just for fun, think of today's marketplace as the world's biggest singles bar. Step inside. Everywhere you look there are great looking brands, almost all of them here to meet somebody. Some are looking for long-term relationships. Others just want one dance. There's a group of five over in one corner trying to figure out a way to get everybody involved. Many, though, just sit there wondering how to make the first move.
Time for tsunoyfporn. The matchmaker. The cross-promotion specialist who facilitates the budding relationship.
The best of the truly integrated promotions are typically "arranged" or "brokered" by such a person. They don't have to be employed by an agency, but often that independent role enables them to provide impartial counsel not otherwise available to the partners.
Of course, the agency "tsunoyfporn" is usually employed by one partner, but his or her effectiveness and success is based upon a unique ability to bring people (and brands) together, keep them motivated, and help them give birth to a wonderful program.
In every successful promotional "marriage," the matchmaker employs a bit of magic, a large dose of understanding people and what motivates them, a measure of political acumen, chutzpah (somebody's got to make the first move -- in our business, that's often just picking up the phone), gut-check creativity, absolute honesty and a whole bunch of luck.
Yes, you can do it yourself. Go ahead. Belly up to the bar. Ask for a dance. You'll have fun. You may even get to first base.
But, if you want a long-term, successful marriage, the ancient traditions are always the best.
Tsunoyfporn. The matchmaker. The cross-promotion specialist. It could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
Your product is as good as you can manufacture it. Your sales organization is humming. Your ad campaign is effectively reaching your target markets. But there is still a nagging feeling you ought to be doing more.
You may need a carefully crafted sales promotion, designed to reach and motivate a specific segment of your distribution chain. America's most successful marketers use promotions like football teams use cheerleaders -- to build enthusiasm at critical moments in the campaign.
Promotions aren't just for consumers. Sales are often built simply by developing a promotion to motivate the sales force. And trade programs like dealer loaders or even dealer sweepstakes can work effectively to keep the pipeline filled.
We see these consumer categories as having significant success potential in the years to come:
Cause Marketing By tying into a meaningful cause, companies across America are seeing bottom line sales increases along with enhanced goodwill from these associations.
Sports Event Marketing Americans are sports maniacs. The sports fan market is estimated at over 100 million people. From the local charity golf tournament to the pro football stadium promotion, cagey marketers are winning with sports-oriented events.
Ecotourism Americans can't wait to tour, everywhere from tropical forests to remote mountains, with the objective to both see and save endangered habitats. More than 5 million Americans "ecotoured" in 1990.
A good promotion begins with a big idea. But execution is the key to success. Combine the right big idea with appropriate execution, and you've got sales energy.
When we "ask" a search engine for specific information, do we know if we're really getting the best, most accurate results?
Just about every search engine offers a "pay for inclusion" program, in which results are noted as being "featured listings" or "sponsored matches." The problem is that most users don't know that these top listings are paid for, thus distorting the search ranking results, taking away the overall integrity of your search, and possibly deceiving the user.
The Consequence: The Federal Trade Commission has issued alerts to all search engines asking for clearer disclosure and descriptions of paid placement. Also requested by the FTC is a clearer delineation of paid versus non-paid listings in terms of page prominence, placement, presentation and format.
Several search engines, such as Google and Overture, practice self-imposed editorial reviews when accepting paid sponsorship listings to protect their credibility with end-users and verify that the listing offers information that is relevant to the keyword searched.
A friend of ours said, "IMC" is like apple pie. What's not to like about it? Of course companies want their marketing communications plans to be coordinated under the same general strategies."
If you're nodding your head 'yes', then the next step is to agree that if this was true in the past, it'll be even more important in the future.
To illustrate, think in terms of a Website on the Internet.
A robust Website contains features from the four major marketing communications disciplines: public relations, promotions, advertising and database marketing.
Starting with the initial customer contact point, the home page (the first page and table of contents), the company's image is immediately on stage. Every character, every graphic nuance must be carefully designed - enter the need for the traditional advertising experts - art directors and copywriters.
Next, we need to capture the names and addresses of our visitors. Have they been here before? What do we need to know or already know about them? What do we do with this information once we have it? Ah hah! The database expert.
Now, let's get this visitor involved. A frequent purchaser program? A cross-promotion with another company? Something fun just to keep them coming back? Here's where we need a promotions specialist's talent.
And probably most important, to hold the visitor's interest, how about some editorial copy that entertains while delivering product information? An index of company press releases? Or an index of related editorials?
And what about promoting the site so people know how to find it? Is there a publicist in the house? Is there a media buyer experienced in buying interactive billboards and banners to direct traffic to the site?
The optimum team for building an interactive device such as a Website will have members who deliver the points of view and the skills of the various marketing disciplines.
Then this team must work with people from the sales, distribution, marketing and financial areas in the beginning brainstorming and input sessions to develop a site that truly answers customers' needs.
So back to the premise: To be properly interactive, think integration.
At The Phelps Group, this chart serves as a reminder to us of the elements crucial to our clients' marketing plans. You may find it useful, too.
Why have your customers chosen you?
Chances are it's because of your brand.
Companies make products and services. But consumers buy brands.
And without the consumer there is no brand, because the consumer's perception of the brand is the reality.
Today, quality and a competitive price are expected. So, increasingly, the lack of product differentiation makes it hard for consumers to base buying decisions on anything other than brand image.
Shorter life cycles of products make it dangerous to build brands solely on single products. So our emphasis must be balanced between name brand awareness for the companies and product brands (which could be obsolete tomorrow). This requires long-term brand planning.
Strong brands create opportunities to develop margin advantages. Which, in turn, funds more R&D--and even more brand identity. Brand equity is obviously critical to profitability.
Even though the IRS allows it as an expense, brand building is an important investment. It is your penultimate asset. Your ultimate asset is your customer base.
As marketing professionals, you and I talk about reaching a customer through advertising, publicity and sales promotion. But do consumers really differentiate between them?
When someone is about to choose a restaurant, for example, do they say to themselves, "Now let's see, I've read a positive editorial piece, heard their radio commercial twice, seen a billboard on the way to work and received a price-off sales promotion in the mail. That's a frequency of five, so I guess it's time to try them for lunch."
Of course not.
If the need is there, it's convenient, and the price is right, then encouraging trial purchase boils down to share of mind. And share of mind is the result of frequency and creative power.
So what's the point?
Simply that the message may have a better chance of building frequency and breaking through the customer's "protective media screen" if it's heard in a variety of ways.
This can be achieved with a fullly integrated marketing plan using the proper balance of advertising, sales promotion and publicity.