Advertising and Public Relations

Many people not in the journalism field get advertising and public relations confused. Aboutpublicrelations.net claims one of the main differences between public relations and advertising is the extent of the message control. Public relations practitioners differentiate themselves from advertising by controlling their message after it has been released to the world. Advertisers, however, cannot control their message once it has entered the wide world of media, or the sales it produces.
A specific way both advertisers and public relations practitioners can get their message out, is by using other events to promote their product or organization. For instance, just recently were the Academy Awards. Havaiana Shoe Company paired with the film awards show to promote their casual footwear. Each award nominee was not only hoping for a chance to win the “Gold Man”, but also received a golden pair of sparkling Havaiana flip flips in a gift package which give homage to the 65 years of Oscar.
These baskets can add up to quite the hefty price. Companies send these freebie gifts to nominees in the hope they will be photographed with a famous star or starlet. By directly giving the gifts to the stars, it ensures that it will go directly to the hands of the person intended. Though, celebrities are not the only ones who desire these pricey baskets. Auctions for the gifts can go on sale more than six months before the event and can cost up to twice the net worth of the items.
Public relations practitioners can use big events, such as the Oscars to promote an object or company if needed. By attracting celebrities, certain organizations can obtain their end goal.

How to pitch to bloggers

How to pitch to bloggers
Carrie Musch

Blogs have created valuable opportunities for the public relations discipline. They allow PR professionals to communicate with target publics in a unique way. Professionals who participate in online conversations engage their publics and are in a better position to influence them.

So, how do you get bloggers to blog about your client? Follow these four rules and you’ll be a blog superstar.

Be blog worthy. Bloggers have little tolerance (even lower than journalists) because their thoughts aren’t edited. Attracting a blogger is easy if you’re behind a great company or product.

Know your blogger. Your pitch must be relevant to the blog, which means researching more than just the title of the blog. The best way to determine whether your pitch will be a good fit is to subscribe and get involved. This will also help you make connections before you need them. Ogilvy PR’s Web site has a collection of feeds from some of the most influential blogs out there. Linking IS the sincerest form of flattery.

Be persistent. E-mails are received and forgotten. Respectfully send follow-up e-mails to get a conversation going. Don’t be offended if a blogger isn’t receptive to your first pitch. Keep subscribing to their blog and you’re sure to be successful at another pitch.

Schwag is good. Schwag for bloggers is a great marketing investment. Bloggers don’t make a lot of money from their blogging efforts so gifts can go a long way. You can’t buy bloggers, but you can give them an excellent opportunity to post a photo with some honest commentary, which is why the first rule is so important.

The New Press Release

It is 2008, and we are in the age of the Internet. Every commercial boasts a web site address, shopping from the comfort of your desk chair is as easy as the click of a mouse and everyone and their mom (and dad and brother and sister and even grandma and grandpa!) have an e-mail address. Therefore, it is no surprise to find that the days of paper press releases being walked and mailed to newsrooms are on the way out in favor of this high tech option. Public relations professionals can find e-mail an invaluable outlet for their press releases, but with more than 215 million Internet users in the United States alone, it is extremely possible that newsrooms are inundated with information.
According to the Media Relations Maven, also known as Margo Mateas, the president of the Public Relations Training Company, there are several things that will make a press release stand out among the masses. In her February Tactics article, Mateas outlined the basics for submitting e-mail press releases. Prominent use of key words, article and section allusions and links are among the specifics mentioned in the article.
The e-mail press release has far more possibilities than its older paper counterpart. Public relations professionals can absolutely use this technology to their advantage by tweaking some of their basic press release writing tactics. With the ability to embed images, include links for more in depth information and the ease of accessibility, e-mail press releases may soon be an indispensable tool for contemporary public relations.

For further reading:
How To Write An Efficient E-mail Press Release
Sending Press Releases Via E-mail
Press Release Writing and E-mail Tips