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Here are a few tips on how to reach your target audiences through special events. Please see some of our tips and tactics below.
Tip One: - Celebrate a holiday or anniversary.
- Conduct a poll or survey.
- Create a contest.
Tip Two: - In the current day and age, community relations are of growing importance to law firms. Because society expects corporations to be socially responsible, becoming active in the community is to everyone’s advantage.
- Community relations activities can include exhibitions, celebrations, ceremonies, speeches, sponsorship of nonprofit organizations, pro bono work, official representation at functions and participation in community activities.
For more important tips on using PR to reach your target audiences through special events, read Chapter 6 in Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Excerpt from Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Copyright 2007. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. To purchase the book, click here.
Pitching news to the average American in an engaging way is a skill that all PR specialists have been perfecting for years. The underlying question that begs to be asked is; do we really know who the average American is? An article from the Los Angeles Times titled “In Search of the Average American” by Breanna Maloney explores this question and offers us a few new and entertaining statistics on the average American.
Did you know… - The average American can name all Three Stooges but not all three branches of the federal government.
- The average American lives within three miles of a McDonalds
- The average American believes nature is sacred or spiritual but spends 95% of his time indoors.
- Sixty percent of Americans eat peanut butter at least once a week, and the average American eats three pounds of it a year.
These indiscriminate statistics, among others, were all compiled by author Kevin O’Keefe in his most recent book The Average American: The Extraordinary Search for the Nation’s Most Ordinary Citizen. For his research, O’Keefe criss-crossed the country for more than two years and knocked down “many of the myths about Americans.”
For example, “We have this image that the average American is lacking in smarts,” O’Keefe says, “but in this country, the average IQ scores have increased three points per decade since nationwide IQ testing began in the 1920s.” Additionally, he disproves the age old assumption of the average American as someone who lives on a farm in Middle America. “The last time that most Americans lived in rural areas was about 100 years ago. Most average Americans live in metropolitan areas,” says O’Keefe.
Kevin O’Keefe initially held high-profile jobs in the sports and entertainment industries, designing countless national marketing and public relations campaigns to reach the average American. More of O’Keefe’s notable research and findings are in the article, In search of the average American.
We found O’Keefe’s research on the average American interesting as it is so very important for all firms and businesses to target and intimately know their audiences.
In the Career Development section of The Strategist spring 2008 issue, Robert L. Dilenschneider discusses the importance of experience in the realm of PR, stating that there is “no substitute for invaluable experience.” Dilenschneider is the founder and principal of the Dilenschneider Group, Public Relations firm where the average employee is older than 50.
Nevertheless, Dilenschneider acknowledges the ever-changing career climate and divulges new “power rules” for aged PR Pros. Dilenschneider says, “technology is an area that young people take to naturally and an older professional would do well to sharpen his or her skills.” He recommends professionals should comprehensively understand how to use search engines, blogs, iPod downloads or mass Internet postings.
On the other hand, Dilenschneider recognizes the downside of the recent high-tech revolution, sighting too many people with “minimal writing skills” who “do not take the time to think logically and critically.” Therefore, it is crucial to “connect directly with people” and to have the ability to “fashion information into a compelling story or argument.”
Mr. Dilenschneider has authored eight books, the most recent being 50 Plus!-Critical Career Decisions for the Rest of Your Life. Additional tips from his book can be found in Robert L. Dilenschneider’s article The New Power Rules PR Pros Should Know About.
PR Week’s article titled PR Spamming Doesn’t Create Results by Melisa LaBancz-Bleasdale, in the May 2008 issue, reminds readers about the importance of increasing media coverage through targeted pitching. The article demonstrates that sending a mass media message, known as “spam”, is an ineffective way to reach your audience. “Spamming” is often defined as an e-mail or press release that gets distributed to whole media lists which are outdated or lack the knowledge about fundamental interests.
Most importantly, spamming rarely results in coverage of any kind, decreasing the chance to showcase your clients’ news. PR professionals who spam do not produce results or uphold their integrity. LaBancz-Bleasdale asks the readers to put themselves in our client’s shoes and decide, ‘Would the CEO of a Fortune 100 company send 300 indiscriminate invites for taquitos and martinis?’
Melisa also included additional tips in order for successful pitching, including: - Personalize your pitches.
- Understand the company/product/issues you are pitching, because you only get one chance to capture the writer’s attention.
- Always follow through.
For further guidance and insight on how to avoid spamming and produce more front page results, read the full article PR Spamming Doesn’t Create Results.
The Iraq War and the U.S. Economy are undisputedly two of the most prominent issues of 2008. Amidst all other issues in our society, health care ranks third according to ABC News Senior National Security Correspondent Jonathan Karl. Karl recently spoke at the PRSA Health Academy in Chicago and the PR Tactics periodical covered his research regarding PR practices surrounding health care coverage.
Besides the fact that, “people are clearly fed up with the system,” Karl noted that, “health care is by far the issue that people are most self-centered about. They want to know, ‘What’s going to serve my best interests?’” Nonetheless, PR professionals are challenged by the “dry, academic nature” and lack of “visual impact” health care proposals offer.
Therefore, Karl emphasizes the importance of getting away “from the abstract policy papers” and instead illustrating “a case study with real people, including how it actually affects somebody who’s got a health care issue.” Although Karl warns his audience that often reporters can make mistakes.
“Too many reporters don’t do their homework. Most reporters are generalists, so they often know nothing about a story subject until they cover it.” Therefore, Karl advises PR professionals to double check that the reporter understands the health care story before assembling a package for the reporter.
In the end, Karl reminds us to not get angry but instead be gentle with reporters to maintain a strong relationship. Karl’s speech offers valuable counsel to PR professionals on topics of dealing with the media and health care issues that we thought we would share.
In this week’s issue of PR Week under The Agency Business section, I stumbled upon an article exploring the benefits of PR pros having MBAs, especially in today’s struggling economy. “PR pros with MBAs are better positioned to make a compelling case for preserving the marketing budget during lean times.”
According to Lori Teranishi, who has earned her MBA and is the CEO of Van Prooyen Greenfield, C-Suite Executives see potential in business degree-holding professionals to be “able to advise on strategy from a business perspective” and to have important “quantitative skills.” For example, Lisa Novak, SVP at Ruder Finn West, recently earned an MBA by attending evening courses and says the most valuable skill she gained was “the ability to demonstrate to a CEO how a campaign will affect the bottom line and measure the ROI for PR Programs.”
Geoff Mordock, VP at Fleishman-Hillard, agrees that “since obtaining his MBA his counsel to clients has become more strategic” and takes “a more holistic approach.” He adds that he finds he’ll “interface with the CFO and general counsel more often than marketing.”
Finally, Kristen Osolind, CEO of Re: Invention Marketing, admits she, “gives preference to candidates with MBAs because of the analytical tools learned and networking connections from MBA programs.”
As a near-college graduate without intention to acquire a MBA, I found this report valuable and noteworthy. Click here to read the entire article.
My Father, Richard F. Furia, Esquire, is one of the best sources of blog ideas. He’s always sending me great material. This morning, he sent me a few articles regarding U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno’s 44-page opinion in the GMAC Bank v. HTFC Corp. case. (Opinion: http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Robreno.pdf)
In this case, Judge Robreno levied sanctions of more than $29,000 on a lawyer and his client after finding that a deposition was a "spectacular failure" because of the Aaron Wider, the CEO of HTFC’s, hostile and abusive conduct during a 12 hour deposition. The CEO dropped the F-bomb73 times, interrupted counsel, gave unnecessarily protracted answers, interposed his own objections and wrongfully refused to answer questions. His attorney, Joseph R. Ziccardi of Chicago, did nothing to stop his client's conduct, and in fact, snickered at his client's behavior.
There’s a great article in The Legal Intelligencer by Shannon Duffy titled Lawyer and Client Sanctioned Over Client's Outbursts that goes into the details of the opinion.
Attorneys need to counsel their clients (and themselves) from the very start of a case that anything can become fodder for media coverage. It is imperative to remember everyday public relations includes the way you dress, the way you speak, and even the way you react when even one other person in public is watching.
Gina F. Rubel, Esq.
Author: Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers
http://www.furiarubel.com/
The Bucks County Women's Journal, an educational and editorial newspaper providing categorized and objective information targeted to women, has featured Gina Rubel in the February/March 2008 issue - Bucks County Women In Profile section.
Published six times a year, the Journal serves its readers with valued information in a wide variety of special columns and features. It also offers local businesses the unique opportunity to reach an important, targeted consumer group through a focused educational and informational approach.
The Bucks County Women’s Journal is an essential resource for business women in Bucks County. For more information on Gina's profile, click here.
Last night I had the pleasure to attend the Philadelphia Bar Association's Annual Chancellor's Reception in honor of A. Michael Pratt, only the third African American to serve as Chancellor in the 206-year history of the13,000 member Philadelphia Bar Association.
The event took place in the Grand Ballroom of the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue from 5 to 7 p.m. but it went on much longer. When I arrived at 6 p.m. the receiving line was snaked through two hallways and the hotel security were holding individuals on the first floor waiting for the line to subside. I just kept thinking, "Go Michael." It was great to see such a large and diverse turn out at such a great networking event.
Networking is the quintessential public relations tool. And what a night it was. I ran into colleagues that I haven't seen in many years - as far back as grade school!
Some of the other notables that I had the chance to see were Immediate-Past Chancellor Jane Leslie Dalton, Chancellor-Elect Sayde J. Ladov and Vice Chancellor Scott F. Cooper, Past Chancellors Carl Primavera, Abraham C. Reich, and Andrew A. Chirls, my dear friend and legal PR pro, Dan Cirucci, and my loving father Richard F. Furia, just to name a few. Needless to say, it's a must attend event!
According to a press release issued by Mark Tarasiewicz of the Philadelphia Bar Association, "The annual Chancellor's Reception has been a longstanding Philadelphia tradition. Even the city's busiest and most successful legal luminaries as well as community, city and state leaders patiently wait in a long line to wish the Chancellor good luck in the year ahead. At times, the line of nearly1,000 well-wishers will flow through the ballroom foyer, around corridors and down the escalator that leads guests to the ballroom level." How right indeed.
Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” I can’t agree more – and one of those thoughtful, committed citizens was DeAnn White.
On December 6, 2007, I was honored by my peers in the public relations industry with the PRSA Philadelphia Chapter award named in DeAnn White's memory. I began my acceptance speech with the amazing words of Margaret Mead. I wish to share my thoughts of DeAnn as I am so blessed to have been touched by her story and memory.
My words were as follows:
The DeAnn White Achievement Award honors the memory of a Philadelphia journalist and PR professional whose life was cut short at age 25 in the tragic Pier 34 collapse. DeAnn was not only one of our peers, but she was a trailblazer for African-American women . . . a true role model. She was an advocate for education, children, her Baptist ministry, and the Multiple Sclerosis Society -- to name a few. Just the thought, let alone the reality, of being bestowed this honor humbles me. And while I am delighted and honored to be the 2007 recipient of the DeAnn White Award, it is not about me – it is about others. It is about the people who work in public service. It is about the countless hours we all donate to our community. It is about remembering the legacy of DeAnn White. And it is about fostering the ideals of giving back in our community. I share this recognition with everyone in this room – as so many of you give back in so many ways. Since this award is only given once a year, I hold it in trust on behalf of our profession. …. This honor is a true testament to how much local public relations professionals value philanthropy and volunteerism. This is an award in memory of a fallen hero, DeAnn White and of our industry’s shared commitment to giving back. I will keep DeAnn's family and friends in my prayers as I know that love is a true gift from God and her family's loss is one that is incomprehensible.
There's one productivity expert that I've worked with who has made a huge difference in my life and she's Neen James. Check out her blog at http://neenjames.blogspot.com/. The bottom line is this: if you want to get more done in less time, make more money and sleep better - just give Neen a call.
Time Magazine surveyed ‘Happiness on the Job’ across America to find what professions make people the most happy.
In the spirit of the PRLawyer blog, we were curious to research the “happiness” factors of lawyers in America. It turns out that 43% of lawyers are “very happy” with their job. However, only 22.8% of legal assistants reported that they were “very happy.”
We sense a need for some internal public relations in American firms to boost morale. There is no better time than the holiday season! Need some suggestions…let us know?
To see where other professions ranked, check out the article here.
I was reading the August 27th, 2007 edition of PR Week and came across an article by Randi Schmelzer that could not be anymore relevant to the public relations profession and to professionals everywhere, “The most vital reputation to manage is your own.”
The article outlines three main points which are relevant to firms everywhere:
· Reputation management is vital to long term success
· Representing controversial issues or people can have lasting negative effects on a firms reputation
· Keeping relationships intact is often more important than accepting lucrative contracts
Head the warning signs and stick to who you want to be, who you are and how you want others to perceive you.
My parents always say, “You are who you keep around you”.
There are so many ways to say thank you. It is personal relations, not public relations. And today, we all seem to be so busy, that we forget how easy it is to give thanks.
This weekend, I spent time with a friend from my childhood who was preparing to compete in the SheRox Triathlon in Philadelphia. She is from out of state so we spent the night in my hometown, Philly. Her thoughtfulness is what I want to share: She gave me a wrapped gift and asked me not to open it until I was home. It is a book edited by Marlo Thomas titled, The Right Words at the Right Time, Vol. 2: Your Turn! And in the book was a thank you card placed in a chapter about friendship. This is something I will forever cherish. I started reading the book last night and it reminds me of Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s excellent. As I was reading, I learned that all royalties go to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which was founded by Marlo Thomas’ father. Yet another added bonus to this lovely thank you . . . .
It really is the small things in life that are important. Hand write a thank you card after someone gives of their time. Send something meaningful that shows them you care, and remember it is appropriate to say thank you even when you are thanking someone for a thank you gift.
So in the spirit of thank yous, thank you for reading ThePRLawyer blog.
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