Pressing Issues
Welcome to this edition of M45 Momentum, a bi-monthly
e-newsletter for the business community featuring tips, trends and trivia from the experts at M45 Marketing Services.
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Whether you regularly utilize the power of the press or rely on it infrequently, learning more about media processes, policies and pitfalls can increase your success when you set out to generate publicity. This issue is devoted to helping you better understand the "pressing issues" that influence whether your news announcement gets the media's attention — or not. 
 
Ron Santo Day a Home Run
When a baseball icon helps start the ball rolling for a major fundraising and publicity campaign, lots of public relations and logistical support come with the territory. That's why a regional healthcare provider called upon M45 when they decided to sponsor an appearance by legendary Chicago Cubs third baseman and WGN broadcaster Ron Santo to help promote their commitment to wellness through healthy endeavors like Little League and other family sporting activities. Santo proved to be a huge draw to kick off the "Build Little Cubs Field" initiative, a plan to build a nearly exact miniature replica of Wrigley Field in Freeport, Illinois. M45 coordinated all aspects of Santo's visit, including agenda planning, media relations, community relations, dignitary scheduling, giveaways and promotional materials, photography, complementary marketing, fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and special events. At the close of the festivities, should-be Hall of Famer Santo proclaimed,
"This was one of the best organized events I have ever been involved with … I hope I can come back for the ribbon cutting!" |
Whether we're tracking down tidbits from Tennessee or an editorial contact in Connecticut, NewsVoyager.com has proven to be a handy resource. According to its Web site, it is the ultimate "newspaper portal," a comprehensive gateway to newspaper Web sites around the world. A very useable and interesting site — check it out!
Journalists and broadcasters are always looking for valuable and attention-getting news. You can help them out — and help yourself at the same time — by making sure your press releases are well-organized, easy-to-read, and most of all, newsworthy. A good primer on writing press releases, this link can help you better understand one of the key tools of self-promotion. Of course, if you want additional help, the professionals at M45 have all the know-how you need. Just give us a call.
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SEPTEMBER 2006
 Putting PR to Work For You |
Having a written public relations strategy is an important business decision you should ponder every year or two. How
can your company use the media to reach its goals? Are you
prepared to deal with the press in the event of a crisis?
Who will be your spokesperson? What are you doing that would
be considered "newsworthy?"
The truth is your business has many opportunities to "toot its horn." Yet you may frequently overlook these opportunities to influence public opinion and create awareness in the marketplace. Some ideas you might be missing include:
- Staff participation in training or seminars
- New employees or employee promotions
- Awards or recognition won by employees, facilities, or product offerings
- New uses for existing products
- New product introductions or capabilities
- New equipment
- Customer testimonials
- New initiatives or goals
- A move or remodeling project
- An anniversary or other milestone
- Internet-related PR possibilities or blogs
Whether you are proactively sending out press releases or reactively responding to queries from newspapers, magazines, radio stations, local TV stations or network affiliates, what you say, how you say it, and who you say it to all dramatically impact the amount of coverage you receive and how accurately it is portrayed. Ultimately, marketplace perception will judge your PR success.
Are you missing out on PR opportunities? Need help for a one-time promotion or a full-scale press conference? Do you have "bad news" that needs to be managed? M45 has generated a plethora of PR plans from local initiatives to national campaigns. If you'd like us to generate some ideas for you to implement — or need help executing your own plan — give us a call to discuss your pressing issues.
VOTE:
When was the last time you sent out a press release?
 Voting results from last issue:
In our Name Game issue, we asked readers to vote on whether or not they liked their first names. It turns out most people think their parents did a pretty good job:
89% responded yes and 11% responded no. |
Wonder whether the technically hip are still turning pages? According to the Newspaper Association of America, 58% of consumers who own a handheld/palmheld read a hardcopy daily newspaper and 63% of consumers who own a laptop/notebook read a hardcopy Sunday newspaper. For more trends, see http://www.naa.org/Trends-and-Numbers.aspx.
 According to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, overall staffing in newsrooms fell about 4% from 2001 to 2005 — making editors even busier and more dependent on receiving good editorial and photographic content from submissions. For more information, see http://www.naa.org/thesource/25.asp.
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"PR is extremely important, and being able to use it in the right way means everything. You have to market your success. "
-Lee Haney
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