The Byline: PR and Marketing Insights from Eiler Communications

Picture this; your mother is urging the boy next door to ask you out on a date. She is trying to convince him what a pretty and special child you are… Hmm..This might be true, but the information source seems to be a little biased, and after all, she is your mother. But, if your other neighbor approaches the boy next door and hails you as that sweet and pretty darling your mother has claimed you to be, you have just been backed with third party credibility, and that is a fundamental strategy of public relations.

In applying this scenario to business, you are the product, your mother is the business that is advertising you, the boy next door is a customer, and your neighbor is the third party credibility (newspaper journalist, magazine reviewer, health reporter, etc.). The boy next door can’t trust alone in your mother’s advertisement, she would never advertise anything negative about her own creation. With another opinion, the boy next door would be more willing to take you out on a date. It’s an easy concept to understand, that is why companies need public relations firms to help find third party/editorial credibility through releasing news and advances to the right media and objective journalists who then carry out message to the target customers. Public Relations help find that neighbor to give you the credibility that you need.

What customers want from any business is to be able to trust that what they are buying is credible. People are much more likely to believe a media source rather than a paid advertisement. This is why PR is so crucial to any successful business.

Connie Chung

Reading Rebecca’s blog entry of Good to Great harkened me to the busload of people that we have had on our staff throughout our 20+ years.

I has been a very interesting time observing how people work, are they a team player, leader and a good PR practitioner. Can they deliver for Eiler Communications clients the caliber of service which we strive to deliver.

Some have been able to stay on the bus and others were off.

I think that it is inherent to human nature to want to succeed personally and professionally. Some are able to achieve in both realms and some in only one. Personal satisfaction is what really counts.

We have had several members of our firm become highly successful in their careers. Larry and I have seven children and have a strong nurturing component to the culture of our business. I am sure that is part of the reason that we have always had a young staff who have blossomed from the guidance and mentoring they have received. We have had staff who have entered careers in the corporate area, one started his own PR firm in DC.

What makes these folks unique is that they maintained humility and recognized the basis of their growth. We are all products of our influencers, experiences and opportunities. These folks flourished in their careers giving credit to those who nurtured and influenced them. They will stay on any bus they chose. They acknowledge their foundation.

Sometimes and fortunately not often, individuals develop exaggerated self-pride or confidence and a sense of arrogance. Someone like this climbs the ladder of success without any acknowledgment of how that success was achieved. By doing so each of the rungs of the ladder is destroyed leaving them no way to climb down. They delude themselves into thinking that they were self-made talent. These folks do not stay on the bus for long.

Posted by Sandy

Beavers work assiduously to build their dams.

They’re never quite satisfied with the type of wood they gnaw, its length, its fit with other pieces of the their dam.

It’s like that with PR.

Most companies are never quite satisfied with their results from PR.

They expect new sales, new knowledge, greater awareness.

They try to do it alone or by telling their PR people or outside counsel how to do the work.

We listen, then design and build sturdy dams. Meant to serve a long time. Meant to be refined to adjust to the river’s flow, more beavers coming into the river, fewer fish to eat.

Our dams are smashing PR programs that help clients move into new markets, introduce new products, reach key people and organizations to create interest and help them decide to go our clients’ way.

We’ve built a lot of dams in 20 years for b-to-b, direct to consumer, financial services, high tech, investor and marketing PR.

We train. We advise. We do. Dams are our only product. How about a dam for you?

We’ll send you an essay on “Reasons Why PR Surpassed Advertising in Business Marketing.”

E-mail me: larry@eilerpr.com

Posted by Larry

“There’s no accepted definition of PR these days but we think firms could define themselves by what they do.” Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter, The authoritative source for the PR field, February 15, 2006.

“As advertising struggles, PR steps into the breach.” The Economist. January 21, 2005.

The credibility, believability of PR, is high and has been rising for some years.

But what is it?

We define it now in terms of deliverables, our products. Go over this visual of our products for three minutes. We think you will no longer wonder what PR is.

Please double click on the grid for easier read.

Larry Eiler

Achieving success with a PR firm hinges on two-way communication. A PR agency is meant to be an extension of your organization and an effective PR campaign is not executed in a vacuum. Constant communication and dissemination of information between the agency and the client are vital to success. Over the course of 20 years in this business the successful agency-client relationships are the ones that follow these guidelines:

Work with the agency from the beginning to establish clear expectations for the PR program and a clearly defined and timely approval process for materials.

Provide the agency, in a timely manner, information needed to obtain results - access to company executives and referenceable customers, information on the customer’s application of the technology, information on new products, new business relationships and other newsworthy events and functions.

Include the agency as a strategic member of the sales and marketing team. Include agency members in sales and marketing meetings, copy the agency on sales and marketing materials to be used with customers or that reference important events which may influence the company.

Maintain a constant flow of open, honest communication between the agency and the client in order to address opportunities and problems, as well as successes and concerns.

Work with the agency in a collaborative relationship, with the client as the technology expert and the agency as the public relations expert.

Posted by Sandy

We thought it most appropriate in the age of new media to launch our first “blog” for our 20th Anniversary. Over 20 years we have had some great clients and delivered outstanding services for their public relations needs in Michigan and across the nation.

We have serviced clients with media relations, marketing needs, media training, special events, annual reports, white papers, positioning, surveys, case studies, press releases to always meet their individual needs whether it be a project or a full service public relations campaign. We set ourselves apart by delivering optimum results and client satisfaction.

We want to thank all of our past, present and future clients.
Sandy Eiler