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

With gas on a constant rise, it has put many workers in a bind with long commutes to work. Many have turned to carpooling/vanpooling or technology. Commuters are now able to be just as productive from home as they would be from work due to constant technological advances.

These new means for commuters have greatly helped many workers trying to save some of their paycheck for themselves and not the pump. Companies such as VPSI INC, Zipcar, and sites such as Goloco.com are flourishing due to the high demand of vanpooling services. Commuters have reported cost savings of $150-$200 a month, and now the government is even helping commuters save on gas. Through the Internal Revenue Service’s Tax-Free Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits, commuters are now eligible to receive as much as $115 per month in non-taxable benefits for commuting to work or for vanpool services. Another bonus with the fringe benefit program is that it can provide up to $220 a month for commuters to deal with parking fees. Employees can be eligible for both of these, which equals up to $335 a month for commuting/parking costs.

As if these commuting services weren’t enough, companies are now providing the option of a four-day workweek due to the rise of gas. Near the end of June, Oakland County, Michigan approved the four day work week. County Executive L. Brooks Patterson proposed the idea in May as a way for employees to cut their commuting costs by 20%. With this, employees work four days a week for ten hours rather than the traditional five days a week for eight hours.

Technology in the computer field has clearly made telecommuting more efficient, but lately the advances made with cell phones and PDA’s have made things even more convenient. A lot of workers who need e-mail and information on the go have turned to devices such as the Blackberry, Treo, iPhone, etc. Most of these cell phones/ PDA’s come email ready with accounts from their service provider. Whereas others can simply use the Internet and check it off sites such as google, yahoo, etc. Perhaps the most technological advanced phone, the APPLE iPhone 3G, has 3G speed and can give employees the feeling of having everything they need for work in their pocket. It also includes Microsoft exchange, which allows one to integrate their phone into the enterprise in which they work. This allows IT professionals to flawlessly integrate iPhone into their corporate environments. Due to its support with Microsoft word, Excel, and PowerPoint, PDF, JPEG, and iWork attachments can be viewed how they would on a computer.

These new means of technology and transportation is helping businesses and companies all over the U.S. maintain their workers. As gas prices continue to rise, alternative methods will continue to develop so workers won’t feel pain at the pump.

Phil

Eiler Communications is a public relations and marketing communications firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan, servicing established and emerging companies in the technology, healthcare, biotech and financial service industries.

We are a PR firm that provides products and services in five areas: positioning, writing, media relations, corporate communications and special projects. The firm is 20 years old, headquartered in Ann Arbor, and serves clients across the Midwest.