Working With a Media Relations Firm - the Greatest Misconceptions II
II. I Can Only Work With A Public Relations Firm Who Specializes In My Field.
Whereas I would rather hire a PR firm that had some knowledge in my particular specialty, I would never discount a company purely because they had no previous experience in the field. I would rather hire a company that firmly understands media relations than one who understands my field or profession. The downside is that a firm with no previous experience in your field is probably not as well connected with the producers, writers, or editors that cover your business. But a good firm can always learn. Your primary concern is whether the firm you hire fully understands their own business. Although every campaign is different, in many ways all campaigns are remarkably similar. The tools and procedures remain pretty constant. Find a person or company that truly understands media relations, knows what is required to place a story, and knows how to develop story ideas, write releases, and make follow-up calls. Those are your primary concerns. If they understand the process and know how to implement a campaign, you’ll be okay. The rest they can learn.
Believing you can only work with PR firms who specialize in your field is perhaps the biggest misconception there is. Whereas there are upsides to working with a firm that specializes, there are also limitations. For example, if a company is too specialized chances are the media contacts they deal with are limited. They might be great a placing you in the most obvious of outlets, but do they have the contacts to widen the bull’s-eye and broaden your media coverage?
The tech boom in the late ’90s best illustrates one of the dangers of hiring individuals that
understand a particular field but do not understand the media or its needs. As the ’90s came to a close we were inundated with stories about dot-com billionaires, the new economy, and high-tech marvels. Although the media fell for a great deal of the hype, most of the tech companies were being run by individuals who had little business savvy and even less marketing savvy. Most didn’t have a clue as to how to implement a media relations campaign. They were the world-changers entranced by their own techno-babble. Instead of hiring media relations experts who could translate this babble into plain English they hired tech experts to write their releases and pitch the media.
The results were as confusing as they were amusing. The techno-babble floodgates opened with releases about dynamic collaboration, extended enterprise processes, supporting a process-based flow beyond the fire wall, etc. In the ’90s, the point of view was basically - “if you don’t understand it too bad. Get out of the way!” Trouble was a lot of the media didn’t understand it either, which meant several good stories went untold and a lot of companies missed huge media opportunities.
Working with a company that is more eclectic in its client-base could end up being a real advantage. A company that represents clients in a variety of fields generally learns how to pitch to a wide range of media contacts. If they’re good at what they do, they have an amazing media rolodex. Your primary focus needs to be on finding a company who truly knows PR. If they’re good, they can learn about your business and launch an effective media campaign, which is the name of the game.
Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
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