Tips to Make News Releases Professional

May 16th, 2012 by Shelby Kraus Categories: Public Relations Tags: henry russell bruce, hrb, press releases, Public Relations, shelby kraus

As PR professionals we spend a lot of time learning journalistic techniques and rules to demonstrate to reporters that, even though we may not have a journalism degree, we follow their unparallel dedication to the craft. In Journalism 101, a student begins to learn about AP Style (Associated Press). This is the writing standard to which all journalists adhere to…and you should too.

It is also what public relations professionals should adhere to as well if you want to be taken seriously. Sometimes clients don’t understand why we use Calif. for California instead of the postal abbreviate of CA. AP style is the reason why.

Here are some simple tips to make your news release professional in the eyes of a journalist.

States

STANDING ALONE: Spell out the names of the 50 U.S. states when they stand alone in textual material.
EIGHT NOT ABBREVIATED: The names of eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.

Titles

Capitalize formal titles when used immediately before a name. Lowercase formal titles when used alone or in constructions that set them off from a name by commas. (i.e. “…said Shelby Kraus, vice president of public relations.”)
Use lowercase at all times for terms that are job descriptions rather than formal titles.

Numerals

Spell out first through ninth when they indicate sequence in time or location: first base, the First Amendment, he was first in line.
Starting with 10th use figures: she sold 10 pineapples.

Here are a few words to watch when you are writing as well.

Regardless, not irregardless
Loose instead of lose
Preventative vs. preventive
Expecially vs. especially
Wary vs. Weary
Advice vs. Advise
Assure in lieu of ensure
Supposedly vs. supposably
Titled vs. entitled.

You may think it is too much work to follow special rules created by the journalism community, but I have seen editors throw away news releases because they are unprofessional in their mind. To stay on top of the game, you may want to subscribe to the AP Stylebook (a guide to writing like a journalist) online at apstylebook.com.

Shelby Kraus
Vice President, Public Relations
Account Manager
800-728-2656, ext. 125

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HTML5 Rich Media Ads Are Supported By Google Ads

March 1st, 2012 by Kurt Zenisek Categories: Internet Marketing, Internet Technology, Website Design Tags: advertising, henry russell bruce, hrb, html5, Internet Marketing, kurt zenisek, Marketing, Public Relations, Website Design

HTML5 Ads on Mobile Devices On the heels of Apple’s iAd last year, Google announced that they are adding rich ad serving to mobile devices courtesy of HTML5. This announcement has flown under the radar for the most part so what makes this stand out from Apple’s service? The biggest difference is that these ads can be shown on regular websites whereas iAd is limited to only be used in apps. Google has added this service to DoubleClick, a company Google acquired in 2007 for $3.1 billion, under their rich media toolset called DoubleClick Studio.

Downloading the information sheet (pdf) that Google provided alongside this announcement shows that Google predicts, by 2015, mobile devices are going to be the number one screen though which people engage with advertiser’s brands. This is no small claim considering the level of adoption the personal computer has reached, but I’m not sure if television is included in that claim seeing how they are talking about interactive advertisements.

Mobile advertising can provide a level of usefulness that other forms of advertising haven’t been able to achieve. People bring these devices with them everywhere, and that on its own is an incredibly important aspect (ex. seeing an advertisement for a restaurant while at home might bring it to your attention to go there someday, but an ad for the same restaurant while you’re looking something up on your phone might help you choose where you’re going for lunch that day).

Connect with HRB:

These devices have integrated cameras and a bunch of sensors so the level of interactivity and intuitiveness can surpass previous mediums. What has been seen on mobile devices thus far is just the tip of the iceberg, and having established distribution platforms evolve to accommodate these capabilities is a good starting point.

Kurt Zenisek
Lead Web Developer

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Unexpected Advertising

January 30th, 2012 by Jill Mast Categories: Marketing, Social Media Marketing Tags: advertising, Marketing, Public Relations

While watching TV last night, a commercial for JC Penney caught my attention. Even more importantly, its message and execution created enough intrigue that, being curious, I dutifully followed their instructions, went to my computer and pulled up their Facebook page. (Not an easy accomplishment for most advertisers.)

So what was different about this commercial? For starters, I found it very entertaining. The images of shoppers screaming in frustration as they are bombarded with oodles of coupons and signage announcing a dizzying array of deals and offers was something I could certainly relate to. Perhaps more significant was that it was totally unexpected from a retailer like JCP. Their advertising has usually been very expected promotions of its latest and greatest door busters, early bird specials, scratch off coupons, and limited time offers.

Guess what though? It didn’t tell me everything I wanted to know but it did have me intrigued … so when directed to the company’s Facebook page, I went. There I learned that “on 2.1.12 the madness ends. But until then, enjoy our biggest and best-ever crazy and exhausting and totally confusing sale ever.” The Facebook page is interactive and asks consumers to join the “JCP Insanity.” What really surprised me was that it has more than 2 million likes, 15,000+ people talking about this and more than 100,000 visits to the page.

From a marketer’s perspective, I got an email from the American Advertising Federation this morning leading me to a New York Times article on JCP and their new branding strategies. I learned JCP has new management (executives formerly with Apple and Target) and their corporate strategy is changing to include a redesigned logo, simpler pricing of merchandise and stopping endless promotions, deals and sales. The new plan calls for only twelve sales each year. In 2011, JCP had 590 promotions!

Only time will tell if the new strategy is successful. But in my mind, they have already achieved their goal – getting consumers like me to rethink a tired, undifferentiated and unappealing brand and creating something compelling enough to get me interested (and to blog about) and even eager to see what they will be rolling out on Feb. 1.

Of course, the ultimate test will be if the new shopping experience is compelling enough to make me want to come back. Stay tuned.

Jill Mast
800-728-2656, ext. 120

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Being Part of Something Meaningful

November 14th, 2011 by Jill Mast Categories: Media Buying, Public Relations Tags: advertising, henry russell bruce, hrb, Public Relations

My mom died of cancer when I was three years old. I didn’t understand the full magnitude of it until I became an adult and realized just how young 28 is to die. I probably still don’t fully understand, but as I grow in age and experience, I’m beginning to fully understand how precious each day of life is.

Cancer is one of the most profound, devastating and pervasive diseases in the U.S. I don’t know anybody that hasn’t been touched by it in some way. Cancer numbers are growing, but so are survival rates as new and better detection methods and treatments are developed. I get to work with Mercy Medical Center, which is in the process of building the Hall-Perrine Cancer Center – an amazing new facility that will provide world-class cancer care to Eastern Iowans. Equipped with the latest technology, dedicated staff, and amenities based on what patients and their families have said is critical to the treatment and recovery process, it will be an invaluable resource to current and future cancer patients.

Over the past 6 months, HRB has collaborated with Mercy to develop a marketing campaign to launch the center and promote the unique benefits it will provide. This campaign was built from the ground up, just like the center. We gathered input from Mercy and from patients and potential patients and developed concepts and themes around what they told us was important. The various creative executions were tested in focus groups and one rose to the top. “Expectations Met” is the name of our campaign and provides a promise of what the center will deliver: world-class, personalized cancer care.

Over the summer, we worked with a talented production crew out of Minneapolis to bring the campaign to life. We shot the TV spots over four days in locations all over town. We developed radio, print ads, outdoor boards, building signage and Internet marketing campaigns designed to drive patients and potential patients to a new, focused Hall-Perrine Cancer Center website. The campaign launched the last week in September, just in time for breast cancer awareness month.

I’m in advertising. My job is to create preference for brands and motivate customers to buy from my clients. This is extremely important; however, I’ve never been involved with something as personal to me as this. Having the opportunity to be a part of something that is truly meaningful to so many is incredibly fulfilling and an experience I will never forget.

Jill Mast
800-728-2656, ext. 120

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How to See Who’s Linking to Your Site

October 26th, 2011 by Kurt Zenisek Categories: Internet Marketing, Internet Technology, Public Relations, Website Design Tags: brand, henry russell bruce, hrb, Internet Marketing, kurt zenisek, Public Relations, search engine optimization, social media

A site that’s online isn’t much of a site unless people go to it. The raw website visitor stats that services like Analytics and Quantcast provide sometimes aren’t enough for gauging the traffic flow to a site. A “link” is a fundamental way in which visitors reach a site, and direct links (typing in the web address) and search engines are the two other ways. Of course, there’s “good company” and “bad company” online that could be linking to you. I’m not going to discuss right & wrong in this article, but I will go over how to be more aware of one factor that affects all sites… backlinks.

Which method is best?

There’s a few different ways to find who’s linking to a site. Some are tools made available by search engines like Google while some are various services that are available online.

Google’s link: command (perfect for URL-specific stats)

Using link: as part of a Google search will list the webpages that have links to that specified webpage. For instance, link:www.google.com will list webpages that have links pointing to the Google homepage. Note there can be no space between the “link:” and the web page url. It’s also important to know that this finds the backlinks for that one URL, and doesn’t provide matches for every URL on the site. By the way, you can use the number of matches below the search box to get a rough number for assessing the online penetration of that webpage.

Google Webmaster Tools (perfect for site-wide stats)

As part of Google’s Webmaster Tools, they have “Your site on the web” => “Links to your site” in the side navigation that shows backlink stats for a site as a whole. Essentially, this provides:

A list of sites and what pages they’re linking to
Which page is being linked to the most
The terms being used for the links
and you can get fairly granular with each data set

Everything else

The above methods obviously depend on what Google has indexed, and similar tools are available using Bing and other search engines so one can diversify their data set. There’s also a great service from SEOmoz called Open Site Explorer that’s worth looking into.Unfortunately, searching for a tool that accumulates these stats resulted in finding a lot of adware/junk sites so your mileage may vary depending on the service being used.

Knowing who’s linking to a site a good way to understand what sort of company that site is involved with, and this can be helpful when working with the public relations & marketing for a website. It’s also a decent way to see what others are saying about a particular site, but do keep in mind that this is just one way that websites establish a connection with one another.

Kurt Zenisek
Lead Web Developer

Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kzeni

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6 Tips for the Budding PR Professional

October 21st, 2011 by Shelby Kraus Categories: Public Relations Tags: henry russell bruce, hrb, Public Relations, shelby kraus

It's not really worth your time to avoid an issue.

It’s been a few years since I entered the PR world (well, more than a few) and I had forgotten what it is like to be new to the field. I was speaking to a former intern the other day and she asked what advice do I have for a budding PR professional. I pondered this for a bit, but off the top of my head, here are a few nuggets:

Be a sponge – read up on your employer’s business and the industry so that you can get a good foot hold on what you will be up against in the competitive landscape.
Get to know the product or service inside and out – spend time with product managers, the sales team and any executive that will talk to you about the product or service. Find out why they were developed in the first place and where they want to take them.
Write, write and then write some more – everyone is going to have his or her materials edited. Don’t take it personally. One of the best assets a PR professional can have is his or her writing skills.
Pay attention to detail – you may think this is just in writing, but it is not. You are now in a professional world and much like your professors there are protocols to what you develop and deliver to your supervisor. Don’t be sloppy. Everyone at the company is a client and you need to present your research, writing, strategies, ideas, etc. in a clear and concise manner that is formatted professionally.
Make sure your enthusiasm for new media stays in line with corporate philosophy – you may be very excited to assist with social media or mobile public relations, but keep your passion in check if your employer is skittish about it. Rome was not built in a day and if you take the right approach, in time, you will get to expand your company’s presences.
Never stop learning – keep filling your toolkit with new skills and teach others too.

Landing your first public relations position is very exciting. Remember, that the classroom is not a clone of how the real business world operates. It is like an incubator, preparing your for the next chapter in your career. Have fun and stay inquisitive!

Shelby Kraus
Vice President, Public Relations
Account Manager
800-728-2656, ext. 125

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Presidential Candidate Rick Perry Visits HRB Client D. C. Taylor Co.

August 18th, 2011 by Jim Thebeau Categories: News, Public Relations Tags: hrb, jim thebeau, Public Relations

We’re grateful for the iPhone and iPad app for Cover it Live. Texas Governor Rick Perry addresses the national media and some 60 D. C. Taylor Co. employees Tuesday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Maximizing a PR Opportunity

The HRB public relations team got a chance to flex its media relations muscles this week and to help a client capitalize on a rare event.

Just three days after announcing his candidacy for the U. S. presidency, Texas Governor Rick Perry visited our client D. C. Taylor Co. Tuesday morning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, his only stop in the city. D. C. Taylor Co., one of the 20 largest commercial roofing companies in the nation, learned about the visit just last week. Out of thousands of companies in the city, Perry’s advance team chose this one to introduce the candidate in person in the intimate setting of a roofing warehouse. Perry’s wife and two daughters were there, too.

We met with our client late last week to discuss what we could do to promote the event to benefit the client. We decided that the client would want to capture this and create a video and media package and to provide live coverage of the entire event on Cover it Live. To house the Cover it Live feed, HRB had to create a landing page on their website. So there would be more relevant content for D. C. Taylor customers, HRB set out to repurpose educational materials and created an eBook, and designed a banner for the homepage to direct visitors to the see the coverage and comment. Additionally, we helped create an email notification to the company’s opt-in list to notify them over the live coverage. We developed a media brief to hand out and send out to the media and an updated news release is going out Tuesday afternoon recounting details of the events to customers and prospects and the trade media.

During the hour-long event, we feed photos and text to an HRB team member who posted the material in real time. A news release went out to the client’s trade publications and out to the rest o the world via PRWeb. Dozens of people signed on to the Cover it Live account to follow the event and comment on it.

Most exciting for our client was the list of media that showed up for the event, including:

Reuters
Associated Press
NBC National
CBS Evening News
The Gazette
ABC National
ABC Evening News
Des Moines Register
CBS Local
Republican Caucus
Dallas Morning News
New York Times
KCRG
World Magazine

Their website traffic has doubled due to our efforts. The client is happy with the event support we provided. And , just as importantly, we all had fun with it.

Are you maximizing your public relations opportunities at every turn?

Jim Thebeau
Partner/CEO
800-728-2656 ext. 121

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Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimthebeau

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Spin Doctors or PR Strategists?

August 15th, 2011 by Shelby Kraus Categories: Marketing, Public Relations Tags: henry russell bruce, hrb, Marketing, Public Relations, shelby kraus

DJs are a totally different type of "spin doctor", but they too know the importance of a "hook".

One of the many reasons HRB is called upon for its PR expertise is because companies are looking for strategic ideas on how to get news out about a product or service. It sounds simple, but there is usually a challenge associated with this request.

Often times, the company has not thought through what the journalist and customer want to know. Why care what the journalist wants to know? Well…they are the first barrier you have to break through if you want the customer to read about you at all. It is always a good idea to consider what makes your story compelling. Is there a national tie? Is there recent research that supports your product or service announcement? Is there a trend in your industry that you are addressing first or bucking?

For the customer, it is best to turn your release into a story about benefits and not just about the features of the product or service. What is the reason you developed (or modified) the product or service? Was it in response to customer requests, was there a problem you fixed?

This is the kind of thinking a third-party professional can bring to the table. Regardless if you see PR professionals as strategists or Spin Doctors, we still know there needs to be a “hook” to get you coverage.

Shelby Kraus
Vice President, Public Relations
Account Manager
800-728-2656, ext. 125

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Staying Focused

June 22nd, 2011 by Jill Mast Categories: Branding, Marketing, Public Relations Tags: advertising, Branding, henry russell bruce, hrb, jill mast, Marketing, Public Relations

Via mindmapinspiration.com

There is a word that has been coming up frequently in recent conversations here … that word is “focus.”

It’s a simple word, and one that has become my personal mantra. Dictionary.com defines focus as: a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity. As the world of marketing has become more fragmented and communication venues continue to explode, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of options.

Learning how to focus on your central points of attraction, attention and activity, is crucial to your success.

Points of attraction: I like to think of these as your core competencies. What does your company do well? What is it that your customers count on you for? These core competencies are what drives customer loyalty. Determine what makes you irreplaceable to your customers and then deliver it! Living up to and constantly working to improve what your brand promises is critical.

Not sure what your customers want from you? There’s an easy fix … ask them! A simple satisfaction study can provide the insights your company needs to redefine and reemphasize your core competencies.

Points of attention: I recently had a prospect show me a newspaper ad he’d created. It was a small, 1/8 page ad, containing no less than eleven separate messages. Eleven! My brain couldn’t even begin to decipher what he was trying to communicate or what his value proposition was to the reader. Filling an ad with such multiple messaging is like telling your audience “I have no idea what’s really important to you so I’ll throw everything in.” It has a poor chance of being read and is an equally poor use of money.

Points of activity: Now that you know who you are, what you do and what you offer that’s relevant to your customers, what’s next? Developing a clearly defined strategic marketing communications plan. Then remaining focused on executing it. Because guess what? Markets will continue to fragment and the number of communication venues will only increase.

So staying focused and “on point” will be both more difficult … and more essential.

Jill Mast
800-728-2656, ext. 120

Connect with me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jill-mast/4/928/a06

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Went to Chicago for the National Restaurant Association Trade Show

May 24th, 2011 by Jim Thebeau Categories: Branding, Marketing, News, Public Relations Tags: advertising agency, brand, henry russell bruce, hrb, jim thebeau, Marketing, Public Relations

The first thing I noticed upon entering McCormick Place on Sunday was the overpowering, but very pleasant, aroma of food. Enticing smells of pork, beef, fish, teas and spices filled the air. It’s all part of the fun at the National Restaurant Association’s annual convention and exhibition. I spent part of the weekend in Chicago in support of a new client who was exhibiting at the show.

Over the years I’ve attended many trade shows, most of them related to supply chain, bar codes, RFID, electronics, IT, aviation and aerospace and even rental products. But I’ve never before been greeted at the registration desk with such an attention-getting gastronomic assault on the senses. Foods and beverages of all types were being prepared throughout the enormous North and South exhibition halls. Each dish or drink was presented in an attractive and inspiring setting. Free food was everywhere and freely distributed to anyone who happened by. That was a new experience for me.

There is a sense of irony here because our client is in the technology business, one of our specialties. Numerous technology providers were at the show demonstrating their wares. What struck me most was the amount of automation software available to restaurants to support loyalty programs, geolocation couponing, online ordering and a lot of integration with Facebook and Twitter to drive store traffic and grow the database.

Generating and managing data was a major theme for those providers, a key message they were trying to get across to the restaurants.

At the end of the day, the trip made me think about you and your business.

Are you managing your data? Are you making offers and creating calls to action that generate leads for your database – leads that you can use for your email marketing campaigns? Are your lead generation efforts integrated with your CRM and email marketing platforms? Have you been able to bring some automation to these efforts? We’ve been able to integrate and automate our online marketing efforts. And, it has paid off by generating more leads through our website.

How important is lead generation and data tracking to your operations? Please post a comment and let us know what’s working – or not – for you.

Jim Thebeau
Partner/CEO
800-728-2656 ext. 121

Follow me on Twitter @JimThebeau

Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimthebeau

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