The Clubhouse, December 2014 Issue

Why Hiring an Agency Doesn’t Mean You’ll Lose Your Job, Not Having One Might

Forget what you’ve been told:

So, How Many Articles Do I Get for $2,000?

Contents

The 2015

Clubhouse

Clubhouse The Magazine For the Public Relations Professional EDITOR & PUBLISHER

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Why Hiring an Agency Doesn’t Mean You’ll Lose Your Job, Not Having One Might: Some Strong Words for “The Boss”

Rodger Roeser

MANAGING EDITOR Briagenn Adams

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Forget what you’ve been told: There is such a thing as a stupid question

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rodger Roeser, Briagenn Adams,

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Natalie Hansman, Sean Garza

Public Relations from an Ohio University student’s perspective

ART DIRECTOR Sean Garza

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Top Five Marketing Campaigns of 2014

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Randi Kenney, Morgan Abercrombie

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So, How Many Articles Do I Get for $2,000?

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The Mechanics of a Professional, Objective Communications Audit 515 Monmouth Street Suite 302 Newport, KY 41071 www.TheEisenAgency.com P:859.291.4302 F: 859.291.4360

Why Hiring an Agency Doesn’t Mean You’ll Lose Your Job, Not Having One Might: Some Strong Words for “The Boss”

By Rodger Roeser

There seems to be a big trend in the marketing industry today. Internal marketing teams sans agency help have become omniscient. They have become perfect in every way, have unlimited amounts of time, know everything and are always able to perform every single task with innovative ideas and strategies. Unlimited budgets have led to unlimited staffs, and bosses everywhere are confident that every single aspect of their marketing is ideal – business simply couldn’t be better.

There’s absolutely no room for improvement. All the concepts are covered.

The tactics are the most effective and efficient that they could possibly be.

Sales are literally rolling in, so much that most SMBs are turning away work – profits have never been higher.

I know what you’re thinking – bitter agency guy who’s having a hard time winning business, right? Actually, wrong. Most good agencies are doing pretty well these days, the economy has stabilized and smart firms have made great strides in keeping their niches alive, continuing to pursue solid business development strategies, and perhaps most importantly, focusing on their continued professional growth and expertise.

Smart businesses and leaders are hiring good firms – they know they get a high value, can proficiently finish tasks and attain some amazingly creative ideas and insights at typically a fraction of the cost of adding additional staff.

And I bet our tools are fancier than yours, too, but that’s a different article (and why would you buy those internally anyway? That’s just a dumb spend). www.theeisenagency.com:: The 2015 Clubhouse

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You’re smart, right?

Most agency professionals who have been in the business for any length of time, almost by default, become pretty good at it – it’s what they do, and they’ve likely “been there, done that,” so the expertise is high. They know what works and what won’t, in almost all cases. In an agency, you’re surrounded by professionals constantly learning and sharing with one another, consistently raising the bar for the entire team.

And, the agency doesn’t have a vested interest in failing, so honesty and experience simply take over when speaking with clients. I reiterate, that is true of good agencies and thus, many are doing well. But think of it this way, as a solid professional you can easily see so many areas of marketing communications that could be improved at an SMB – a better SEO strategy, a more consistent brand, better publicity and media relations, a website built in this century – yet it seems fewer are actually interested in asking for professional help. They believe it’s just fine the way it is.

Why? Unfortunately, there is a new omniscience that has crept in to many internal marketing people. Doing things poorly has become completely acceptable in many cases – not that it’s intentionally wrong, but the internal team doesn’t know any better, and they don’t seek outside counsel. Why? I believe they think if they have an agency or a firm, the boss won’t “need” them any longer. I had a conversation with a potential client who insisted that “PR is putting press releases on PRWeb.” When I asked what they were trying to do, the answer was “get press coverage, PRWeb is a great way to spread the word, and it’s cheap.” When I shared that that doesn’t work, the reply was simply, “we’re happy with the arrangement we have.”

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After essentially years of ineffective marketing, that omniscient person lost his job. And then proceeded to inquire about working at my firm.

releases continue to be put out and more of YOUR MONEY is wasted.

And press releases are just the tip of the iceberg.

I recently had a prospect ask: “Did you know there’s this thing that you can post only one thing on and it will automatically send it out to Facebook and Twitter?” They were referring to HootSuite as if light speed travel had just been discovered and they were the first person to get on board.

Business owners are actually paying more for failure. Curious, eh?

Another internal marketing blunder is that failure and mediocrity have become acceptable. Too many business leaders don’t know enough (or anything) about the tactics and strategies of the ever-changing world of professional marketing communications. As a result, they can’t challenge the existing marketing team to strive for success, let alone excellence. They wouldn’t know what success even looks like. They don’t have established success metrics, benchmarks or measurements of achievement. They don’t know what a decent press release looks like. So, these horrific press

Omniscience is in fact ignorance, and in many cases, mediocrity has actually been replaced with incorrect actions.

Certainly, that is not true of all in-house teams, most of whom are competent and smart and want to accomplish great things, but the really successful and smart internal teams probably have a counselor to call upon who can teach them a good way to go about business. I bet they have somebody they trust, or indeed have a professional firm as a strategic partner.

There is a frustration level among professional agencies who know they can help. It’s like trying to find a job, and even though you know you’re the best candidate, you can’t even land an interview.

Think about it, a second opinion can be great. Options are a business leader’s best friend. A good agency

will save you money and time, even if you only need someone to help with a strategy or a quick consult. Isn’t that worth it? Why else would almost every successful business, regardless of size, have an outsourced marketing expert to either assist with strategy or professionally execute tactics?

As business leaders, you need to be educated on the functionality of marketing communications and how the PR industry operates. If you’re an SMB, do you really have the time and money to learn what most agency professionals have known for years?

Or, do you trust that your internal team is indeed perfect, with no room for improvement and no need for counsel or fresh thoughts. Do they have all the answers? Do they have the time?

What about the budget?

For many good agencies and executive-level practitioners, marketing is all they do, every day. They know the most practical and efficient way to achieve a desired result (or have the honesty to say what won’t work). The

agency has no vested interest to fail, nor to allow your business to fail.

So, the next time you find yourself not taking that agency’s call, reconsider. You might find a great new colleague. You’ll probably learn something new. You may even have to call them up for a job one day. You should always have a professional on your side who can lend some advice and offer some insight. Not that every agency is “perfect” either, so you must do your homework and find the best solution for your specific intentions.

Senior-level strategy and faraway goals? Tactical execution? Some combination? You get the idea.

Strive for excellence in all that you do. If you’re in charge of marketing, you should constantly be trying to find opportunities to better your business. Go be more extraordinary and have some options on speed dial, because later you’ll be glad that you did.

About the Author Rodger Roeser is the CEO of Greater Cincinnati’s premier marketing and public relations consultancy, The Eisen Agency. Roeser has worked with and directed public relations and marketing campaigns for some of the top brands in the country, as well as businesses, brands and professional sports and entertainment entities in both his hometown of Cleveland and adopted hometown of Cincinnati. He served as Cincinnati PRSA president in 2005, and was named PRSA PR Professional of the Year in 2010. He is the national chairman of the PRAOA (Public Relations Agency Owners Association). He earned a 2011 Pillar Award for outstanding community service, was an Inc. 5000 firm in 2012 (#6 in the State of Kentucky) and in 2013 was a Jefferson Award finalist for outstanding community service and a Goering Center finalist for private business of the year. His firm has twice been in the Top 10 for the Business Courier Fast 55 (2009 & 2011), and twice a finalist as a Greater Cincinnati Best Places to Work. He is an award-winning radio, television and print reporter, an accomplished singer/songwriter, and is a graduate of Kent State University.

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www.theeisenagency.com:: The 2015 Clubhouse

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Forget what you’ve been told: There is such a thing as a stupid question

By Rodger Roeser

They say there’s no such thing as a stupid question, right? Well, there is.

They also say the customer is always right. I want to know who “they” are, because frankly, they are wrong, and it’s hurting businesses – particularly those in the agency world. If you work for a PR or advertising agency, read this article so you can nod your head and maybe laugh, but if you work with a firm (i.e.: you’re the client, or thinking of becoming one), read this to save yourself and your agency some headaches. You’ll like the results of a great, mutually beneficial relationship.

And, if you’ve gone through five agencies in five years – I’d start with a good look in the mirror, not at the firms. After all, you want the firm you hire to do great work and, in turn, make you look great, right? Right. So read and learn, because while it’s indeed important that the agency understand your business, it’s equally as important that you understand something about theirs.

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What’s Going On Out There?

I’m not certain what is happening in the in-house marketing world, or perhaps it’s just that I’m older, wiser and clearly less patient, but I’ve noticed a very disturbing trend – many in-house teams (not all, so save your letters and calls) are far less knowledgeable about marketing than they ever used to be.

Even basic concepts seem to escape the in-house marketing person. Why? Because the person hiring the marketing person knows even less about marketing than the marketing person. That is causing ever-increasing levels of frustration both between the client and the agency, but also between the in-house marketing “bosses.” It all comes down to some basic knowledge and better questions.

Let’s Start With Some Basics There are dozens, if not hundreds, of marketing “tools” that are

needed by an in-house team or an agency to do their jobs. If you hire internally, keep in mind that you’re going to either need to purchase these tools or hire a firm that has them. These tools can indeed cost tens of thousands of dollars, so keep that in mind when hiring internally.

Otherwise, it’s sort of like hiring a doctor but not buying a stethoscope.

A few of the basic tools include media relations software like MMI, Vocus or Cision, as well as items like ProfNet. All critical to the job, so if you don’t know what those are, you need to figure it out. Wire services, such as PRNewswire and BusinessWire, also cost additional fees when you place a release on the wire. If you hired someone to do marketing and they don’t know what those are – you hired poorly, and that’s your fault.

Design tools, such as InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator are also critical tools, and while it may not be critical you know exactly how to use

these (unless you’re the graphic designer, of course), you should have some general understanding of what you can and can’t do, and perhaps most importantly, how long it takes to do it. For example, there is no “make it pop” button on CS5.

Outside of media relations (don’t ever call it “PR” when you mean media relations, that also makes you look stupid) and design, there are a host of tools to use for CRM and social media, such as Constant Contact or Exact Target, as well as social tools such as Blogger, HootSuite and Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Understand them, how they work and again, what they are designed to do. Look at other blogs and social sites – far too many businesses are so incredibly self-serving with their social correspondence that no one would ever take them seriously.

A Little More Strategic Thinking, Please Perhaps the most important strategic understanding is that if YOU are the marketing person and you don’t understand these things, don’t dictate to the agency how to tactically do its job. That causes frustration and often miscommunication.

The most important thing for both teams to understand is the ultimate goal. What are you trying to accomplish? What are you trying to do? You may want to share that information.

I also encourage the in-house team to have a solid understanding of the brand. If they don’t, hire a firm (I recommend The Eisen Agency) to clarify and communicate that.

Simple exercise: give the leadership team an index card and ask them to write down your businesses brand. If they don’t all have the

same answer, or it’s not consistent, you have what we experts call B.O.D. = Brand Operational Dissonance and you need to get that checked out.

about you and your business in relation to the public. It is your brand, your reputation, your professional personality. It must be defined, nurtured and protected.

Empower yourself to have some basic brand understanding. The clearer the direction, the friendlier the invoicing and the time with the firm. And without a clear direction or brand, everything else is nonsense. Remember, no firm wants to fail. And neither do you.

You want the relationship to be rewarding, and that begins with a general knowledge and understanding of the industry.

Consistency, quality and constancy are what work when it comes to marketing. Doing something just once won’t cut it. Proper marketing requires ongoing effort. It requires diligent branded communications on your social sites that are engaging and interesting to your intended public with whom you are trying to relate. Quality is key. No matter how often you send out garbage, it’s still garbage, and more of it won’t change that fact. Messages must be clear, words must be few, benefits to the public must stand out, and a call to action must be simple to understand.

25 Years in a Few Paragraphs And, while I cannot condense 25 years of marketing experience into a paragraph that explains everything, here are several basic nuggets of knowledge you need: Press releases don’t earn press.

So, when you ask an agency to send one out, don’t complain about the lack of immediate coverage. Press releases are not designed to earn press; in fact, our firm doesn’t even call them that – we call them company announcements. A good story, shared with a good media contact, earns press, not a press release. If you don’t have a good story, do something that makes a good story. Press releases are good for two things: SEO and scrap paper. Remember, there are no guarantees with media relations, it is not the press’s job to cover your business. Advertising is guaranteed, so if you want guarantees, buy an ad.

Don’t ever think “PR is free.” PR is not free. PR is not publicity, nor is it media relations. PR is everything

Get yourself a book that has all your business codes, such as website analytics, FTP codes, hosting services and passwords. I am stunned by all the “in-house” teams that don’t have their passwords written down. If a person quits or gets fired, no one knows how to access anything. Have a master binder, check your analytics and provide monthly reports. If you’re not tracking and measuring, make sure somebody else is.

And finally, yes, your marketing collateral probably sucks. It’s probably overly wordy, overly complex and the buyer probably has no idea what you’re talking about. Use graphs and charts to illustrate ideas.

Don’t go into too much detail, provide overviews, concepts and general benefits to the user. Do something interesting and creative that allows your sales team to further the discussion and the engagement.

Collateral does not sell, salespeople do. www.theeisenagency.com:: The 2015 Clubhouse

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Drum Roll, Please And finally, in the tradition of lists, the following depicts some stupid client questions, so if you have asked these in the past, or were just about to ask your agency these questions, stop.

1. How much does it cost to make a website?

2. I don’t have a lot of money but I just need to generate awareness. How much does that cost?

3. How much is a press release?

4. How do we correspond to our clients that don’t have a computer?

5. Can you just get us some PR for this?

6. We don’t have any budget to advertise, just get this in the paper.

7. Our email seems to be down, will you look at our website?

8. What is the ROI of this folder?

9. If we do this, how many clients will we get?

10. Why is my business not on top of Google?

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And I promise, by following a few simple rules, understanding marketing a little better (particularly if YOU are the marketing person) and working collaboratively with your agency, you’ll have a more rewarding business experience. You’ll be surprised at the level of work, the smiles and maybe even the results you receive.

Remember, you can’t manage what you can’t measure, so learn the craft.

Understand some basics, and if you don’t, either get out of the marketing department, or learn. There are tremendously good websites out there that share some great marketing knowledge, such as Ragans.com or MarketingProfs.com, CommPro.biz and my personal favorite, CultOfTheBlueTongue.blogspot.com.

Understand that not everything you do in marketing will work. Understand there may not be a data-driven reason for everything. Understand that “creative” is highly subjective, like music. There is no “right” music, well, KISS, but in general, there is no right answer. Understand the use of press releases and media relations and bylined articles (like this one, for example – see, I’m in the press – no press release). Understand how your agency works and yes, they’ll prob-

ably charge money for work – agencies are weird that way.

In the end, you’re in charge, so be smart. Stop focusing on the minutia and set direction and strategy. It doesn’t really matter how it happens, as long as it works. If it doesn’t work – fire the agency (or your marketing person). And remember, if you dictate action and it fails – you are to blame.

About the Author Rodger Roeser is the president and owner of Greater Cincinnati’s premier marketing consultancy, The Eisen Agency. The multiple award winning firm provides executive level marketing communications strategies and tactical assistance to develop programs that provide lift for a business or organization.

Learn more at www.TheEisenAgency.com.

Four events set for 2015, so mark your calendars

the dates: Mar 11, Jun 10, Sep 9 and Dec 2.

We'll be crafting and sampling one of four new Eisen small batch craft brews, sharing some thoughts on best practices in marketing, and networking with fellow clients, colleagues and area business leaders.

TheEisenAgency.com

859.291.4302

Public Relations from an Ohio University student’s perspective

By Briagenn Adams

You hear it all the time at school – in class, during meetings, even amongst your closest friends. That dreaded, dreaded question: “Have you had an internship yet?”

A quality PR internship is like gold for aspiring professionals, shiny and full of possibilities. However, if you don’t take control of your experience, you’ll just be wasting your time.

While searching for a brief internship to keep me busy during Ohio University’s winter break, I came across The Eisen Agency, Cincinnati’s premier PR and marketing consultancy.

Not only did Rodger Roeser, Eisen’s CEO, respond immediately to my inquiries, but he also invited me to visit the office at my soonest convenience. I appreciated the attitude of Rodger – far too often professionals do not take students seriously, and thus feel that it’s okay to ignore their attempts to connect. Yes, I am a student, and no, I don’t really know what I’m doing yet.

But without the help of those more experienced than I, I’ll never have the opportunity to learn.

Some might say three days a week for one month is no time to learn, but I beg to differ. While working at The Eisen Agency, I have had the pleasure of practicing client communication, pitching stories to Cincinnati news 8

The 2015 Clubhouse:: www.theeisenagency.com

outlets and compiling the firm’s very own magazine, The Clubhouse. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Eisen. The culture is so much fun, and the employees are so engaging, it’s a wonder not more people are breaking down the door to score an interview.

You only get out of an internship what you decide to put in. If you go to work each day, unmotivated and with no objectives, you’ll probably leave no more knowledgeable than you began. You must be willing to be taught, to ask questions, to take advice. If you want to try something, ask to try it, if you want to learn more, push a little! Again, YOU must take control of your internship experience.

Here’s my advice for future interns: Come to work each day with a goal. It can be as finite as, “finish client prolife story,” or as abstract as, “learn about S.E.O.” No matter what you want to accomplish, having a goal will help you stay on track and will direct your daily actions.

jeopardy after work at the local Buffalo Wild Wings. Even if you don’t necessarily want to work for the company after you graduate, having connections won’t hurt you. One day, you might just need a personal reference.

Step outside your comfort zone.

My specialty is writing. So far, all the internships I’ve had have been journalism gigs. I can report until I’m blue in the face, but all that experience with AP style and interview etiquette will only get me so far in the PR world. On my first day at The Eisen Agency, Rodger asked what I was looking to learn during my time here. I said that of course, I’d be more than happy to write up some client profiles and create The Clubhouse magazine, but I also wanted to compile some media lists and pitch press releases to news outlets. Next thing I knew, I was learning about MyMediaInfo and on the phone with the Cincinnati Enquirer.

You’d be surprised what you can get simply by asking for it.

Now, this list isn’t even close to being complete, but it’s a good start for those who are just getting into the business.

My biggest piece of advice, however, is to start early. Get all the experience you can – whether you get it at school, during the summer, it doesn’t matter! Fill your free time with all things PR. Read the news. Check up on industry trends. If you’re passionate about what you’ll be doing for the next 40 years of your life, that passion will shine through all you do.

About the Author Briagenn Adams is a junior at Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, studying public relations, marketing and French. After

Make connections. Do not come into work each day with your head down and mouth shut. Actually talk to the people you’re working with. Eat lunch with them; go play

graduation, Briagenn plans to move to N.Y.C. or Chicago to try her hand at big city life and work for an international agency. She is 20 years old and served as an intern for The Eisen Agency.

1 West Jet Holiday Miracle http://www.aboveandbeyond.ca

Capitalizing on the success of their viral video from last Christmas, where WestJet employees played secret Santa for their passengers. This year they stepped up again, finding real stories, promoting good will and yet another viral video this time delivering dreams to the Dominican Republic.

West Jet’s dedicated site at www.aboveandbeyond.ca declares “We're sharing the stories of Canadians who go above and beyond. The people who make a difference in the lives of everyone they meet. They make us smile. They care.

And we’re sharing their stories – because we admire what they do and because they inspire us to be better at what we do every day.”

www.theeisenagency.com:: The 2015 Clubhouse

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2

UPS: Your Wishes Delivered

4-year-old Carson developed a friendship with his UPS driver, Mr. Ernie, when he began receiving shipments of special milk. Carson has become fascinated by all things UPS. He wishes to be just like his pal, so UPS made Carson a UPS driver for a day. Share your wish at http://www.ups.com/wishes and weʼll donate $1 to charity. #WishesDelivered

https://wishesdelivered.ups.com

The website states “Whether your wish is to send gifts to loved ones or books to children in need, we enjoy doing our part to make your wishes come true.

And our commitment to deliver smiles doesnʼt end there.”

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P&G Thank You, Mom Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games https://www.facebook.com/thankyoumom

The “Thank You, Mom” Facebook page is meant to provide a fun environment for our fans to discuss P&G products and promotions.

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4 Give Them Ten http://www.givethemten.org/

The mission behind Ten: to give cats an extra life by creating a no-kill cat nation. That means life, love and home for every feline.

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Dumb Ways to Die

By Metro Trains Melbourne Pty Ltd http://dumbwaystodie.com/

You've seen the video - now the lives of those charmingly dumb characters are in your hands.

Enjoy 18 hilarious mini-games as you attempt to collect all the charmingly dumb characters for your train station, achieve high scores and unlock the famous music video that started it all.

www.theeisenagency.com:: The 2015 Clubhouse

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So, How Many Articles Do I Get for $2,000?

By Rodger Roeser, CEO, The Eisen Agency

I began my career as a journalist. I had the pleasure, and in hindsight, dumb luck, to have worked at a TV station, radio station, large daily and small weekly for the foundation of my future career as Lois Lane. I discovered most of my own stories, worked a specific beat and had good relationships with local leaders and those pesky PR people. I know very well how newsrooms work.

I would receive press releases and pitches each day. And because my professional journalist days were in the dark ages before email, most releases were excellent for scrap paper, and as most news outlets were tight on budgets, that helped save a few bucks. Once in a great while, a release was helpful in at least prompting me to do a followup and create an actual story. I had good professional relationships with a number of sources in my beat, which I also strived hard to expand. I wasn’t shy about reaching out to businesses or groups if I wanted a story – which usually 12

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meant the PR person, if they had one at all, was in the way instead of working to foster.

When that PR person would send me a release that was unicorns and rainbows, I increasingly ignored those because no attempt was made to help me understand that a story would actually be of benefit to my readers. See, because most PR people have never set foot in, let alone, worked in an actual news setting, they fail to comprehend that a potential story must be of value to a reporter’s audience.

Which is why I was so disturbed by the activity of some so-called PR firms that are literally preying on unsuspecting young business executives who don’t take the time to outsource for just such occasions. Why? Because you so want the story of unicorns and rainbows in the media, you don’t take the time to understand how it “really” works, so when someone shares a magic voodoo potion that gets those placed, you

unsuspectingly say, “sign me up!”

If any so-called firm promises placement for an article or press release, they are lying. Period. If they say they’ll get your five articles placed for $2,000/month, they are lying. Not only should you not hire them, you should black ball them. Period. It’s impossible to guarantee legitimate placement in any exact increment. You may use good tactics and Brandpoint for example, which does a fine job of placing articles, or buying an SMT from a reputable provider (such as MultiVu), both of which are strategies to use to secure placement efficiently, but hiring a firm that promises placement is unethical, wrong and is an embarrassment to our profession.

Because it just doesn’t work that way. A legitimate hit or news interview will NEVER cost you money. Never. NBC will never charge you to be on The Today Show – that’s earned coverage.

I’ve even seen firms pass off PRNewswire “Release Watch” hits five at a time and show that the

got “five hits” this week, then do it again the next week. Anyone in the industry knows that is wrong, but unfortunately, too many clients don’t take the time (or have a reputable PR advisor) to understand that there are some corrupt clowns out there ready to part your business with your hard-earned dollars for their own benefit.

They’re not worried about long-term gains, they’re worried about selling you a product – and they don’t care if it works, they only care if it does what they said it would do.

Who cares if your website only got five hits from some blogger in China? They don’t care, because they got your money and there are hundreds of other businesses out there looking to get rainbows and unicorns placed.

If you’re in charge of PR (either as the business owner or the internal PR person), it is your responsibility to protect yourself. You can’t buy legitimate articles and news placements, and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are lying. As I mentioned, SMT’s and Brandpoint are excellent tactics to secure significant placement, but the exact numbers vary by the quality of the story. You are actually buying unused advertisement space, called white space. It’s a way for these outlets to have revenue on unsold portions – think of it like Priceline for news media.

When you hire a reputable firm you are buying time from experts, you are not buying a tangible thing or a placement, like an advertisement. PR firms are people, not the tools or tactics they may employ, so understand that hiring a PR firm is not like “buying” an ad, where you can indeed guarantee

placement and impressions.

Also, it matters little how good the relationship they have with any media outlet – what matters is if they can craft a good story and get it into the hands of the right media professionals, cordially following up and doing this with consistency and constancy. It’s the story that matters – and most good PR firms know how to contact virtually any media professional (we have our ways).

So, unless you cured cancer, understand that that’s just not how it works. And, as reputable PR firms, we must work hard to call out these clowns that do a longterm disservice to our entire profession. My best advice, regardless of whether you consult a professional firm or just someone you know to be an expert, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

And there are, sadly, many more.

It’s a jungle out there, so be careful and remember, a good, reputable firm or professional is working hard to do legitimate things that help businesses be more successful. While getting an article placed is indeed important, media relations are and should be only part of an overall successful marketing mix that is consistent, constant and measureable, with a realistic budget.

Here’s some warning signs and things to watch out for: 1. Yes, for $2,000 we’ll get you five placements and for $4,000 we’ll get you 15.

2. All you have to do is pay for the video crew.

3. And when we run this story, we’d like the names and addresses of 20 of your clients so we can share it with them, too.

4. You don’t need to call a firm, we’ll handle everything.

5. Yep, we’ll get that in USAToday.

6. Eh, we know people at the New York Times. They’ll run what we tell them.

7. We believe in paying for performance, so you only pay us when we get your article placed. We charge $25,000 for a placement.

About the Author Rodger Roeser is the CEO of Greater Cincinnati’s premier marketing and PR firm, The Eisen Agency. He is also the national chairman of The Public Relations Agency Owner’s Association and works with other PR firms across the country to assist in their operations and profitability. He can be reached at RRoeser@TheEisenAgency.com. www.theeisenagency.com:: The 2015 Clubhouse

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The Mechanics of a Professional, Objective Communications Audit

By Rodger Roeser

It’s that time of the year where it’s smartest to sit back and review the work you’ve done over the course of the past 12 months. How did your team perform, how did you perform and how did your marketing perform are three big questions that are perfect to answer and address during the month of December. It’s called a communications audit, and it may the wisest task you take on this year to ensure you have a more successful, more rewarding and more profitable next year.

The basics of a communications audit are pretty simple – you need to gather up all the communications activities you did over the course of the year. From ads to press announcements to letters to collateral to web statistics – everything that was communicated either externally, if this is an external communications audit, or internally if it’s an internal audit. Once you have all the “stuff,” what we like to do is either spread across a conference table or post it to a wall so you can take a step back and review on first blush the general look, feel and presence of the “stuff.” As you have a vision in your mind as what this should communicate overall, take a look and see if you feel is conveys that idea or that brand. If so, check off the ‘look/feel’ box.

Next, review the copywriting and verbiage being used in things such 14

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as ad copy, sales letters, press announcements and collateral.

Does it come from a singular and branded voice, or does it feel disjointed and penned by several writers. This can be exceptionally challenging when different folks in different departments or varying agencies are putting items together without consideration of the entirety of the branded conversation. While good communications can certainly have some degree of variance, you want your materials to be consistent throughout in tone and feel.

Are the materials conveying the thoughts and concepts you want them to convey, are they portraying your business in the light you wish it to be conveyed, and does it help foster engagement and truly share a story.

were important for you and your business to measure. My favorite, most often overlooked KPI is overall sales – did they increase? If not, what the hell is marketing doing?

Right? These metrics take on a variety of forms and can be broad or incredibly granular depending on the program, product, service or goal. For example, let’s assume you wanted to measure the increase in sales of windshield washer fluid. Assuming you had a campaign to push said sales, it’s relatively simple to have benchmarked current sales, then after the campaign gauge those numbers and divide it by marketing investment. Or, on a much broader scale, if you’re looking towards increase web traffic, what percentage did that go up based on general branding and awareness activity.

After you’ve reviewed tone of voice and tone of look, now you need to look at your metrics.

Assuming you had a marketing plan for the year (you didn’t have a marketing plan, well, that’s another article but you need to do this to start making your plan for next year) now you can begin the measurement of how things actually functioned. Look at increases in web traffic, social media voice, articles published, interviews conducted, sales leads generated, impressions and so on and so forth – whatever key performance indicators (KPIs)

Now, if all this sounds like a lot of extra work, well – it is and it isn’t.

But, I’m a firm believe that you “can’t manage what you can’t measure” so having a tight communications audit is a critical, but sadly often overlooked aspect, of a good marketing plan and a good marketing leader. It’s important to have the numbers, it’s critical to look at what is and what isn’t working. Is your internal team coming up with good ideas and strategies that are helping to achieve goals, or are they simply executing random tactics as they come up. Is your agency working

with you to proactively drive business success, or are they simply executing tactics. And, if they’re simply executing tactics (assuming they’re your tactics you’re directing them to execute) are you measuring them against your goals?

And, are you able to do so objectively. Can your CMO or marketing directly truly share when something is not working well, or spend is too high or simply not producing. Sadly, in some internal situations, the fox is guarding the hen house when reporting results, so keep an objective third party in mind that has the ability and expertise to perform a comprehensive communications audit to keep your marketing and your results on track – while also looking at other opportunities that may be a significantly better investment based on the goals and results you seek.

About the Author

Rodger Roeser is the CEO of Greater Cincinnati’s premier professional services branding and marketing firm The Eisen Agency. Roeser is an award winning television, radio and print journalist, and an award winning public relations and marketing executive. He can be reached at RRoeser@TheEisenAgency.com.

When you think of the top branding firm in Cincinnati, The Eisen Agency may not be the first one that pops in your head. But, the simple fact is that our firm was honored with Top Branding Campaign by the Cincinnati PRSA in 2014. So, when you need top notch branding expertise and would rather not spend six figures doing so -- consider Greater Cincinnati's top branding firm. Us. Give us a call, we'd be happy to go through our proven methods and share our work as you consider the best firm to help you share your story.

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