PR and the Beauty Biz

August 23, 2012 1 Comment

Perhaps no other industry is better suited for PR than the beauty world.  There are countless outlets both in the traditional media world and online.  There are product stories and human interest stories.  There are feel good and transformational stories.  There are stories and pitches for different target markets.  There are visually compelling make over stories and there are seasonal and make over stories.  Yep, if used wisely public relations is the beauty industry’s best friend.

In many ways the cosmetic industry can be recession proof and therefore should be marketed during both good and bad economic times.  The industry was born in the Great Depression. This is one industry where it pays to promote even more aggressively during tough times. As in most of the industries that deal with style including entertainment and fashion, a strong media relations campaign is critical when it comes to establishing a skin care line, or cosmetic brand.

Initially, your most important job is to come up with a number of media hooks, i.e. compelling stories. For example come up with interesting stories which define how your product is different? Do any celebrities use your product? How does it make your customers feel? Is there a visual component you can add to the pitch?  Is there an interesting story around how you developed and launched the company? The trick is to come up with as many angles, stories and pitches as possible. You want to make sure that you have strong visuals, both of your products and of people using your products.  Strong before and after photos are always a plus. If you’re going to be the spokesperson, you also want to have photos of you ready to go.   Once you have your stories ready to go, come up with a strong target media list including local, regional and national media.

Once you begin to land print coverage in magazines and newspapers, use social media and blogging to amplify that media online.  That helps generate media interest and starts establishing the brand. Develop a social media strategy in order to capitalize on your TV and print media coverage.

It’s important to develop a steady build and to have the pieces in place to be able to capitalize on the media as it comes. It’s important to be realistic and launch a campaign that will offer you a slow, steady manageable build.  Remember the world of beauty, cosmetics and skincare is one that is tailor made for PR, develop and implement a strong media relations and marketing strategy and it will pay off in the long run.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

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Is the Right’s Media Message Wrong?

July 30, 2010 Leave a comment

Obama’s popularity ratings continue to plummet.  The passage of the health care and financial reform, which should have triggered celebration on the blue side of the aisle, don’t seem to be giving any up tick to the president’s PR position.  The BP spill, and the administration’s glacial reaction to it, hasn’t helped the President’s cause much and there seems to be an uncomfortable internal battle between the President and those in his party that are running for reelection.

This is a prime opening for the Republicans, yet in many ways it’s the Republicans who truly seem at war with one another.  From the media’s perspective, the party or Reagan now seems to view “moderate’ as a term only surpassed in distain by that deadly label – “liberal”.

The Democrats are doing their best to portray Republicans as the party of ‘no” and unless they begin to propose workable alternatives to the Democrat’s agenda, they run the risk of being viewed mainly as obstructionists, as opposed to problem solvers.  Whereas the county does seem to be veering to the right, any true success will most likely not come by making a hard right.  Britain tried that and their Conservatives paid for it.  It took a centrist, David Cameron, to begin to bring Britain’s conservatives back to the forefront.

Michael Steele doesn’t seem to be the chairman that the RNC needs at this time.  As Obama’s ratings nosedive, the Republicans need a strategic co-coordinator to rally the troops and come up with a strategic unified message, as opposed to several splintered messages. The party also needs to develop some strong presidential front runners.  Sarah Palin is definitely a strong brand name, and a wealthy one.  ABC new estimated that Palin had made in excess of $12 million since stepping down as Alaska’s governor. Yet a recent CNN pool has Obama beating her by 55% to 42% in a head-to-head battle.  More worrisome for the Palin camp, 69% stated she was not qualified to be president.  Obviously much can change between not and 2012, but at present there seems to be no urgency to develop a strong conservative platform with room for moderates.

For now, many view the Republicans as the party of obstructionism, with an intolerance that seems to view any form of cooperation or compromise as a type of blasphemy not to be tolerated.  The Tea Party could become a truly influential movement, but without a true agenda apart from big government being a bad thing, chances are it will eventually implode or begin to splinter into various factions.

This is a perfect opportunity for the Republicans to swoop in and capitalize on the current anger and dissatisfaction in the country, but without a strategic media campaign that reaches out to and resonates with the voters; it could well be a missed opportunity

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

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Why PR Is The Most Effective Branding & Marketing Tool

March 20, 2009 Leave a comment

Let’s say you read an ad for an attorney in your local newspaper.  The ad tells you how wonderful the attorney is, what she specializes in, what services she offers, and how to contact her.  Now let’s say you read an article about that same attorney.  The article profiles her and tells you about a case she just won and the impact that case had.  Both pieces you read are in the newspaper.  Both have to do with the same attorney, but which one would impress you the most, which would you pay more attention to, the ad or the article?    My bet is the article.

 

Why?  The ad is informative, but it’s paid for by the attorney.  So, do we completely trust the information?  We are aware that whatever the ad says was either written by the attorney or someone hired by the law firm and the informaiton is being controlled.  The article is a news story.  It is a third person account.  It has been vetted by a writer and an editor.  That doesn’t necessarily make the article more factually accurate than the ad, but it is perceived differently.   The media’s job is to tell a story and to give the reader information, whereas the ad is meant to sell.

 

For that reason the article offers the attorney more validation and credibility.  People tend to trust an expert who has been featured in the media more than one they see in an ad or a commercial.  In a nutshell it’s the ability to offer that credibility to give the reader that sense of trust that makes PR is the most effective form of marketing and branding available. 

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The Most Powerful & Cost-effective Marketing Tool Available

March 19, 2009 1 Comment

blogThe most important part of a media campaign or public relations campaign is that you start.  The best game plan is going to get you absolutely nowhere if you don’t implement it.  If you can afford to hire a public relations firm or media consultant, search for a PR firm that understands you and your story(s).  An effective media relations campaign comes down to two main steps, discovering your story and being able to effectively tell it in a compelling interesting way – and knowing who to tell your story to.  What’s vital is getting that initial press coverage and knowing how to grow it from there. For example, we were working with a client who had very little media coverage.  We were able to secure an article in a regional magazine and using that as our calling card were able to land a segment on Oprah.  Obviously leaping from a regional magazine to a major national TV show isn’t the norm, but it is possible, and that is basically how an effective public relations campaign works. 

 

Another client we were working with was looking to establish herself as an expert in her field and was also working on a book that she was planning on self publishing.  Prior to the book’s publication we were able to land her media coverage in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, NBC, NPR and other media outlets.  That high level media coverage helped interest a major publishing house.  The publisher bought the rights and the book went from being self published to getting a major release.   Remember PR has myriad uses; it reaches your target market, establishes you as an expert in your field, can brand your company more effectively than other forms of marketing  and gives you promotional tools in the forms of magazine and newspaper articles and TV and radio interviews. Used wisely and effectively, dollar for dollar, PR is the most powerful and cost-effective marketing tool available.   

 

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2009

 

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A Quick Public Relations Media Review- What You Can Do Yourself for Your Media Relations Campaign in this Downturn

March 18, 2009 Leave a comment

Television: Remember to target your local media including cable or community college TV.  Study the various programs, some are talk, others are news, and others are community-oriented in their scope. When sending a release to television news programs, allow three days to one week lead time.  When sending information to talk shows, allow at least three two to four weeks.  Study the last ten minutes of broadcast on the local news.  That time slot usually features soft news and human interest stories.

Magazines:  Look for special-interest publications dedicated to covering news in your field.  These are magazines that are devoted to one particular field or area.  When pitching a story to a weekly magazine, send your information out one month to six weeks in advance.  If pitching a monthly magazine, make sure to get your information to the editor a minimum of three months in advance.  If you are pitching a Christmas-oriented story, send it in August.  Keep magazine guides in mind as potential media outlets.  These are tourist-oriented publications that are usually distributed in hotels and in some restaurants.

Newspapers:  When pitching the local newspapers, develop a hook that is local in its scope or is community-oriented.  If you are pitching a daily or metro newspaper make sure to allow a minimum of two weeks.  Although there have been countless stories predicting the death of newspapers, remember over one half of the country receives a daily paper.  This is an extremely powerful, multi-billion dollar industry.  When pitching a weekly or biweekly paper, allow a minimum of three weeks.  Offer to write articles for trade, community-based or local publications, free of charge.  Also keep in mind ethnic-oriented papers which are rapidly growing around the country. Don’t overlook club newsletters, church bulletins, business association newsletters and small newspapers.

Radio:  It is not a medium to be ignored.  To pitch a story to a radio program, send your
information at least two weeks in advance.  Many radio shows have call-in formats, so prepare to answer a variety of questions.  If you have an 800 number, make sure and ask the producer if you can give it out over the air.  Also make sure and leave your phone number with the station to give out to listeners who call in for information.  If you have call waiting, remember to disconnect it before conducting an interview. 

Newswire Services:   Newswire services, such as AP, gather information and provide stories to other media.  The stories are written by the service’s reporters and transmitted to newsrooms around the country.  Newswire services also have a daybook, which list the day’s newsworthy events.  Unless it’s breaking news, when pitching a story to a wire service make sure to send your information a minimum of two weeks in advance.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2009

 

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Priming the Public Relations Pump

November 3, 2008 Leave a comment

During the first two months of a public relations campaign, you are basically priming the pump.  As to the bottom line, expect the first month to be a wash as far as media placement is concerned.  During that time, you will be writing your releases, sending out the initial pitches, and basically introducing yourself to the media.  Be calm, be patient, and don’t panic.  As time goes by, you’ll start to see results.  Media begets media.  Once you appear on a talk show or in a magazine, utilize your press to garner yourself more media.  This is where the payoff starts.

 

The first few months of a campaign can be difficult, particularly for a PR novice.  It is often the hurry-up-and-wait time of the campaign.  But this can be the most important time as well.  This is the time for brainstorming, for figuring out which stories will work with which media outlets, to broaden your scope and think outside of the box.  Use this time wisely.  Study the media.  If you’re working with a public relations firm, make this the time to give them all of the information and tools that they can utilize to successfully launch the campaign for you.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

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A Real Life View of PR

October 19, 2008 Leave a comment

How long does a media campaign take? That depends on how you’re measuring it. How long does a successful marketing campaign take? I view media relations as an integral part of running a business, a company, or a career. Many mistakenly view PR as an emergency measure, a tool to be utilized during a crisis, or as a temporary supplement to a marketing campaign. In reality public relations is the most effective strategic business tool at your disposal, not a Band-Aid. An effective media placement campaign is an ongoing building process. It ebbs and flows, but in the long run it is continually advancing you and your business forward.

Whereas the overall campaign is an ongoing process, you will find that various stories or
media hooks definitely run their course. Some stories have a self-imposed shelf life.
For example, we have put together campaigns for the premieres of feature films, as well as
campaigns for politicians running for office, although the two may appear to have little in
common (which isn’t really true), they both have a preset time line, a specific date at which point the campaigns come to an end. Once the film closes, or the voters go to the polls, the campaigns are over.

Seasonal campaigns are also self-limiting and holiday-oriented campaigns are dictated by the calendar. Other stories just tend to run their course. We worked with a physician who wrote a book on a nutritional supplement, and were able to place quite a few stories. It was a very hot topic for quite a few months, and we were able to place the client in a number of national media outlets. Then the interest began to wane; it was time to change our scope. We still pitched story ideas, but started to add other health-oriented stories to the pitch.

My advice is to view your story ideas and your hooks as temporary, but your overall campaign as an ongoing part of your business. As your business grows and the seasons change, come up with new ideas to pitch to the media, but keep your campaign moving. So, how long does a campaign take, well you should be garnering media coverage within the second or third month, but an effective media relations campaign is not something that you do for a couple of months, put in mothballs for a year. It is an ongoing component of any successful overall marketing campaign.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
For further information visit:
http://www.AnthonyMora.com

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