Three Options to Optimize the Brand Awareness of Your Business 

Do you want your company to be famous? Public relations is one of the most important aspects of owning a business. After the first few years of growing, we set out to formalize our public relations plan. I had some experience at an internship in public relations, but nowhere near what was needed to run things efficiently. So we needed to spring into action. Here are some takeaways from that experience, which turned out well in the end:

The Boutique Experience

As we started to grow, we knew we needed some help on the PR front, so we sought out a local boutique PR firm. Being new to the game, we were not sure what we even expected of the firm. After a trial period of a few months and only small mentions locally, we knew we had to shift gears because we were a national company and wanted that national attention. The agency was also missing that hook that was really needed to get us noticed. So we moved on to another boutique agency.  This time they were based in Los Angeles, and their hook was celebrities. After a few months of feeble attempts to promote the business with that angle, we decided to move on.

What we found: the pros of a small boutique PR outfit were that we could work directly with the owner of the agency, who also happened to be the one who was pitching us. This relationship allowed for more communication between us as the client, and them as the pitcher. The downside was their lack of time, being a one-person operation.  Because they were working alone, we did not get much in the way of formal documentation on what they were doing.  Our goals when moving to a larger firm included the need for more transparency or documentation and more media contacts.

Pro: You get one-on-one time with the one who is pitching you.
Con: Lack of time for them to provide written updates for you.

The Expensive Experience

So next, we counted our pennies, so to speak, and created a budget for public relations that was a stretch for us, but we knew we just wanted to go for it. This time, we went with a multi-national PR firm out of New York.

I was under the impression that if we went with an agency like this that their contacts would be outstanding, and like nothing that we had ever had access to before. This turned out to be wrong. We had just as many contacts as they had, and in fact, we had even more! But we were spending beacoup dollars on travel, and meals, and all the luxuries that come with hiring a large PR firm. The good part: we had several people working on our account: one main executive to oversee the account, and a few junior level professionals. The communication was organized, but they never fully understood our product, and that made it hard to find the right hook. What I did learn from the experience was how to deal with the media. It was a great education on media relations, but we didn’t reap much reward from their other efforts.

Pro: A few people working on your account brings different perspectives on strategies.
Con: High cost

The Authentic Experience

After many dollars spent on the PR experience, we decided to give it a try on our own. We identified a team member in-house who  had PR experience and gave her free rein to see what she could do.

For starters, she knew the product better than any agency we hired. Our outreach to traditional and social media was therefore so much more authentic, and as a result we were picked up by magazines, blogs, and more.  We were also able to build relationships directly with editors and bloggers rather than through a third party. We realized then that it wasn’t just talking about our products that was of interest, it was also about the company and its founders. We were able to stretch our PR dollars farther than ever before by bringing this function in-house.

Pro: The cost and knowing your product better than anyone. Plus the contacts you make, you get to keep.
Con: The media rejection is direct, i.e. not through a third party.

In the end, each company needs to define what becoming “famous” means to them.  And of course, what the budget is too!