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"Can One Person Make Eye Contact with Millions of People Each Day?"

 

by Ilene Proctor

 

Impossible, you say. But with public relations it's not only possible, it's probable when you know how to use the media as the medium to reach out and touch millions of consumers.

 

We live in a world where information is power and communication is the conduit for that power. The global village is now a reality. This means that for marketing a product good public relations are no longer an option; it is a necessity.

 

The value of publicity cannot be underestimated in the highly volatile world of business. How a particular product or personality is presented to the public can have a huge impact on success or failure.

 

No matter how good your product or client is, or how wonderful your information is, unless people know about its value, you're not getting your message to the masses of people who can benefit. Evidence of my PR agency's expertise can be found in the thousands of stories it has generated for clients, including news coverage by CNN, ABC News, CBS News, the Associated Press, Dow Jones News, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, People, the Washington Post, and hundreds of industry and professional publications. If a product isn't seen, it can't be experienced. And if it isn't seen and experienced it won't be believed. So we begin with the problem of visibility, of working to strip away the nonessentials so that your efforts to become recognized will become reality. Don't become missing in inaction.

 

Public Relations is the business that not only knows where you're going, but charts the best course for your going there. You can be the best or have the best products in the world, but without the spotlight, nobody will know.

 

Ilene Proctor International Public Relations, a landmark agency since 1988, will help you not only obtain recognition for your product but also build sales, boost your bottom line, define and create an image, and help establish yourself as an expert in your field.

 

PR SÍ, ADVERTISING NO.
PR is much more cost-effective than advertising because getting an editorial usually costs 10% of ad rates. PR packs more punch and credibility because an editorial is perceived as far more objective. It reads as an editor's opinion rather than your own. It implies a level of endorsement that advertising doesn't. That is the power of PR.

 

While a consumer may harbor built-in reservations vis-à-vis advertisements and commercials, they are more prone to accept and believe the PR message because it comes in the form of subtle news and information.

 

Most business owners attribute a 25% to 50% increase in their business strictly to PR. After a public relations campaign brought a spa client of mine to the attention of Harper's Bazaar, the salon received 2,475 calls as a result; and a few new clients drove hundreds of miles for their services ever since. Another time, the Los Angeles Police Department contacted me to help them sell a 37,000-seat concert fund-raiser they were doing with Linda Ronstadt. Their problem: They were telemarketing the tickets; and as soon as the people they called heard they were the police, they found every excuse under the sun, moon, and stars to get off the phone! The LAPD tried to sell tickets for six months; and for all their efforts, only 300 were sold.

 

An additional dilemma: They only had one month left. My solution: I obtained a major five-column article on page two in the Los Angeles Times with a story that showed poor Sergeant Gomez sitting at his desk, stacked to the rafters with unsold tickets to the concert. The implied message was that he couldn't do his important police work until the tickets were sold. Result: We sold out the concert in one day ... 36,700 tickets.

 

Another time, I was asked by The United Nations General Assembly to do a fund-raiser for Bosnian women and children with Sophia Loren as Hostess. Problem: As the situation in Yugoslavia was in crisis, we had to prepare the event in as little as two weeks' time. This kind of event usually takes at least four months' preparation. Solution: Sophia Loren and a lot of other celebs were sent to every major television, radio, and newspaper outlet in Los Angeles to inform everyone of the event. We also did a press conference just prior to the event. Result: We raised $3 million dollars in one night. That's the power of PR.

 

My history with Vincent Bugliosi is one for the PR books. Because of the controversial nature of his last book, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, Vince's original publicist, a very pricey Park Avenue firm, was only able to obtain three interviews in two months. But through an unexpected set of circumstances, I met Vince; he engaged my services; and in the first two weeks I obtained 40 interviews, including C-SPAN and the NY Times.

 

I have full bragging rights for this accomplishment. With Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, we challenged the Pentagon when they teamed up with the Christian Crusade and Tim LeHaye and Jerry Jenkins ( the Left Behind authors) to send a so-called "Freedom Package" to every soldier serving in Iraq and Afghanistan including a controversial apocalyptic Left Behind: Eternal Force video game. My concept of "The Rapture is Not an Exit Strategy" fully engaged the media, resulting in a fierce public response that aborted the Pentagon's foolish strategy.

 

Be aware: The next time you pick up your local newspaper or turn on TV and find out about a story of, say, the latest nutritional news, look for the source of information. Chances are the "expert" quoted is someone like yourself. But why is your competition in articles while you're not? The clue is public relations, which is behind almost every media mention that you read. But don't fret and don't regret — our publicity campaign can get you to be the "expert" in the media, too.

 

But publicity doesn't just happen overnight. Sometimes it takes months of hard work to become an "overnight success." Publicity requires effort, attention to detail, product knowledge, creativity, and salesmanship. Once you learn to think like a publicist, ideas are out there waiting to happen. To publicize an Italian restaurant, I literally saturated their press release heavily with a mixture of garlic and other heady aromas, so when editors picked up the release and read "PLEASE DO NOT EAT THIS PRESS RELEASE" they were so delighted they called me immediately to make a reservation for a review. For another restaurant, ANDRIA'S HARBORSIDE in Santa Barbara, my plethora of publicity resulted in multiple awards from Elmer Dills to the California Restaurant Writers Association and the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association etc.

 

I firmly believe that the art of masterful public relations is in creative marketing. For a very shy fashion designer, I created the first Feng Shui fashion collection. The concept is not only totally mediagenic as it is a first for using this cosmic oriental philosophy in fashion; it also worked to overcome the innate reticence of my client, so that she actually became a very enthusiastic spokesperson. The result was a huge media bonanza.

 

A few years ago, having a Web site was optional. Today, you must not only keep up with the cyber-Joneses — you must Trump them. Pay attention to what your audience wants, and by doing so you'll attract top-of-the-mark advertisers. The fact is that with little more than a computer and a dream, even the smallest of start-ups can go head-to-head, pocket-to-pocket with the big boys. The playing field is now so level, even the tiniest player can flatten you if you're not up to speed — broadband, that is. Brand name recognition isn't the name of the game anymore — it's effective strategy building, publicity, and marketing that are unique to the Internet audience. If you understand that, you will eat your competition for lunch.

 

Perhaps the greatest compliment I as a publicist can have is when the media itself hires me to do their own projects. For instance, the bureau chief of CNN Ruben Olague hired me to publicize his documentary, Silent France. Also, several media personalities have recommended me to clients; and on my referral list I include several members of the media.

 

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