By Leo Valiquette
Public relations, or, to be more exact, media relations for the purpose of getting a story told through some manner of media outlet, is a process that takes its cue from a basic tenet of marketing – understand who your potential customers are, what they want, and what they need.
Journalists want a good story that they believe is timely and relevant for their readers. But articulating your story to them isn’t always enough for reasons that may have to do with the nature of the medium in question, the constraints of newsroom resources and what else is needed to create a well-rounded and complete piece of coverage.
In my post last week, I mentioned that a strong media launch must always begin with two key activities: The development of the media materials and the development of the media list. As I wrote then, creating that media list is a tedious but altogether necessary grind to ensure that you have identified not only those media who would have an interest in your story, but who also have potential to move your market by virtue of their audience size and makeup.
Assuming that you have done your proper due diligence and caught the harried attention of a journalist or editor who has some interest in your story, circumstances can still conspire against you.
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By Peter Hanschke
For many years now I’ve been writing blogs about all things product management. I’m not sure that there is a subject I haven’t talked about. I found that the majority of topics came from my interactions with software companies — large, small, new — as well as conversations with people who have ideas, but are not sure where to begin.
As a product manager, I routinely asked myself what gives me the right to advise companies and individuals on what they should do. It boils down to having been through so many product management experiences in the past 20+ years of being a product manager that there really isn’t anything I haven’t seen.
There is, however, one scenario that I have not experienced. That is, me advising me on building an app – a mobile app, to be exact. I’ve always advised others as they plan and build out their software applications. I’ve talked to some people who have an idea of what they want to do; some who have a full-fledged idea and are well on their way; and some who have been at it a while and need some help on their next product move.
But I have never advised myself as I go through the planning, building and commercialization of an idea for a mobile app. It kind of feels like I’ll be eating my own dog food!
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By Alexandra Reid
As a regular feature, we provide our readers with a roundup of some of the best articles we have read in the past week. On the podium this week are Forbes, Financial Post, iNova Capital, Inc., TechCrunch, MediaPost and Canadian Business.
Steve Blank’s most audacious guerilla marketing stunts
Author John Greathouse speaks with Steve Blank — professor, thought leader, author and leader within the Lean Startup Movement — to share his wily and creative feats as a creative marketing entrepreneur.
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By Francis Moran
The National Angel Capital Organization’s Angel Summit, an annual gathering of those critical early-stage backers of new ventures, will wing its way to my former home town of Halifax, Nova Scotia, next week for three days of professional development workshops, company pitches and networking. As has been the case for the past few years, I will be there to report on the latest news and trends out of this important investment community.
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By Leo Valiquette
One of the guiding principles at our affiliated PR agency inmedia Public Relations is that real work has only just begun when you hit the “Send” button on a news release blast. But this of course raises the next obvious question – how much “work” is warranted once that button has been clicked?
Let me back this up a bit. There are two key activities that must first be carried out before your itchy cursor should drift anywhere near the Send button: The development of the media materials and the development of the media list.
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Meet ..duo
October 16, 2012 by Alexandra Reid
Our Francis Moran first met ..duo cofounder Daylin Mantyka while on Startup Canada volunteer duty at Accelerate Okanagan’s Jump:Start:Challenge, an investor-ready pitch competition for technology companies and entrepreneurs. He was one of the judges […]
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Social media gaffes: They can happen to anyone
October 15, 2012 by Chamber of Commerce
Missteps are increasingly becoming a part of the landscape of business social media. While unfortunate, those of us who run social media pages as businesses are still only human – and make human mistakes […]
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Great articles roundup: MVP, innovation, niche communities, and startup marketing tips
October 12, 2012 by Alexandra Reid
As a regular feature, we provide our readers with a roundup of some of the best articles we have read in the past week. On the podium this week are ReadWriteWeb, Fast Company, Forbes and VentureBeat […]
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Montreal’s Notman House enters final funding stage
October 11, 2012 by Francis Moran
For the past couple of years, with more than a little envy that we haven’t a similar facility here in Ottawa, I have been watching Notman House in Montreal slowly coalesce as a critical locus for that city’s startup, entrepreneur and diverse geek, maker and hacker […]
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Mitch Joel on why marketing is everything
October 10, 2012 by Alexandra Reid
In this podcast, originally created for IABC Ottawa’s The Voice, I explore the vast world of marketing with digital media and advertising rock star Mitch Joel. Mitch tells us that marketing is not dead but at a crossroads, and explains why businesses […]
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Apple versus Samsung – Every patent owner’s dream
October 09, 2012 by David French
On August 24, 2012 a California jury issued a decision awarding just more than $1 billion to Apple against three Samsung Electronics companies. This ranks amongst the top patent awards in US history. But the case is not over […]
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Happy Thanksgiving
October 08, 2012 by Alexandra Reid
From all of us here at Francis Moran and Associates, we wish you a safe and happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving […]
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Great articles roundup: Leaky buckets, evil marketing, midnight tokers, affording business and social media fragmentation
October 05, 2012 by Alexandra Reid
As a regular feature, we provide our readers with a roundup of some of the best articles we have read in the past week. On the podium this week are Gabriel Weinberg, Mark Evans, David Crow, Amber Naslund, and James Carson […]
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By Leo Valiquette
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The Future of A&R – Walabe : [...] http://francis-moran.com/marketing-strategy/top-10-questions-every-strategic-communicator-should-ask... [...]
Traditional Marketing is Dead – Long Live Bikini Waxer Marketing | Scalexl : [...] pointed out by Alexandra Reid on the Francis Moran website content marketing is becoming more and more like journalism. So, it is not just about the content, [...]
It’s Summertime…and the Networking is Easy? | THE MERRAINE BRAIN : [...] In fact, summer is perhaps one of the times least used to network, yet at the same time has shown to be the most productive time to network. People tend to be in a brighter mood compared to during the gloomy winters-especially where I am from in England! Networking needs to be fun and not approached as another chore, like mowing the lawn. (http://francis-moran.com/marketing-strategy/social-media-strategy-why-meeting-in-the-real-world-matt...) [...]