by Lonny Kocina | Oct 16, 2015 | Advice & Tips
To understand what we do, you have to understand what we don’t do. I’ll tell you the difference between us and the competition, and I’ll tell you how to get media coverage at a reasonable price.
Almost 30 years ago when we started selling PR by the story, things looked bleak. Most companies paid their PR firms hourly and had never heard of anyone selling media coverage by the placement. When the PR industry got wind of our pricing structure they went ballistic. The president of a public relations group made it his business to lambaste my company in both industry publications and the mainstream press. A newspaper headline on the front page of the business section read: “… with colleagues like this, who need enemies.” The article quoted a local PR professional as saying she “flew into a rage” when she found out we were selling news coverage by the story. I thought at the time, flew into a rage over what? Then a respected PR trade journal interviewed a competitor who said we “sit four to a desk.” Their bizarre anger toward us was laughable. I thought, what’s the big deal? We sell media coverage by the story rather than hourly.
by Lonny Kocina | Oct 5, 2015 | Advice & Tips
When you see news stories about a consumer product, it’s easy to think that a reporter just happened to learn about the product and decide it deserved media coverage. That’s not necessarily the case. Quite likely, someone had a hand in telling the reporter about the product. Often times, that someone is us. Over the last three decades, our staff has arranged tens of thousands of product stories. The secret to our success is that we charge per story rather than by the hour. Many marketers ask, “How can I get publicity for my product?” The answer is: call us.
by Lonny Kocina | Oct 1, 2015 | Advice & Tips
Many companies don’t use PR to tell their story. That’s because many PR firms charge big hourly fees with no guarantee of coverage. I don’t blame anyone for skipping that gamble. We’ve made it cost-effective and smart to take advantage of the best way to promote your product: media coverage.
by Lonny Kocina | Sep 23, 2015 | Advice & Tips
No promotional tool is more underused than product news coverage. I know because my company, Media Relations, Inc., has been arranging product news stories for almost 30 years. One of our most important tasks is helping companies understand that they can ‒ and should ‒ tap into the power of media coverage to promote their products.
by Lonny Kocina | Sep 21, 2015 | Advice & Tips
No matter how bizarre something is, once people become accustomed to it, they think it is normal. That’s how I view many aspects of the PR industry. It’s hard to imagine an industry more off course. There’s a better way to get publicity for your product.
