Product publicity is a beautiful thing. A few weeks ago, an article that ran for one of our clients generated such long lines at their mall kiosk that their landlord gave them a discount on next month’s rent because they brought so many people into the mall.
Nothing outsells publicity. Why? I’ll let you in on a secret: it’s the back story. Customers love to hear the story behind the product, and when they do, they buy. Ads lay out the facts like where to buy and how much the widget costs, but the back stories you see in the media run much deeper than a bulleted sales message. They offer interesting details about how the products were made and the people who produce them. Most products and companies have fascinating back stories, and the public loves to hear them. Unfortunately, though, they only hear a fraction of these stories. This is because publicity is a grossly underutilized and overlooked promotional channel. You haven’t gotten much publicity for your company or products, have you? Don’t feel too bad: neither has your competition.
My experience is that many marketers think of publicity as that “free stuff.” They like it when they get it, but will put zero effort into harnessing it as a sustainable and ongoing promotional channel. That’s sure a shame for them, but it’s a goldmine for our clients!
The other day I slipped and mentioned the name of one of our long-term clients. That could have been a mistake, considering this particular client doesn’t want us telling anyone that they work with us. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe because they don’t want their competition to know about the “secret marketing weapon” they’ve been successfully utilizing.
If you’re sick of squandering away profitable marketing opportunities, give us a call and we’ll talk about getting publicity for your product.
