VOLUME 5a. April 15th 2000.
On-Line Marketing: Publishing The Press
Release.
Ian Clayton, AXSES SCI
When I started AXSES, way back in the 1980’s, I
did my own PR. Not that I thought I knew much about it then, but it was all the
company could afford. It was free. AXSES was as small as a company could
be. No sales, no employees and no assets. It had nothing to sell, just an idea.
It was the early days of the Personal Computer, and PCs had high prices and
gross margins. It was easy to knock off a few dollars with group buying. So I
started the AXSES PC Buyers Association and before I opened the doors I told the
press about it.
It was not the big mass announcement; I
sent one letter at a time to a few Journalists and followed up with a phone
call. The editor of Office Automation found it interesting and visited me in my
home. He immediately wrote a feature article about the idea, the need and the
solution. Soon other magazines picked up the story. The Financial Post did a
section on AXSES. Then CFTV’s Maureen O’Hara came around with her TV crew to
chat over tea in my sitting room. The chat turned into 6 weeks of prime spots
(6pm news). I was billed as the man who started the PC Buyers Club and an expert
on computers. Very Fancy!. Great advertising at a great
price!.
The Buying Club changed and soon we were assembling IBM
compatibles in the basement. We marketed the AXSES PC, one of the first PC
clones in North America. Bell Canada agreed to warrantee the AXSES PC
nationwide. Hydro Quebec bought them for their remote offices (first order
was for 1/4 million Canadian dollars). Concordia University made the AXSES PC
its standard configuration. I dumped my old car that was falling to bits
and bought a new 4-wheel drive Jeep. Times were great, all as a result of PR
that worked, along with a lot of luck.
Exclusive vs Mass Mail
PR.
The strategy of limited (semi exclusive) distribution, with phone
follow-up worked for AXSES. But it is not the way that the man who sold
the Brooklyn Bridge did it. The man who sold the Brooklyn Bridge mass
mailed his Press Release to editors and never phoned one. If you
ask the experts what is best you will get varied answers.
Tim Moss of
MS&L, PR partner for the Barbados Tourism Authority in the UK, says: "Mass
PR does not work, journalists want exclusive stories and that is what we
deliver". Tim works with particular editors for particular stories on an
exclusive basis and gets great coverage in the very best media. Ruder Finn and
DMBB also work to get that exclusive high profile story. But they also send out
the traditional mailings for the traditional PR. It depends on the
article and its object as well as your budget, skill and resources. Not
everyone is a TV personality, not everyone has the right connections, and not
everyone can afford the personal touch. So a lot of PR is mass mailed, and if
the story is really unique, catchy and newsworthy, it works. But for the
small tourism operator or destination, the typical news item is not exceptional
and does not stand out of the crowd. It needs help.
The BWIA
special "Boston to Barbados for only $399" is not going to get
a big play without help. BWIA might promote it but are Editors going to do a
story?. The answer is "Not likely". However, when the team from Treasures
of Barbados bumps into a Washington Post Journalist and sparks her interest in a
new "Holidays Treasures Experience" it’s news. It’s an exclusive, sparked by
personal contact and made into a story by people who share interest and
affinity.
Unless the news is really different, it will need the
personal touch. That is what good PR companies do. That is why we have
FAM trips for Journalists. That’s also why we pay journalists and magazines to
write and publish stories like "Barbados In Bloom", (Garden Design, http://barbados.org/events-garden.htm),
"Architectural Discovery; Barbados", (Architectural Digest, http://barbados.org/events-architecture.htm) and "Dive with Dave Doubilet" a special event published and promoted
by National Geographic Magazine ( http://barbados.org/doubilet.htm ).
There has always been a very personal side to PR in the
Travel Trade. It has been about knowing whom to contact, when and with what
angle. So what can the Internet offer? Well, things are changing. The
Internet provides new avenues for news and offers new opportunities to establish
contacts and distribute stories. On-line news works on the principle of
mass narrow-cast, where lots of news comes in and is then filtered and channeled
to those people who have an interest (e.g: http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/travel). At the same time, the traditional media is building on-line news
services and expanding their service.
PR - Publications
Resources on the
Net.
1.
MediaMap is a comprehensive directory of
the media for the PR professional. They claim; "we deliver the industry's best
media intelligence to your desktop with powerful software you need to
effectively serve your clients". The publications include information about
rates and circulation and more importantly, details of the editors with their
personal profiles and
preferences.
2.
The PressFile sniffs out addresses, phone
numbers and web-based info on that coveted press contact. It is designed
for the PR professional. For PR professionals on a promotional trip,
PressFile will retrieve a contact's recent articles, gather maps and directions
to their offices etc.
3.
Distribute your press releases to 3,000+ Journalists who subscribe to
receive Web-related news tips. Targeted Modules reach hundreds of Journalists
who cover specific topics and industries, such as business, finance, arts,
entertainment, and travel.
4.
URLwire is a PR system aimed at helping get
websites reviewed. Many site reviewers do NOT want a press release; they want a
short site abstract sent to a private Email box using a special subject
line.
5.
Example:
Travel/Leisure News for Saturday, April 15th, 2000
Delta
Air Lines To Codeshare To Namibia With South African Airways Partner
Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Delta Connection, To Introduce Regional Jet
Service Between Atlanta And White
Primeras Inversiones, International
Havana, Cuba e-Commerce Breakthrough
Internetwire also submits news to a worldwide audience
of media, analysts and consumers. The International Newsbureau service at
http://axses.com/newswire provides better filteering
options. You can select publications from an extensive list of choices,
categories and
subcategories.
6.
Each week, researchers ferret out just
what the media needs from PR sources, and publish this in PartyLine. Included
are new publications. This is a subscribtion service.
AXSES Web Communications will be pleased to help you create an
On-Line Press Release Campaign that works. If you would like help with a
news release or story: gives us a call at tel 246-431-8950 or email
iclayton@axses.net
Keep Tuned for more on NetMarketing -
Banners and Paid Advertsing on the net.
We look forward to your
feedback.
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Internet Travel
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Internet Marketing -Intro mch 8
vol 1. Travel on net mch 12
vol 2a.
Promo on the net mch 21
vol 2b. Features of the net mch 29
vol 2c. The
new marketing mix Apr 8
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search Engines
------------------------------------------------------------------------
vol 3. iNet Advertising-SE Apr20
vol3a. Keywords May 2
vol3b.
Popularity May 9
vol3c. Java & Scripts May16
vol3d. Final word May24
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-Line Reservation Systems - OLRS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
vol4. OLRS-1 Intro. Dec20
vol4a. OLRS-Pegaus Jan5
vol4b. OLRS-DMS
Jan15
vol4c. OLRS -Channels in Transition Jan24
vol4d- OLRS -Choices
Galore Feb
8th
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On-Line
Marketing
(NetMarketing)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
vol5.-
Netmarketing. Mch 1st
vol5a. NetMarketing-news. Creating a Wiining PR. Mch
28th
vol5b. NetMarketing-prpub. Publishing the PR. April
20th