public relations

  • Jul 27 2020

    Publicity Value, Why It’s Better Than Advertising

    By InMarketing 0

    Though different, both advertising and publicity (public relations) are essential tools in the marketing toolkit, and can work together with other marketing initiatives to meet brand objectives. We’ll take a look at what makes them different, and why Let’s start with examining how these two marketing functions are different.

    How are Advertising and Public Relations Different?

    Though often conflated, advertising and public relations differ on the following:

    • Advertising is paid placement, while publicity generated from public relations’ activities results in editorial placement.
    • Advertising is your organization telling the world that your brand, product or service is the best – the message is expressly coming from your organization and distributed through ads or commercials. Publicity (often referred to as earned media), is third parties like those in the media or digital influencers sharing some form of the message by telling the world that your brand, product or service is the best.

    Messaging Control: Advertising Versus PR

    They both offer benefits with regards to communicating brand or product messages to the public.  They differ on extent of control with regards to what the message is, and when and where it will appear.

    Advertising and Messaging

    With paid placement, your organization pays to advertise on select outlets and maintains complete control of:

    • The message.
    • Where the message appears.
    • When the message appears, and the campaigns duration.

    Publicity and Messaging

    With earned media, journalists, editors, news producers, bloggers, influencers and others who’ve attained trusted status with the public control:

    • The message – they can interpret or change the message as they see fit.
    • Where the message appears.
    • When and if the message appears.

    In the editorial space, there are myriad of individuals with myriad of opinions regarding your product or service therefore your business cannot directly control the message.

    However, your business can certainly shape the message through strategic public relations activities. And that is where truly excellent public relations’ strategies shine, and a compelling reason to have PR pros on your side.

    The Value of Publicity #lookatus

    publicity, look marketing, public relations, florida

    Be where people are looking with something of value to them in a memorable, meaningful way.

  • Feb 14 2020

    How An NYC Commute Won “Best Public Relations”

    By InBuzz

    Public Relations is the marketing communications art of having people tell your story to audiences of people that you want to hear it. There’s science and best practices behind good PR and there’s also knowing what’s a questionable seed of an opportunity and fertilizing it properly to watch it grow it into a redwood forrest.  In today’s media landscape that seed of a story can turn into a forrest in hours, or even minutes.  That’s called PR gold, when your brand story goes viral.

    In the later half of last summer we were sent a seed of a PR opportunity via e-mail for our BFF client Sea-Doo watercraft. Mr. David Pike of Jersey City, NJ sent an e-mail about an opportunity to do something unique on a Sea-Doo and that the media may pick up on. Now, as the PR agency for the global, industry leading personal watercraft brand for the past 15 years, we get dozens of, “great ideas” every year about how people can promote Sea-Doo through exotic, sometimes crazy rides.  We do our due diligence on everyone of them. LOOK makes sure we don’t miss that hidden, golden nugget. Nearly all of the ‘pitches’ are passed on for various reasons; no plan, lacking physical skill, no experience, not thought out, doesn’t understand what the media are interested in, doesn’t understand brand positioning, or is simply so wacky you wonder what bar stool they were sitting on when the idea developed.

    the golden seed.

    David Pike was one of the rare idea guys that actually had a solid, and very doable idea. Pike is smart, business savvy, and simply found a better way to commute around New York City. And at the same time live the Sea-Doo Life. For years he was commuting 90-minutes each way from his home in Jersey City to his business, The New York Trolley Company, in Brooklyn, New York.  That’s an hour and a half each way or three-hours out of each day lost simply getting from one point to another.

    Pike, sick of the grind and losing his time looked at a map. He realized a straight shot across New York Harbor is less than three-miles. This is where his e-mail to us comes in. He figured out how to beat the NYC Commute by riding a Sea-Doo from his condo with a private marina in Jersey City, past the Statue of Liberty and to his office in Brooklyn. He would cut his commute down to 20-minutes door-to-door and do it with a smile as he lived the ‘Sea-Doo life’ everyday.

    It all fit. David is a good looking, young entrepreneur with a young family and figured out how to make his life better by riding a Sea-Doo to work. Great story right? Right. After a few weeks of commuting via Sea-Doo the New York Media (the biggest in the country) were, ah hum, informed of his ‘system beating’ commute. Then ABC called and the 2:57 segment aired on Good Morning America and the ‘seed’ exploded. Pike on his Sea-Doo smiling and cruising by lady liberty was picked up by The New York Post, CBS Radio, Yahoo News, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal and more.

    David’s NYC Sea-Doo Life Commute went viral…Public Relations Gold.

    Neptune Award for Best Public Relations

    At the 2020 Miami International Boat Show LOOK Marketing won two Neptune Awards. One for Best Public Relations. The Neptune Awards are presented by the Marine Marketers of America organization to celebrate the best marketing campaigns and activations in the Marine Industry. These are LOOK Marketing’s fifth and sixth Neptune Awards, and includes wins in five different marketing categories.

    Great PR includes great story telling. David Pike’s Sea-Doo life was unique, engaging and relatable for so many New Yorkers. He had a great story to tell and the media of NYC loved sharing it. It would’ve been easy for us to delete his short e-mail as ‘another dude with a crazy idea,’ yet we studied that seed, fertilized it and low and behold it grew bigger than we ever expected.  Every person and every brand has a story. Tell your story. And if you need help. #lookatus