I was in the checkout line at the grocery store last night and, as I was throwing my purchases onto the conveyor belt, I noticed that almost every tabloid and entertainment magazine had a cover story about Jesse James’ marital affair and the word “monster” somehow worked into the headline. My first thought was, “How sad.” My second thought was, “What’s his PR team doing about this?” (more…)
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Take a Chance, Make it Happen
I’ll admit, I’ve never been one for gambling, yet I can fully see its allure to others. There is something appealing about rolling a winning pair of dice, turning over a winning hand, or pulling down on the arm of a winning slot machine. Heck, even I wholeheartedly enjoy simply walking the floors of a casino and seeing all the excitement unfold. So why is it than that I don’t share in that excitement? Is it because I am not a risk taker? No, that can’t be it. Because as PR professionals, do we not take chances every day? Each time we go after a story and take all the necessary steps to land our clients in these stories, that is essentially what we are doing. Sure, PR is about relationships and utilizing those relationships for the better of our clients, but is there ever an element of pure luck and timing involved with our strategies? I wonder. (more…)
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Tarnishing the Halo: Biden Drops the Bomb
Use of profanity is traditionally accepted as an occasional outburst reserved for situations of duress or frustration, but as recent events have demonstrated, it can also be used to ring in historic government change. By now, we all know that Vice President Biden said on-air, for millions of Americans to hear, that the new healthcare bill was a ‘big f***ing deal’. It sure is. However, as a PR professional, I find the response tactics employed by the White House and the national media disconcerting. (more…)
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Matter Communications Doubles Office Space
Newburyport, Mass. –To support current and projected growth, Matter Communications, Inc., a full-service public relations agency specializing in high-technology and consumer markets, announced today that it has doubled the size of its offices in both Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island. While many of the top PR firms reported reductions in staff and revenue during a challenging 2009, according to recently published data from O’Dwyer’s, Matter experienced growth and is poised to do so again in 2010. A positive fiscal outlook combined with the physical build-out of its facilities has allowed for the near-term hiring of additional PR professionals to service the agency’s expanding client roster. (more…)
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Hey, reporters, we have a few things in common
A few years ago when I was a reporter snooping around Boston covering the political beat and thinking about crossing over and starting a career in PR, a few nagging concerns were holding me back. I really had no idea what PR people did day to day, except for what a few colleagues who had made the same move told me. Would my skills and experience translate? (more…)
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The ‘P’ word
Procrastination – we’re all guilty of it at some time or another. Heck, I did it with this blog post (shh). (more…)
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“Polluting” the Story
In the competitive environment of PR, our job is to not only know everything about our clients and their messaging, but also to know their competitors businesses and PR strategies. Between google searches and constantly scanning headlines, keeping up with the competition isn’t as difficult as it used to be. Recently, members of the Matter team successfully and single-handedly polluted a major PR story a competitor was pitching. Because the team was privy to information the competitor distributed over a wire service (thank you, Google alerts), we quickly took notice and planned “an attack” to pollute the story. After informing the client of the competitors’ news, we drafted a statement letting journalists know that our client was first to market with the service that the competition was touting. (more…)
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Marketing – and PR – on'ROIDS
Last week’s Harvard Business Review blog post by Dick Patton got me thinking about some of the challenges Matter has recently been tasked with. On more than one account, we’ve been asked to blur traditional PR boundaries to help our clients develop installed base marketing programs. It’s no secret that it takes less resources to market to existing customers, and yet, start-up firms and established companies alike can be so focused on customer acquisition that they lose sight of this fact. Tight economic conditions, a rapid shift in the competitive landscape and limited resources are all reasons companies take their eye off their installed base. But doing so comes at a cost. So our clients are increasingly turning to us for help. (more…)
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Magazines in the Digital Age
Much has been written about newspapers and their ongoing transition to digital (the topic was covered on Matter Chatter last year); but what about magazines? On Monday, the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) released the findings from its survey of practices at magazine Web sites (in addition to a related article), which reveal some very interesting, and at times unexpected, information about the state of magazines’ online content.
Like newspapers, magazines are facing decreased readership and advertising, coupled with budget reductions. They’re also learning to navigate the waters of the online world and trying to identify the business models and practices that will enable their Web sites to succeed. (more…)