What Eliot Spitzer Can Teach Us About PR


WESTPORT, Conn., April 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- We all could learn a thing or two about PR from a guy named Eliot Spitzer.

Try this simple PR effectiveness test: Google Eliot Spitzer, New York's activist Attorney General. Some 254,000 citations will pop up, mostly links to articles either written about Spitzer or quoting him - almost double, for example, the number of citations for the Attorney General of California. And the media coverage Spitzer has racked up since emerging from virtual obscurity is equally impressive, including consistent coverage in The Wall Street Journal, his hometown paper The New York Times, and just about every other prominent publication serving Wall Street and Main Street.

PR is a powerful brand-building tool that, as Spitzer so aptly demonstrates, boils down to the effective use of the media. Why the media? Because people tend to believe that you must be somebody if the media sees fit to write about you or quote you. We PR practitioners reverently refer to this as the media's endorsement, which conveys powerful third-party credibility whether or not you believe everything you read.

Media coverage is also a sure-fire way to build a strong presence on the Internet, feeding search engines, such as Google and Yahoo!, that serve as highly visible electronic billboards to countless Internet users (including potential customers and reporters researching stories.)

So, getting back to our PR champion, what makes Spitzer so PR savvy? How has he been able to use the media so potently to gain national attention for the cases he and his team of lawyers work so tirelessly on? Essentially, Spitzer follows several simple, yet effective rules:


 -- Know your audience - Think of PR as the practice of selling
    compelling story ideas to the media.  Just as you need to
    know your customers to be a successful salesperson, you need
    to know your media targets to be a successful PR practitioner.
    With the proliferation of online media databases, web sites
    and news search engines, it's relatively easy to identify
    and do background research on the publications and reporters
    that you want to cover your news.

    Where do you begin?  Consider the audiences you want to reach
    and the publications they read.  These are your media targets.
    Now determine which reporter or editor at each target
    publication would be most receptive to what you have to say.
    (If you can't figure out what areas a reporter is assigned
    to cover, read a few sample articles.)

 -- Know what you have to sell - Before you send out a press
    release or pick up the phone to speak with a reporter,
    you'll increase your chances of getting his or her attention
    if you can answer two basic questions about the story you
    have to sell: What's the news value?  And, why is this
    important now?

    Understanding the news value of your company's announcement
    is key.  Don't overplay soft news, and please refrain from
    hype.  Reporters are wary of marketing overkill and tend to
    be skeptical of releases and story pitches that come laden
    with adjectives like "leading," "cutting edge," "pioneering,"
    "innovative" and "breakthrough."  Instead, be objective and
    put your story into real-world context.

    A large part of what makes a story newsworthy is its
    timeliness.  Spitzer's meteoric rise to media stardom got a
    jumpstart in 2002 when corporate scandals, including Tyco,
    Enron and ImClone, began to dominate the headlines.  This
    helped set the stage for the press to tell Spitzer's story and
    his crusade to clean up Wall Street.  Making your story timely,
    such as linking it to an industry trend or major news
    development, will help increase its own news value.

 -- Be clear and consistent in what you say - This may sound like
    common business sense, but it's surprising how many companies
    get this wrong.  A major offense, say reporters, is the
    liberal use of jargon in press materials and interviews.

    Again, Spitzer sets the standard when it comes to articulate
    messaging.  One of his gifts, notes Time magazine, is a plain-
    talking sensibility.  Spitzer doesn't talk "inside baseball"
    or confuse his media audience with legal jargon.  His press
    release headlines, for example, are remarkably short and to
    the point.  Take for instance the announcement that triggered
    the avalanche of recent coverage on insurance industry
    practices - "Investigation Reveals Widespread Corruption in
    Insurance Industry."  Reporters don't have to reread this
    headline to understand Spitzer's message.

 -- Support PR with other marketing tools - Practicing integrated
    marketing, branding and communications doesn't have to be
    as complicated as it sounds.  It can be as simple as making
    sure that the theme of your next PR campaign resonates with
    what you're saying in your advertising or direct mail.  Or,
    even simpler, making sure that your available marketing tools,
    such as your website, are helping advance your PR efforts.

    At a recent business media gathering, it was remarked how
    easy Spitzer had made it for the press to write about his
    insurance industry allegations.  He posted his complaint and
    press release on the NY Attorney General website as soon as
    the news broke.  This gave reporters everywhere 24/7 access
    to the information they needed to write articles and put
    together broadcast segments, even if they didn't have the
    time to speak directly with Spitzer or attend his press
    conference.

Despite how the profession is often characterized, PR - effective PR, that is - is not about hype and spin. It's about helping the media - and the audiences they serve - gain a clear and accurate understanding of your business and the value you bring to your customers. Spitzer accomplishes this so well that he's been hailed by the media as the "Sheriff of Wall Street" and "The Enforcer," supporting his own positioning as "The People's Lawyer." Follow his lead and you too can use PR to help build your brand.

Karen DeMartine, Principal, Miller DeMartine Group - Before establishing her own corporate and marketing communications firm in 1991, co-founder Karen DeMartine was a senior account executive at Ogilvy Adams & Rinehart in New York, where she helped foreign-based companies build a media presence in the U.S. Karen currently serves as President of the Insurance Media Association and was recently named to its 100 Most Powerful People in the Insurance Industry list. She is also a member of the American Marketing Association. She graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree.

Miller DeMartine Group (www.mdgpr.com) is a full-service public relations and marketing communications firm based in Westport, CT. Media contact: Tracy Van Buskirk, Miller DeMartine Group, 203/221-2790, tvanbuskirk@mdgpr.com



            

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