Although it had its genesis in a consulting practice that was already several years old, and its first employee had been in place for several months, inmedia Public Relations Inc. was legally incorporated on November 5, 1998, and so today is our tenth birthday.

I would be less than forthright if I said that 10 years after launching a technology focused PR firm that I had accomplished what I thought would be in place a decade out. The tech meltdown damn near put us under and the continued severe contraction of Ottawa’s tech sector means we have slim pickings here at home. And my initial business proposition, that we could create an agency of excellence and extract a premium from the marketplace for that excellence, has proven to be a tough pitch in a market that too often has yet to be weaned off mediocrity.

But we survived the meltdown, the only exclusively B2B technology PR practice in the city to do so. Today, we get very well paid for our excellence from clients who have come to understand the difference. And our deliberate business development strategy over the past three or four years has been to embrace Ottawa clients certainly, but also to aggressively pursue business anywhere and everywhere we see a good opportunity.

My excellent colleague Danny Sullivan’s self-repatriation to his native Scotland a few years back opened a whole new front for us, and our far-reaching Google Adwords campaigns and this blog have brought us amazing opportunities from many other corners. With Ottawa accounting for about 35% of our revenues, we have embraced clients and projects in Calgary, Toronto, Montréal, Fredericton, Moncton and St. John’s; in Boston, Jersey City, San Jose and Chicago; and in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Farnborough and London.

If the business outcome has not been everything I hoped for 10 years ago, the experience has been nonetheless incredible. Most noteworthy has been the extraordinary people who have come to work with me here at inmedia. In an industry where average employee tenure has been pegged at less than a year, inmedianauts tend to hang around for much longer, with the average tenure here topping three years and some having spent five, six and even seven years on board. The consultants who work here are the real product that we sell, and I have had the unmitigated pleasure of consistently being able to bring to market the very best product in the PR industry, period.

Similarly, we have worked on some amazing projects with some of the brightest minds in technology, business and marketing. Our web site lists nearly 90 clients with whom we have worked over the past 10 years, and each and every one of them has represented a unique story, a unique set of market dynamics and a unique set of media and analyst targets to whom that story needed to be told. It is this ever-changing nature of the business that makes PR consulting so fascinating to me.

It has been rewarding, challenging and frustrating, as most any worthwhile venture inevitably is. It has also been a period of considerable personal and professional growth, and I look forward to learning even more as this little PR company continues.

Technorati Tags: inmedia Public Relations, public relations, technology, entrepreneurship, birthday

It’s not uncommon to sit down with a startup technology company for an initial discussion about a potential PR engagement and have a conversation that goes something like this:

Tech company exec: “I think we need to start doing some PR and I’d like you to present us with some ideas.”

PR agency: “Er, okay, but can you first give us some idea of why it is that you think PR will help your business at this time?”

Exec: “Well, I was hoping that you could tell us that …”

Of course, at this point the conversation typically becomes an exercise that should really have been started before the agency even entered the equation. That is, to explore what are the primary reasons for engaging a PR program, and what it is ultimately supposed to achieve.

Yes, the PR firm brings the expertise needed to plan and execute an effective program, but they are not the experts in your business … you are. Can you really expect a PR agency to sit down at the first meeting and tell you how they can help you achieve your goals or overcome certain challenges, when they have little idea what those goals and challenges are? Of course not. PR is not a cookie-cutter proposition, and its practitioners work best when they can apply their knowledge to a specific scenario, which invariably changes dramatically from company to company.

This doesn’t have to be an extensive exercise, and the information needed to get things rolling is probably common knowledge within your organization. Simply ensure that you have a fairly clear idea of what it is that you expect from doing PR, and then you can expect to have a valuable conversation about what the experts can do to help you.

Technorati Tags: public relations, strategy, business plan, technology company

“I’ve just come to expect that my (public relations) agency can’t write,” was the astonishing admission I heard a few weeks back from a vice president at one of Ottawa’s larger technology companies who called us to see if we’d be interested in participating in an agency review process.

(I’ve promised not to name him (or her) for reasons that will be obvious as you read the rest of this post.)

I could hardly believe my ears. But yes, he said, it had long been his experience that the PR practitioners he had been dealing with from a range of different agencies and across a number of companies just weren’t very good writers, and so it fell to him to write most of the materials used in his campaigns. One of the key reasons he was approaching inmedia, he told me, was our very strong reputation in the marketplace as superb writers, a reputation he said was confirmed when he read our blog and web site.

I chalked this one up to what I assumed was just an unfortunate experience on the part of one technology marketing executive until I relayed the story to a colleague last week, a CEO at another technology company here in Ottawa and an insightful marketer in his own right. I was again utterly gobsmacked when he said he didn’t view writing as a core requirement in the PR function, that the ability to pitch the story was far more important.

“And what do you do,” I asked him, “When the pitch is initially well received and the next words out of the reporter or editor’s mouth are, ‘Sounds good, send me something about it.’?”

Here’s the thing. To work at inmedia and, I believe, to be an effective media relations practitioner anywhere, you must be able to write at an expert level and you must be able to effectively pitch what you’ve written. There is no hierarchy between these two fundamental skills. Lack one, and you’re out of the game.

And here’s why.

To believe, as these two otherwise successful technology marketers clearly do, that writing is either not terribly important or that your PR function, whether internal or an agency, can be permitted to be lousy writers, is to completely beggar the entire communications process.

In the first instance, despite all the wonderful new communications tools at our disposal, most journalists still want to see something in cold, hard black and white, even if it is delivered electronically. And even if they don’t ask for it, it’s just gotta be in your best interests to give them well-written material so they have the complete story, with all the relevant facts and accurate spellings of company, product and people’s names to which they can refer. This is just so basic I’m staggered it needs stating.

Second, how in the heck does a PR practitioner demonstrate her or his understanding of the story without writing about it? Yes, a properly written document proves the communicator can — gasp! — communicate. That is, the words run together in some sort of comprehensible order, everything is spelled correctly and the commas and periods are in the right places. But it still won’t be any good unless the person writing it actually has a thorough grasp of the subject matter.

Effective writing is not a case of cutting and pasting bits and pieces from other documents to make a different document and it needs to be more than a merely technically accurate use of words, grammar and punctuation. Effective writing is the process of distilling what has been learned — from other documents, certainly, but also, and critically, from interviews with a range of subject-matter experts — into a new piece of work. It not only communicates the story to all who read it, it also demonstrates understanding.

Bottom line: If your agency can’t write about it well, they almost certainly can’t pitch it well. And even worse, they probably don’t even understand it well.

So, did we get the business? Well, that’s another story that I cover here: The Ottawa inferiority complex theorem strikes again.

Technorati Tags: writing, pitching, media relations, business development

As I sit here, 36 weeks pregnant and a short week from my maternity leave, my commute into work has become untenable and so I’m thrilled to be living in an age where I can reasonably work from home. I’m not the only one, it seems, according to several interesting recent stories in publications like BusinessWeek and ComputerWorld. Both of these stories talk about entire businesses dismantling their brick and mortar operations, saving substantial overheads and, according to the BusinessWeek article, boosting productivity.

Because inmedia is a global operation, we have been working with remote consultants in different countries and different time zones for several years now to great success. We communicate constantly and although it’s not quite like being in the room, we are more than able to work together as a cohesive unit and deliver high quality service to our clients. Regardless of where the consultant is, we’re quick to send a quick note or pick up the phone to hash out ideas or collaborate on getting the job done. The tools that we need to connect with our media and analyst targets are, thankfully, easily transportable. The days of the hard copy press kit are quickly receding and thus as PR consultants, we are less encumbered by reams of paper and manilla folders.

It’s my opinion that the very nature of consultantcy lends itself well to this model, but of course, it wouldn’t and doesn’t work for everyone. Consideration must be given to the individuals involved and the nature of the work. Still, with experts on telecommuting predicting its increase in popularity and with coworking spaces gaining momentum, it’s undeniable that the more connected we become to our coworkers and clients, the easier it is to disconnect from the trappings of a traditional workspace.

Technorati Tags: telecommuting, consulting, coworking

Proactivity is something that all clients desire of their PR firms - an ability to move the program forward without having to check in and report at every stage. It’s certainly not an unreasonable expectation, and one that any agency worth its salt should be capable of meeting.

But proceed with caution. Agency proactivity, while a stated desire of the client, can be a double-edged sword for an agency. There are a couple of pitfalls to watch out for.

First, don’t be so proactive that you overstep the mark and make strategic changes or decisions without some form of approval from the client. It’s all very well to change a strategy for the right reasons, but these reasons usually need to be raised before the change occurs. It is important to establish at the outset of the program what kinds of decisions need to be made in conjunction with the client.

Second, proactivity can lead to periods of radio silence. If the program is one where the results will not be immediately apparent, then the client will be wondering what their agency is doing. An invisible agency won’t be around for long.

The key to avoiding such pitfalls is in effective communication with the client. There is no need to appraise them of every step that you take, but regular updates on progress that don’t require any input from them will go a long way to ensuring that you continue to be both proactive and visible.

Technorati Tags: public relations, PR, client relations, clients

One of the first of what I like to call “Francis’s favourite fictions,” or “Everything I know that’s wrong about PR I learned from technology company executives,” was a line from the CEO of one of the very first tech companies I pitched when I originally ventured out on my own in the early 1990s. “I want to be on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen tomorrow morning,” he said.

I was a lot younger, thinner and more intemperate in those days, so I replied, “Okay. Go home and shoot your wife tonight.”

Right answer, just not terribly delicately put. However, he got the point and I got the gig.

What I was trying to say, of course, is that media relations usually doesn’t work that way and, for some companies, it never works that way. In fact, at inmedia, our objective is never Page 1 tomorrow. Rather, we try from the very outset to build the kind of foundation for an ongoing media relations effort that will generate meaningful coverage over the long haul. In the technology B2B space, where virtually all our clients are new, small and/or completely unknown, this means we first must thoroughly educate target media about the client, its story and how it will be of interest to the journalists and their audiences now and into the future. If this process delivers immediate coverage, so much the better, but that’s not the primary intent.

This first company was also the first time I tried out what has come to be known around here as a ramp up and roll out, or the media and analyst launch of a company that builds the foundation I’m talking about. The company had recorded many newsworthy successes in its history and had a market-leading presence in its space. However, as we also like to say around here, they call it the “news” business, not the “olds” business. So most of those achievements were now just so much fishwrap as far as the media were concerned.

What I did was develop a comprehensive set of materials that told the company’s complete story, including a timeline of its growth and successes and a couple of case studies that showcased its leadership position. I then sent that package out to the media I had identified, through research, as being at the intersection of Writes-about-this-subject and Influences-my-client’s-market. I followed up with each of them, had great conversations about how my client might feauture in future coverage, and even generated some really good immediate hits. Over the long run, I generated a constant stream of coverage about the client, including, eventually, a Page 1 piece in the Ottawa Citizen.

If a client today tells me the same thing — “I wanna be on Page 1 tomorrow.” — I tell him or her much the same thing. I just use a slightly more subtle approach now.

Technorati Tags: Launch, media relations, technology, B2B

Prior to the release of an announcement, there is a lot of work to be done. Not only must we develop the content, but often times we must run the potential content past a series of third-party gatekeepers. This is where things can slow down and timelines can get pushed out.

The good news is, you’ve gotten this far and your partners or customers have agreed to talk on your behalf or participate to some degree in your media activities. This third-party validation opens up a range of PR activities, from customer win announcements to case studies and speaking opportunities. When it comes to distributing a release though, a document that will live in your company’s newsroom for considerable time and be found by any Googler searching for a company name, those parties involved want to ensure that materials are on message and accurate.

To that end, understandably, often times our clients’ partners and customers will want approval on the information and/or quotes being attributed to them prior to dissemination. Sometimes, this can mean that materials need to run the internal approvals gauntlet at third-party organizations.

Depending on the size of the organization, or how high up the chain of command your information needs to be vetted, this can take considerable time. Typically, though not always, the larger the organization, the longer you’re going to have to wait for sign off. There’s a good chance that the materials will have to float up through a sophisticated communications department to a c-level executive, and come back down through the ranks back to your hands. These departments are busy with announcements and initiatives of their own and so sometimes your news will have a lesser priority in the sign-off pile.

Still, getting the facts straight and the endorsement, implied or explicit, of a third-party partner or customer will go a long way for your public relations campaign. The best advice comes from the Boy Scouts - be prepared. Begin the conversation early and be prepared to hold your announcement or pitch until all of the stakeholders are on the same page. Most of the time, it’s worth the wait.

For those of you in the midst of playing the waiting game, in the meantime, ensure that all of your other ducks are in a row, so to speak - the media list is prepared and updated, the balance of the media kit is ready to go, and once you’ve got the approved materials, all that you need to do is hit send.

Technorati Tags: public relations

Where the tire hits the tarmac in public relations is when it comes time to pitch a story. All of the materials have been written, the stage is set, spokespeople are available, and the news release has been sent. It’s our time to shine.

There’s a reason that news releases clock in at about 750 words - there is a lot to say about the news item that we’re putting out. We’re adamant that hyperbole doesn’t make it into our clients’ releases, but even when we trim away the fat, there is a lot of ground to cover.

Regardless, we have but a few words to grab our target audience’s attention, whether in an email or in a follow-up phone call. Hence, my reference to Shakespeare in the title of this post. We make it or break it in just a few seconds - can we distill the key message of the story in under 10 seconds on the phone? What few words can we lead with in an email to increase our chances of a positive reply? Has the headline included enough detail to communicate the crux of the story? We work hard to ensure that this is the case because in today’s news dense world, our release is just one of hundreds likely to cross that reporter or editor’s desk on any given day; our phone call is just one of the dozens that they’ll field amid pressing deadlines and breaking news. While we are strong believers that every story has an inherent news value, the fact of the matter is that unless we can quickly and effectively communicate the story, regardless of the channel, we are not doing the best by our clients.

Is brevity similarly appreciated when it comes to blog posts? Today, I’ll have to hope so as I’ve got to get back to pitching.

Technorati Tags: public relations, PR tactics

I’ve had some informative back and forth with one of our commentors about the requirement that a company’s online media center be dynamic, and this opinion was certainly reinforced by a story in this morning’s Daily Dog Bulldog Reporter newsletter. A survey of journalists shows they’re accessing audio and video clips in online newsrooms more than ever before. When we launched the i-LIMB Hand for Touch Bionics, we knew that video would play an important role in telling the story of the world’s first commercially available bionic hand, as it’s such a visual story. Perhaps more of our clients should incorporate this element into their PR campaigns and web sites, as our client Singletouch has done on its site.

The statistic that 97% of the more than 400 respondents surveyed highlighted the importance of accessing company background shows that even if you plan to incorporate different media elements into your site, the ultimate requirement of your online newsroom is to provide the basic materials to the media in manner that’s easy to understand and access.

Technorati Tags: public relations, PR, media relations, online newsrooms, press center

Last week, I wrote about the basic materials that, when combined with your media kit, will provide the media with all of the components that they need in order to cover your company, with or without your input. In addition to having these materials at the ready, in the hands of your agency, it’s best to house all of these components along with your media kit in an online newsroom on your web site. Here are our recommendations to a best practices approach for building and maintaining your online newsroom:

• a clear link to it from the front page of the corporate web site (and clear navigation back to the home page once you’re in the newsroom);
• a one-paragraph corporate overview on the landing page, full contact information and further links to:
• corporate backgrounder, executive biographies, product descriptions and other support materials (essentially the contents of a media kit). This section can also include good quality jpegs of the company logo, and head shots of executives;
• current and archived news releases;
• media coverage published on other sites or for which you have obtained a license to post on your own site. In the former, the link should open in a new window; in the latter, it should open a PDF page within the site.

We have recently launched several clients that have done a great job of following these guidelines on their own web sites: Essential Life Data and Singletouch. Visit their sites and see if there are any improvements that you could make to your company’s site, based on the guidelines above.

Technorati Tags: public relations, PR, media relations, online newsrooms, press center