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I'd like to start by briefly discussing what kinds of audiences you -- the architectural or engineering firm -- want to reach out to.
Target audiences
Along the way I'll be showing you some examples of work we've done for a/e firms. These examples will illustrate ten points -- points about how public relations can help you reach your audiences. Some of the slides will involve New York, where my firm is based; some will involve a couple of other locations; but actually, the principles apply anywhere -- from Seattle to Boston, from Houston to Minneapolis.
Who then are your audiences? More and more, when I'm talking to an a/e firm, it seems that the very first target they want to reach is:
Corporate decision-makers, preferably the Fortune 500.
What we're hearing is that this audience can best help the bottom line.
Well, what do these decision-makers read? Obviously,
Business publications
These are among the most important of media for you, for two reasons. One, they are read by people with lots of money -- people in corporations whom you may well be able to sell your services to. Two, they are read not only by business people, but also by virtually everyone else you want to reach -- whether it's the big mall developer, the health care operator, even the more literate of your government people. And the business press is of course read very carefully by the banks, who can be more amenable to giving you a loan when you need it.
How difficult is it to be written up in the business media? Let me give you just three examples:
Forbes (PB)
Getting an engineering firm -- in this case, Parsons Brinckerhoff -- into a business magazine is not an easy thing to do, especially if it's privately?owned. Unfortunately, much of what engineering firms do produces little but vast yawns from the business press. In this instance, though, we were chatting with our client one morning, and he mentioned the upswing in trolley work he was performing. This strikes a nostalgic note in many people -- even including grizzled business editors. And that's how this piece came about. Thus Point #1: look for an angle that appeals to a large percentage of the audiences you want to reach.
By the way, it's easy to forget radio and TV, but you shouldn't. We reprinted this article and sent it with a pitch letter to many radio and television shows, and we were able to obtain network coverage for Parsons Brinckerhoff on this subject. Properly presented nostalgia can be very appealing. Thus Point #2: to reach the broadcast media, it helps to photocopy print stories first, and then circulate them to the radio and TV people. For the broadcast media, this gives your pitch more credibility.
Now let's switch from nostalgia and move on to Point #3: To entice a business writer to do a story about your firm or client, you should be prepared to talk about important trends in your field. What aspects of architecture or engineering are changing? Are new markets opening up? Have new techniques in your profession come to the fore? Has a new law has been passed affecting your profession? What's doing in the re?use of old buildings, modernizing for the computerized office, battling the cost of land with space?saving design? All of which brings us to this piece:
WSJ (Miller)
Design is important to most of you but, again, not to business writers. But from an interior design firm, The Miller Organization, we obtained useful information about what's new in offices -- something business people are very much interested in. Specifically, we sent a fact-filled letter to this Journal writer, mentioning that today's computer age presented some difficulties for office workers, and suggesting guidelines for improving things. This article was the result.
There are other important ways to obtain a write?up in a publication read by business people. One especially useful approach that we have employed for clients over the years involves helpful hints. That's Point #4: provide "tips" to readers. The trick is to suggest just enough tips to whet the reader's appetite, but not quite enough for the reader to think he or she can do without the company you're promoting. Result: the reader says, "This person seems to know what he (or she) is talking about; maybe I ought to call."
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