That's why we approached a real estate magazine for an architectural client which wanted to develop new business in the real estate brokerage community for its interior design division. We wrote an article which suggests ways for a real estate brokerage firm to make the work environment as productive as possible for people working there.
But having spent the time to produce such a paper, one need not let it end there. Thus, though the article was written for an audience of brokers, it would have taken little additional time to alter it appropriately for accountants, word processors or lawyers. Thus Point #7: adapt your articles for different publications.
When you're compiling a list of the kinds of organizations on whom you want to make a favorable impression, don't forget others in your own field. For example, magazines like Architectural Record can be very important to you, if you're an architect. They can help you to attract -- and keep -- good architects. They can be a good source of reprints. Furthermore, since it's likely that some of your work stems from referrals within your profession, you'll want to make sure that other architectural firms know what you're doing. Thus Point #8: is that you must not neglect media in your own profession.
Point #9: is to look for the human-interest story. We represented one contractor who was very active in sports facilities. One day our client mentioned to me that his firm was refurbishing a famous university's stadium. He also mentioned that he and his family had for years played on school gridirons and that -- as if a public relations person's angel had written the scenario! -- they'd even played at the very stadium they were refurbishing. That's the kind of personal angle that can make an otherwise dull construction tale a delightful deja-vu story with a cute twist. Sure enough, American School & University magazine bought the idea. The resulting spread on the stadium was, of course, as flattering to the contractor's client (the university) as it was to the contractor.
Then there's a class of businesspeople important to all of us at one time or another in our lives: the lender. When your firm needs a loan, a good article in a banking publication may help make a difference. In addition, banks are heavily involved in many jobs on which your firm will be working. Obviously, if a bank has to decide whether your firm gets a yes or a no, a favorable article can make the difference.
This also leads to Point #10: check the editorial calendars of the publications you want to reach. They're usually published every autumn, and they can really pay off.
To illustrate this point: An engineering client was discussing how active his firm was in a particular Asian country, and how useful it would be to him to get this point across to bankers. We checked with American Banker, the daily bible in that business, and found that the newspaper was planning a special on that country for a particular issue. We suggested a story on the country's infrastructure. The editor approved the idea, we drafted a piece, the client approved it with small changes, and the story ran. (Again, in keeping with this issue's theme, I must mention that the article was at least as complimentary about a country desperate for support in the United States as it was about out client.)
Last, but not least, among audiences of importance to you professionally (as well as personally) is that vast, amorphous entity known as government. Many of us could undoubtedly write whole chapters about horror stories involved in dealing with government. And yet those city, state and federal projects are a good source of work, and it is true that the government -- unlike some of your other clients -- is not about to go out of business.
Nor is the need for mass transit likely to expire. This explains in part why American City & County magazine was interested in a story we proposed about how a client of ours was able to plan and design a new bus facility, despite major space and access limitations at the site. Which brings me to Point #11: if you can demonstrate how your firm overcame difficult challenges, you have a good shot at getting the story printed.
Too often, we find ourselves at odds with our clients. Arranged correctly, publicity is one of those areas in which benefits can accrue to both our firms and our clients. And that's no small matter.
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