It’s PR not ER

Building Brand
Equity Through
Public Relations

September 17
2007

Cubitt Jacobs & Prosek Communications

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Public Relations

Definition: [Public Relations] is a

management function which tabulates
public attitudes, defines the policies,
procedures and interest of an organization
followed by executing a program of action
to earn public understanding and
acceptance.

- Edward Bernays (November 1891-March

1995), considered as “one of the fathers of the
field of public relations” (Wikipedia)

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 Why Should You Care About PR?

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 Because When Done Well,

PR Can Build Brands

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How PR Can Build Brands
 The media and word of mouth inform most people’s
decisions about what is good, bad, best and worst

– 3.5 billion WOM conversations take place in America

every day; 3.1 billion of them are offline

 Typically, if one doesn’t know anything about a product or

service, they will likely believe what they read about the
subject, especially when the information comes from a
credible media source

 Brand recognition develops over time as messages take a

position in the prospect’s mind

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Made-up Example:
 Advertising alone, especially for emerging media companies
can’t tell the whole story

SKidaddle.com
Get Connected!

Vs.

“Skidaddle, a new social utility that allows users to trade

homemade widgets, profiles and playlists has already signed
up more than one million users and is poised to become
what many believe to be the new Facebook.”

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Brands Built With PR
 Amazon

 eBay

 Google

 Linux

 Microsoft

 Red Bull

 Segway

 Starbucks

*PR used as part of overall strategy

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Under Construction but Looking Good
 Digg | Pownce | Revision3

 Facebook

 Linkedin

 Meebo

 PerezHilton (No, I’m serious)

 Pinkberry

 Twitter

 Zipcar

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 Question:

Does Your Idea of PR Xanadu…

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Look Like This?

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 Here’s What It Takes

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First: A Proper Assessment
STRENGTHS
 Technology still an economic and
consumer darling
 Web 2.0 tools and services seen as
“useful” to consumers and businesses
 Emerging media and technology
companies receiving massive amounts of
publicity
THREATS
 Journalist fatigue: “How is THIS
social network different?”
 Economic volatility may make VCs
and advertisers gun shy, so
establishing brand equity now is
critical
 Is there a bubble?
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WEAKNESSES
 Saturated market makes
differentiation increasingly difficult
 Skeptical media can be dismissive of
tech and emerging media startups
 Sustainability potential unproven in
many cases
OPPORTUNITIES
 Emerging media categories all
projected to grow over next few
years
 Divergence making way for new
categories and brands
 Is there a bubble?
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Secrets of the Press REVEALED!
 Consolidation of mainstream publications (moment of
silence for Business 2.0) means fewer beat reporters to
write about you
 Reporters (especially in tech/emerging media) receive
hundreds of calls and emails per day about new companies
looking for ink
– You have 10 seconds to position your company as new
and different and convince a reporter why you’re worthy
of a precious column inch
 Reporters will only write about what’s new, innovative or
terrible; not what’s better or similar
 Reporters cannot resist comparison when explaining who
you are to their readers; expect some manufactured
rivalries between companies that don’t really compete

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Three Questions for Every PR Firm
 Can you explain my business to me?

– PR professionals are consultants; aside from their

communications acumen, they must have the ability to learn
everything about your business in order to properly tell your
story to the media
 What do you read?

– If a PR pro doesn’t have an existing understanding of the

media most important to you, how will they know which
reporters are most appropriate to tell your story to?
 Which reporters do you have the best relationships with and
what’s the last story idea you pitched them?
– The best way to prove the PR pro has the “great contacts” they
claim to have
– A good PR person will answer this right away

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PR and Measurement
 Sorry, there is no exact science for measuring return on any PR
program investment; but there are some methods that come
close:
– Literally measure the size of your mention in any given article
and calculate what that blurb would have cost as an
advertisement in the same publication; all media outlets have
their rate cards online
– Track things like increases in site traffic, incoming sales calls
during the established PR campaign; set agreed-upon start
and end dates and analyze activity between them
– Did your sales team use the PR results to…sell? Can any new
engagements be attributed to a particular article or Tv
segment about your company?

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Jar Jar Says…
 Hubris
Avoid brand killers like ME!
 Elitism

 Being overprotective

 Ignoring the press

 Inauthenticity

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 Here’s How to Start:

PR 101 With or Without a PR Firm

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PR 101

Identify Audiences

Develop Messages

Engage the Media

Establish Thought Leadership

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Identifying Audiences
 Every PR program is executed to reach a variation of three
key audiences:

– Buyers (VCs, Shareholders, Advertisers)

– Influencers (Analysts, Bloggers)

– End-users

 Once groups within each specific audience have been

identified, focus on what brand messages will resonate with
each

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Developing Your Media Messages
 Create succinct, media-friendly messages that correct any
foreseen misperceptions and establishes an identity within
the industry
– [Brand] is the company that _______
 Refine messages for each target audience
 Always practice delivering your company’s media messages
in your own voice to ensure they are understood and may
be conveyed when appropriate
 If necessary, create new company fact sheets, press
release boilerplates and other communications collateral to
reflect messaging
 Media messages are not cut and pasted from your
company’s mission statement or business plan

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Engaging the Media
 Journalists and bloggers are the vessels for delivering your
company’s story and hold the most influence over your
target audiences

 Develop a strategy for approaching journalists so they will

devote time and interest in writing about you or your
company

– Start by building a relationship with the media; offer

them your expertise and insight on industry trends or
breaking news stories

– Always know how to creatively position yourself or your

company as being new, different and relevant to that
outlet’s readership

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Establishing Thought Leadership
 Being quoted or profiled by reputable media outlets
certainly builds a positive brand perception, but credibility
can be established more directly by:

– Speaking at industry conferences

– Submitting bylined articles to key trade publications

– Applying for industry awards and recognitions

– Blogging, Blogging, Blogging!

– Producing podcasts, vidcasts, etc.

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 Case Study

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Babelgum: Background

 Situation: Babelgum, a privately-funded, European peer-to-

peer Internet TV company in early beta testing, retained CJP in
March 2007 for support in accomplishing the following:

– Introduce the company to U.S. audiences via coverage in

top-tier business and lifestyle media; sponsorships of major
film festivals

– Support business development by facilitating meetings with

independent U.S.-based producers and entertainment
entities to build Babelgum’s content library

– Generate anticipatory buzz among U.S.-based users,

compelling them to sign-up for the open beta version of the
platform

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Babelgum: Challenges & Strategy
 Challenges:
– Chief competitor Joost had first-mover advantage; cornering
the p2p Internet TV market in the top-tier media with high-
profile deals with Viacom, CBS, Warner Music and others
– Differentiate within growing online video market
 Program Strategy:
– Position Babelgum as bringing democracy to the film
studio/distribution system; championing lesser-known
filmmakers and aligning with industry mavericks rather than
just media conglomerates
– Demonstrate the differences between Babelgum and Joost;
acknowledge similarities but prove the differences
– Forego typical “invitation only” closed beta and give access to
anyone that wanted it

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Babelgum: Engaging the Media
 Scheduled three media tours (NY, LA and SF) for
Babelgum CEO, Erik Lumer

 Arranged briefings with 12 top-tier business and

technology publications including The Wall Street
Journal, New York Times, Fortune, Newsweek and
Time, among others

 Eight Babelgum profiles resulted from meetings

conducted during the tour; articles further
resulted in a collective 500 blog mentions in the
days that followed

 Succeeded in visually demonstrating the

differences between Babelgum and Joost; getting
on the radar of target journalists

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Babelgum Results

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Babelgum Results

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Babelgum Results

 Digital Hollywood: Secured

CEO position on a panel joining
VP, NBC Digital; GM, Yahoo!
Video; Former CEO, The WB and
Jon Fine, BusinessWeek media
columnist

 Blogger Exclusives: To get

covered on top Web 2.0 blogs
and build pre-launch buzz, CJP
offered GigaOm and Mashable
readers free beta invites;
collective readership: 2 million

 Social Networks : Created

Babelgum profiles and groups on
Facebook and MySpace

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 Questions?

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Contact
Contact: Wilson Cleveland
CJP Communications
O: 212.279.3115 Ext. 207
M: 917.446.2707
wcleveland@cjpcom.com
www.cjpcom.com

New York Office: 350 Fifth Avenue

Suite 3901
New York, NY 10118
212.279.3115

Connecticut Office: 3241 Main Street

Stratford, CT 06614
203.378.1152

London Office: 30 Coleman Street

London
011.44.207.367.5100

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Thank You

Cubitt Jacobs & Prosek Communications