The world of public relations is a very exciting one to be in. Something new happens every day and it very rarely is boring. It might be annoying, downright crazy, disappointing or fun, but bored is not a feeling you are likely to run across as a PR pro.

Of its many paradoxes, one that has always intrigued me concerns PR being or not something personal. If you think about it, a good PR pro is a person that gets involved all the way in the campaigns they run. They have to know the products or services they promote, they have to love them and they have to really put their soul into what they do. If they don’t get involved, it shows in the words they pick, in their nonverbal communication, in their inability to relate. So PR is a very personal affair.  Continue reading

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Guest post by Susan Daniels

Good public relations comes down to talent and luck. The former entails a bit of imagination and willingness to challenge suppositions; for instance, recent PR graduates from online universities would prove their mettle by describing the experience as a “demonstration of preference for technology and ability to work independently.” The latter consists of taking the never-ending swirl of ongoing activity around you and harnessing it for the bettering or preservation of your brand. While not always pretty, when your brand is on the line, it’s always necessary.

Consider the recent drama in the United Kingdom over alleged phone hacks of government officials and private citizens by members of the press in collaboration with members of the government itself. For about two weeks, News International founder Rupert Murdoch found his entire media empire being scrutinized for alleged abhorrent practices. Then there was a horrendous killing spree in Norway, the economy took a turn for the worse, and violence fell hard upon the streets of London and other British towns, which consumed the news cycle putting the phone hack inquiry on the back burner.

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Guest post by Carol Wilson

One of the most important aspects of your company is its image in the public eye. Branding has become an integral part of marketing and public relations. Today, companies create brands through their social media and internet presence. Developing a brand that is both memorable and unique could become the key to your success as a small business or company. Any successful brand has a notable image associated with it. This image must be clear and simple, but also engaging and remarkable. Building a brand and image is a difficult process to master, particularly in a society completely driven by branding. Oftentimes, a brand will outgrow its image. In this case, an unsuccessful, misleading, or outdated brand image with bog down a company’s marketing strategy. While branding is all about consistency, the time may come that you’ll need to reinvent your brand image. Follow these three tips to creating a new and exciting image for your company or product that is fitting, current, and potentially profitable. Your image is your greatest asset. Use it right. Continue reading

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Global brands need to promote themselves in different markets and sometimes the same campaign that’s translated in every language they need to address audiences seems like a great idea. But good translations – when good means you use the correct equivalent in a given language – is not enough to effectively communicate brand values, a campaign’s quirky message or a product’s benefits.

The next step to render a campaign local and to make it work for a certain culture is to adapt it. Translate, then adapt. It’s a two step process, but the latter seems to be forgotten way too often. Sometimes it’s budgetary constraints, sometimes it’s because people think it would sound cool and trendy, other times it’s just because people lack the experience of localizing global campaigns. Continue reading

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Photo credit: carolsg on Fotolia.com

Guest post by Mihaela Lica Butler

With the June ICANN announcement that the gTLDs spectrum  will be enriched with .brands, it became obvious that the Internet, as we know it, will soon change, and the war for relevant online real estate is afoot.  Verisign predicted 1,500+ New gTLD applications for the first window , between 12 January 2012 – 12 April 2012; but ICANN will only select 500 of them all – who will be the lucky few?

Considering the  it costs $185,000 to apply for a new gTLD extension and an additional $25,000 per year to keep it active, it’s easy to assume that the lucky few will also be the powerful few, namely, those companies that understand the branding value of such domain extensions, and in the end, the PR value. PR because a branded domain is a more reliable source for the customer, and also because brand value is a part of an integrated PR strategy, after all.

Many believe that ICANN’s near $200,000 price is too high, but the long term picture seems more than rewarding. A branded domain is a stronger domain, possibly ranking higher in search, particularly in Google – as the search engine giant is already giving priority placement to relevant brands. For instance, Hilton already ranks at the top for their own brand, and for Hilton hotel deals. But there are also other travel sites selling Hilton hotel deals – and for the traveler who wants to book a room with Hilton, the latest may not be as reliable. Only the original Hilton site offers the “trust” factor, but sometimes, finding these deals on the site is not the easiest thing to do. If Hilton would structure its offerings to something highly relevant, the users, and the company, can only benefit. A .brand gTLD could be used for this purpose, and the new URL could be www.deals.hilton. Continue reading

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