Exploiting the power of publicity.

• Author: Friedman, Marsh
• Position: Public Relations

If you are in charge of public relations for your financial institution, chances are you're always looking for ways to get your bank's name in the public eye. While advertising is a great start, enhancing your advertising with publicity creates a perfect marriage of exposure for your institution. What is publicity? It's nonpaid communication to promote your bank in a positive light using media like television, radio, magazines and newspapers. Through publicity you build mutually beneficial relationships between your institution and the public on whom your success depends.

When it comes to publicity, most bankers believe they can write a press release, send it to a TV station, radio station or newspaper and just wait for die avalanche of phone calls. But time goes by ... and after they realize there aren't any reporters beating down their door, they make a few phone calls to the newsroom only to discover that no one even read the press release. All of that time and work goes down the drain. You're back to square one and you start over, but to no avail. So how do you end the vicious cycle of disappointment?

Research can make or break your pitch

Research. Plain and simple, you need to know your audience and know your media market. And research is the key to both. You need to look at your message and ask yourself a few questions--is it newsworthy? Is it consumer-related? Does it have a local twist? Is it a visual story? What demographic am I targeting--how old is my audience and what is their target household income? The answers to these questions will help you craft your "pitch" and determine which media outlets you should target.

While most people go for the saturation effect, seeking radio, television and print media simultaneously, the reality is that your message might not be a good fit for all media. So that brings us back to research. It's best to do a little homework and figure out where your message stands the best chance of garnering media attention.

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How do I get on TV?

TV newscasts communicate to their audience through pictures and conversation. Producers look for newsworthy topics that are visual and entertaining or informative "how-to" segments. They want compelling conversation and pictures that will grab the viewers' attention. They don't want a "talking head" rattling off statistics.

Worried that your message isn't visual? Try this--ask yourself how you'd explain your message to a child. Did that help you...