 
When I was a marketing executive for a software company, I decided to
let out the stops and launch a big PR campaign for our new product. We
usually did all of our marketing in house, but this was a brand new offering
that had the potential to make a big splash in the marketplace, so I decided
to let the professionals handle it.
I visited three PR firms to get their take on our product. They quoted
similar prices for a campaign, each of which was more than enough to blow
my whole annual marketing budget.
“Why is this so darn expensive?,” I wondered.
Then I remembered the PR firm offices. They
were awfully nice. Walnut conference tables, great views from the conference
room and lots of art on the walls. It suddenly dawned on me that I was
being asked to help finance the purchase of all that fine furniture and
artwork. I decided that marketing dollars should go into marketing
efforts, so I took the PR effort in house.
We put together a mailing list and a press kit
that included a small box with a pair of pink
socks sticking out. The box was printed with a screen shot of our new
software and the title “once you’ve seen [our new product],
you'll need these." Included in the box was a
CD of the new product, a reviewer's guide and some splashy collateral. We sent our “knock
your socks off” package to just under a hundred
trade journalists.
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The campaign was a huge success. It resulted in three favorable reviews
in national magazines. Those reviews generated so many leads that our
sales manager complained about not having enough account reps to follow
up. That’s a problem I’ll take any day.
The total price tag for the entire campaign was a tiny fraction of what
the PR firms had quoted me. Why? Because we didn’t have to pay for
walnut conference tables or artwork.
The lesson I learned – you don’t have to pay an arm and a
leg for quality business communications. When you come to Cork Road, you
won’t be asked to pay for my décor. You’ll just get
high-quality work for a fair price. What a concept.
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