What is PR?

As a small communications agency, we handle advertising, PR and marketing for several brands. Often times we’re asked why public relations is valuable to an organization or brand, so we wanted to share a few thoughts on our blog in case you’ve been wondering the same thing. 

Some companies are wise enough to know public relations is an absolute necessity, while others believe it is something they can do without. For us, we think it’s a no brainer for certain types of organizations, while others may benefit more from a strong ad campaign. (Confused? Ask us!)

According to the Public Relations Society of America, “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Well, that certainly sounds fancy, but what does it mean for an individual brand? 

Basically, PR creates connections between an organization or an individual, and the public by using an avenue of (free) media coverage. PR is different from advertising, in that it isn’t “pay to play”. This earned or “free media coverage”, known as editorial coverage, comes via websites, newspapers, magazines, broadcast, blogs, social media and radio programs when a reporter agrees to cover a story we're pitching about one of our clients.

In terms of PR, Forbes describes the field quite well when it says, “We don’t buy ads. We don’t write stories for reporters. We don’t put up billboards. We don’t come up with catchy phrases to make people buy more products they probably don’t need.” This is true, PR isn’t any of these things. PR campaigns work with the goal of promoting clients by building relationships with the media. Over time these relationships create opportunities to promote the client without having to pay for coverage.

Our team works hard to shape and maintain a positive image that positions our clients well in the eyes of their audiences, and the public at large.

How do PR campaigns shape and maintain images for clients? Well, that’s an interesting question with many answers. Here are just a few ways PR works to promote their clients:

News Releases. News releases are one of the most common activities a PR agency does for a client. A news release contains information to help create a captivating news story that shows how the individual, organization, or product is important to the public. The goal is for the media contacts, identified by the agency, to pick up a client’s story and share the key points.

Press Conferences. Press conferences gather many types of media (print, broadcast, and online) together with the goal of sharing the same unique, exciting information to everyone at the same time. In order to increase the likelihood that journalists will attend this info gathering session, press conferences can now be done through Web conferencing with a live stream of video presenting the pertinent information.

Crisis Communication. PR agencies help clients plan ahead for the unknown by creating crisis plans for the day when things go awry. Having someone on hand to offer a quick, professional response to negative information can mitigate the damage done to a client’s image. And, a proactive plan can maintain a brand’s reputation even in times of trouble.

Social Media. Monitoring and creating social media posts for a client is an everyday activity at most PR firms. Nowadays people follow brands on different social media sites around the clock and it is important to have an extra pair of eyes on everything that’s communicated online. Brands ought to make sure they reflect a positive image online and address any negative feedback as soon as possible.

There’s obviously a lot more that falls under the umbrella of PR, but that’s for a face to face meeting with a big cup of coffee. The next time you start looking for a way to strengthen your brand remember that it is our job is to create a good name, maintain a strong image and to provide you with a chance to grow your brand beyond what you thought was possible. In the mean time, if you need help with a short or long term project, let us know. We’re always happy to sit down and chat. 

Links:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2013/04/10/what-does-a-public-relations-agency-do/ 

http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/PublicRelationsDefined 

Hotel Eleven Opens in East Austin

What do you get when a contemporary hotel melds with Austin’s Historic East 11th Street? Hotel Eleven. And, you're going to love it. We loved working on this project and we are so glad to see their doors open! 

Hotel Eleven, Austin’s newest hotel, opened its doors April 4. This 14 room boutique hotel, conveniently located on East 11th Street, is within walking distance to downtown, the Texas Capitol, the University of Texas and many of the city’s best bars and restaurants in Austin’s bustling east side. The project was led by Austinites Mark Vornberg and Shelly Leibham, a husband and wife team, who will continue to oversee the hotels’ operations. 

In the release we sent out to media today Mark was quoted saying, “People come here to get an experience they won’t find anywhere else, so a small boutique hotel, built from scratch, seemed like the perfect fit for Austin." And, he's right. 

With hopes of providing a place that serves its guests and neighbors well, in order to preserve the feel of east Austin, they built the hotel around a model of “hands-on hospitality” with service similar to what one would expect at a bed and breakfast. Hotel Eleven’s owners, Mark and Shelly, pulled from the best of their combined travel experiences to create a place where guests might feel as though they’ve “stayed with a friend.” From the beginning, Mark and Shelly have had a hand in every detail of the project, with Mark as the lead architect from Austin’s renowned Dick Clark + Associates and Shelly serving as general manager tasked with overseeing the day to day operations. 

Hotel Eleven’s contemporary design maintains a sense of warmth and a unique aesthetic that is felt from the lobby to the café, the outdoor spaces to each of its 14 guest rooms. The design of the exterior aims to reflect the dichotomy of the area, contemporary yet historic, amongst rapid growth surrounded by buildings that have been preserved over decades. Each guest room in the hotel is unique, from eclectic light fixtures to colorful wallpaper, with most rooms offering a Juliet balcony with city views. All 14 guest rooms provide luxury plush mattresses, Sferra fine linens, soft Turkish cotton robes, flat screen TVs, contemporary walk-in showers, Lather® personal care amenities, bedside USB ports, complimentary wifi, Soundfreaq Bluetooth clock radios, mini-refrigerators, hair dryers, and in-room safes. Additionally, Hotel Eleven’s junior suites feature free-standing bathtubs. 

Hotel Eleven operates a café serving light plates, coffee and fresh beverages, and a bar serving wine and locally brewed beers for both guests and neighbors. The café and bar will be open to the public giving hotel guests the opportunity to mingle with locals so they can get a true flavor for Austin and the east side. The hotel will be Austin’s only small boutique hotel to offer its guests a rooftop deck featuring 360 degree views of the city, in addition to outdoor patios and courtyards on all three levels. 

Shelly, who will serve as an onsite manager, said in the press release “We are thrilled to finally see our dream come to life with the support of our new neighbors on the east side as well as old neighborhood friends who always made sure we kept the faith. Welcoming our first guests has been an amazing experience. It has validated our decision to create a hotel of this size, and reminded us why we began this adventure.” We've had such a great time watching this project come to fruition and we must say it doesn't disappoint. 

Hotel Eleven is approximately three blocks east of Interstate 35 within walking distance to nationally-renowned Franklin Barbecue, the historic Victory Grill, East Side Pies, Blue Dahlia Bistro, Hillside Farmacy, Sagra Trattoria and Bar, and the Longbranch. 

Come and see it for yourself. For more information go to www.hotelelevenaustin.com. 

Don't Let Your Media Statements Be Misconstrued: Part Two

Last summer I wrote a blog about the importance of messaging in your media interviews, in case you missed it I'll copy it below. The most important takeaway I could emphasize, then and now, is that your media statements and messaging should always be carefully crafted and rehearsed so that they can’t be misunderstood regardless of the interpretation. 

Thankfully (if you're a fan like us) TV magic has occurred, since last summer, bringing Scott Patterson’s conversation with those beloved Gilmore Guys to life. Today Netflix, along with Warner Brothers, is currently filming a revival for the Gilmore Girls in Stars Hollow, I mean Burbank if you’re not a true fan of the show. 

And, now, once again, we’ve all gotten our hopes up with two recent (and completely unrelated) statements made to the media. One from the writers themselves and one from Sutton Foster who plays a small role in the revival. 

Here are the links to both interviews. We’ll be curious to see if these slips of the tongue were in fact carefully planted seeds or just comments to give their very large, and growing audience, hope for more in the years to come. 

Sutton Foster’s “probably not on this round” reply to the question of whether or not she’ll film more scenes can be viewed here, http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/04/11/sutton-foster-gilmore-girls-role-revival-interview-video/, leaving us to wonder..."wait, is there more to come?!"

And, Dan Palladino’s reply to whether or not this is the last time we’ll see Lorelai, Rory and Emily, can be read here http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/08/gilmore-girls-revival-more-episodes, leaving a glimmer of hope that if all goes well we may get even more Gilmore in our world.

We’ll see what happens next, but in the mean time, our strongest advice (in case you’re not as lucky as the writers and cast of Gilmore Girls with a slew of devoted and forgiving fans), is to create messaging and stick to it when the time comes to talk to media. Think through the questions you might be asked and brainstorm your responses so you’re not caught off guard. And, if you need to ask us a question, feel free to send us a note. 

All for now. -Jennie

Here’s the original post that is (see previous blog) lost in the abyss of internet blogs from old websites.

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend The Gilmore Girls reunion at the ATX TV Festival. Without contest, this has been my absolute favorite series to watch and revisit over the past decade and the media coverage leading up to the reunion did an incredible job of reminding the fans why we loved the show and its characters so much. If you haven’t read about the reunion at some point in the past few months, I’m just going to assume you were unplugged on a fabulous vacation somewhere on a remote island.  

For my fellow fans, I want to tell you that it was surreal and amazing. Marcus and I were in the right place at the right time minutes before the Friday Night Lights screening outside of Hotel San Jose when the world’s greatest (what?! I already told you I am a devoted fan) fictional band, Hep Alien, made an entrance and played a surprise set. Coincidently, we were standing towards the back of the crowd when my favorite fellow (TV, not real life) twin parents, Lane (Keiko Agena) and Zach (Todd Lowe) along with their sons godfather, Brian (John Cabrera), exited the hotel’s side entrance a bit later that evening. What a treat to grab a quick photo opp, and that was just the beginning of the weekend. 

The next night, as I waited for the doors of the Paramount Theatre to open, one by one, the cast arrived on the red carpet, literally an arms length in front of me at times. There, right before my eyes, were so many of my favorite cast members. I saw the real-life people behind the characters of Jackson, Michele, Logan, Dean, Jess, Rory, Lorelei, Luke, Emily, Paris and Miss Patty. I’m still so pleased this really happened and I got to witness it. 

Minus the stampede that evoked mass hysteria for a few moments after the beginning of the line was established, which was expected, and the handful of ambulance rescues that came for the out-of-town girls fainting in the Texas heat, the reunion was incredible and full of emotion for the crowd. There were cheers, tears and laughter as we all soaked up the memories of Stars Hollow with the cast and creator. To see a slightly edited reunion for yourself, go to http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/08/watch-gilmore-girls-atx-festival-reunion-panel. 

The reason why I believe this event created a teachable moment in our line of work is the lesson about the significance of carefully delivering your message to the media at all times, no matter how small the media outlet or how insignificant you think the conversation might be in the grand scheme of things. 

In a recent interview on the Gilmore Guys podcast leading up to the festival, Scott Patterson “Luke,” whose character I love, innocently mentioned that there have been some conversations when asked about the potential for a Gilmore Girls movie. With the reunion ahead, this allowed millions of fan hopefuls to believe there may actually be a movie in the works. In fact, I thought the festival might be the platform for an announcement. To be more specific, in the interview Scott said, “there are talks going on at the moment.” He later said, “I can’t really go into any details, but there is some activity. I’m hopeful, and I’m in. I think it would be a big event, and I think it would be a great fan celebration.” 

All these things are true, lots of people are talking about a movie and there is activity. Unfortunately, as we found out Saturday those talks aren’t amongst the people that can make it happen nor is the activity coming from the show’s creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino’s pen. As he clarified at the reunion, when he sort of apologetically admitted that he got so many fans excited by one statement on a podcast that didn’t really have that much merit. It seemed as though there are always talks about a movie and he didn’t want to say there weren’t “people” talking about it.  He followed up with his hopes for a movie himself by saying “It’s kinda time, don’t you think?” No hard feelings Scott, you’re just the example in today’s lesson on crafting an explicit message when it comes to dealing with the media. 

More to the point, when it comes to media relations, you have to say what you mean and mean what you say, every, single time. Your words, when spoken to the media, live long after they’re said in an interview. They show up in print and/or broadcast, only moments before they are spread across social media platforms to be reposted time and time again. Most people know not to make “off the record” comments you’d rather not see printed, but sometimes you have to go a step further and say exactly what you mean so it doesn’t get misconstrued, even if it’s the truth. Just ask Luke’s on-screen love interest, Lorelei Gilmore, how she learned the hard way in season 5, episode 21 when referencing her mom, Emily Gilmore, in an interview not knowing those off-color remarks would be printed in a story about the Dragonfly Inn.

Here are a few articles highlighting my illustration from around the web. There are likely dozens more where these came from. Like I said, everyone seemed to be talking about this event.  

Hinting at a Gilmore Girls Movie

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/25/scott-patterson-gilmore-girls-movie

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/21/gilmore-girls-reunion-scott-patterson_n_7411858.html

http://www.inquisitr.com/2133715/gilmore-girls-reunion-scott-patterson-hints-that-new-show-or-movie-is-in-the-works/

The Truth Comes Out

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/07/gilmore-girls-movie_n_7529960.html

http://www.eonline.com/news/663945/gilmore-girls-cast-stages-the-most-epic-reunion-but-is-a-movie-really-in-the-works

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/gilmore-girls-reunion-movie-update-800639

Sadly, Amy Sherman-Palladino put the rumors to rest this weekend saying "I'm sorry, there's nothing in the works at the moment. But here's the good thing: Nobody here hates each other; that's a very important step. It would have to be the right everything. Right format, timing, budget. It would have to be honored in a certain way. If it ever came around, I think we would all jump in and do it." That’s when the entire cast nodded in agreement. As for the format, Amy Sherman-Palladino said she didn't know, "because it's not real,"but she promised that if it did, "we'll do it correctly."

Most of the time, when you say something you don’t mean and it gets relayed to an attentive audience it creates much more of a problem than a fun, fan frenzy. That’s why it’s important to get media training ahead of your interviews, to have talking points ready, to know what you need to emphasize and which details you need to share. It’s also important to anticipate questions you might be asked so you have an answer ready that’s not only is true, but is delivered with clarity. In short, our job is to handle the nuances of media relations, so you can do what you do best. 

The lesson here is that fans, eager to hear what they want, were listening to Scott’s every word ahead of the reunion, and likely your loyal brand ambassadors, customers, clients, patients or fans are too. While a movie teaser sure drummed up some excitement (and nearly broke the internet), it could have easily been a PR stunt to increase the excitement and anticipation for the reunion. Most brands don’t get so lucky when saying statements in an interview that could be misleading, they get called out and penalized. So while this was all in good fun and, by my account, the only ones who got hurt were the fans that passed out from the Texas heat, in nearly every other instance it’s crucial to stick to the facts and hone in on the messaging that leads to clear conclusions in your media interviews. 

(And yes, in case you’re wondering, it was thrilling for me to write a blog post on the Gilmore Girls and call it work!)

Big Brands Need Little Agencies

Over the weekend I came across a quick read titled “Why Big Brands Hire Small Agencies” and thought, well said Mrs. Blogger. I mean, I get it. It’s our life and we live and breathe this logic, but we rarely put it into words unless we’re asked about our size. 

We’re nimble and we’re on your side, big brands. Why? Because we value organizations with good people behind them who yearn for success. We know how to reach the right audiences and we don’t have to wait for approval. 

Big agencies oftentimes have long pipelines, we just have conjoined desks so quick thinking has an opportunity to be just that. We respond to your customers quickly, we distribute information as soon as you need us to and we are available at just about any time of day. 

All that, plus transparency. In a small agency you know who is working for you, because we’re the ones picking up the phones, taking the client meetings, writing the documents and designing your next campaign. We aren’t outsourcing or assigning tasks to anyone else. What you see is what you get and if you have a question all you have to do is ask us. 

Here’s the article I mentioned above, http://blog.hubspot.com/agency/big-brands-hire-small-agencies?source=ppc-facebook-big-brands-small-agencies-20160322, and the bullet points from the article, if you’re interested go ahead and click on the link. It’ll back up the information, I just thought I’d share their own reasons for choosing a small agency, like Seedling Communications for your next PR, advertising or marketing campaign.  

• Big brands need partners for smaller, project-based work.
• Big brands want specialists.
• Big brands want results, faster.
• Big brands are looking for deeper insight.
• Big brands want a partner willing to take risks.
• Big brands care about culture.

Curious about what we can do? Let’s grab coffee. We can tell you about our work at big agencies and then share what we’ve been doing here for the past six years. 

"Let's get together, yeah, yeah, yeah!" -Jennie

Out With the Old, In With the New

I am admittedly not the techie one around here. And, the one who is has been too busy with client work to migrate the past six years of our blogs to the new site.

So, until further notice, our old blog is floating around internet "outer space" and I'm sorry. It was riveting, trust me. But, rather than keep you waiting, I decided to throw in the towel on figuring out blog "code" and start fresh on our new site. After all, surely you've read everything you needed to from our old blog. If you haven't just ask, I can tell you everything you need to know about the agency since that wonderful day in March 2010 when we took a leap of faith to pursue our dreams in order to help you strengthen yours. 

I hope you'll join me here now for client musings, industry based-content and agency milestones. Out with the old, in with the new. 

Happy reading! -Jennie

A New Look

We've been so busy supporting our clients that we haven't taken the time to update our own site for a few years. It sort of feels like a new haircut right now. We like the look, but there's going to be growing pains as we settle in. We're migrating our blog, so you will be able to read our archives from the past six years soon.