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High-tech PR in a low-down economy
Canceled IPOs, lost revenue, decreased staff, marginal sales, sinking bellwether tech stocks and a Nasdaq that has lost $3 trillion in value. The dot-com bubble hasn’t only burst, but the flavor is gone, and it’s getting harder to chew.
The high-tech shakeout has forced PR firms to adjust their approach to PR – from how to deal with media, to staffing patterns and business offerings. When the high-tech climate turned cynical, much of the disparagement pointed towards PR. Now, agencies must react properly in order to thrive, or go belly-up like their high-tech counterparts.
At the height of the dot-com revolution, PR firms lived in near-perfect conditions. There were plenty of new technology magazines hungry for content, and potential clients were knocking on the door at an incredible rate. With money to burn, young, aggressive companies could score coverage based on an idea and a lot of investment money.
Today’s high-tech PR problems are a direct result of those glory days. As the press raved about the ever-rising Nasdaq, it was setting itself up for a credibility crash. When America woke up from its dot-com dream, all fingers pointed to the media and Wall Street financiers for augmenting the entire event. By March 2001, page counts were down significantly from the prior year, and several high-tech magazines either shut down or dramatically cut back the number of pages (Business 2.0, Wired, Red Herring). The media couldn’t accept all the blame, and much of their frustration came down on PR for helping to inflate the dot-com bubble.
In addition, PR firms are taking a hit because companies are spending less money. In this highly conservative market, PR firms must change their focus to areas that will help their clients win in these tough times. Firms armed with the right strategies and tactics can still help clients turn profits and make money.
Fast moves for slow times
Be creative. To stay hot in today’s chilly PR environment, firms must be quick-witted and creative. With some innovation and resourcefulness, you can still win coverage, create speaking opportunities and generate media interest. But to be successful, you must think like the media. Look for the story behind the story. Tie into larger trends in a natural (not opportunistic) way. Always identify the big picture view. Use objective validation to create belief. Sharpen complex thoughts by making them simple and memorable.
It's all about quality. It's all about quality. Timely, interesting, and newsworthy stories have always been key to good PR, and it’s still true in today’s economy. If you send an editor a substandard news release, they won’t pick up your story and you will create a negative perception. Don’t distribute offbeat pitches, incomprehensible product descriptions, or show ignorance of the product you’re pitching.
Use the web. Innovation is essential to obtaining coverage for clients. If the tried-and-true methods aren’t getting the job done, be resourceful. Think of new ways to communicate to customers. If you are having difficulty reaching them through hostile media outlets, don’t. Try moving your message to the Web, which is quickly becoming a respected source for news and information. It’s easier to directly communicate to customers via Websites, newswires and online media.
Educate via industry spaces. As technology improves and new technology is invented, industry segments and platforms must be built and rebuilt. For that reason, creating an industry space for your client can yield huge benefits. Oftentimes – particularly with start-ups – a client’s industry is so new there might not even be a category for it. One way to surmount this is to create a new channel where people can research and learn about the industry, such as a newsletter or Website. This will not only help people better understand the technology, but also serve as an outlet to publicize a company’s products and events.
Zero in on specific objectives. Eliminate vague objectives in your PR program. An objective such as “establish my company as an industry leader,” isn’t very practical. Rather, focus on achieving a specific level of quality and quantity of coverage. Create milestones that are clear in intent and easy to measure. Identify a specific change in opinion or behavior that's supposed to result from your public relations activities. Try to pinpoint levels of accomplishment in the form of percentages, and identify the specific publics targeted by your efforts.
Stay on top of rapid change. As the high-tech climate grows more challenging, PR practitioners must work harder than ever to prove their worth. If we learn just one thing from the dot-com shakedown, it’s that in the high-tech world nothing is ever static. Technology changes quickly, and the media reflects it. To survive, PR must constantly stay abreast of its competition, market conditions, and clients. Somewhere within that tangled web is a clear path to success.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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