Public Relations (PR) is a term all of us have heard of. We have seen it come into play when marketing agencies use it as a strategic communication tool to attract audiences. It is ultimately the forefront of marketing, forming businesses a path towards the construction of marketing approaches. However, it seems that marketing agencies do not prioritize PR, and they in fact neglect it. Even though PR focuses more on traditional media rather than new media, it still is crucial in this contemporary day and age. PR helps to set a foundation for brands to express their unique selling point and encapsulate brand stories to appeal to consumers. This is to not be confused for advertising, as they are two different things. Overall, PR is the best for brands to stand out and optimize your marketing strategy to the fullest.

Like many companies, Marketing Eye is about to embark on a PR campaign to communicate to the wider audience our expansion plans for the US market. 

With new recruit, Marketing Manager Chanta Waller, having taken up the post in our Atlanta office, we have spent a few minutes brainstorming our media release.

Is it newsworthy enough? Who should it go to? What variations should we do? What are our expected outcomes?

Recently, a client shared a sage piece of marketing advice, he said “If you have just $100 left in your advertising budget, your best investment is to use it to travel and share your story with your market face-to-face”. Today Marketing Eye put this advice to the test, with great success for one of our clients – Papa Gusto.

Marketing plans do not have to be intricate to be effective, nor do they to be supported by exorbitant budgets.  We keep it simple and achieve results.  

The Wolf of Wall Street was in many people's opinions a celebration of the bad life - drugs, sex, expensive toys, opulent homes and super expensive suits.

As we watched on as Leonardo DiCaprio spruiked, "The way I look at it, their money was better off in my pocket," many of us couldn't believe that world existed quite like that. But it does. And it's right here on our doorstep too.

In the past week, we have been organising media interviews for a financial services firm. Our inhouse PR expert is very talented and well-connected, and has organised more than 13 interviews for an international money markets expert. The thing is, this was done, all without using their media kit. Why? Because it is a bit out of date and doesn't represent the company and how forward thinking the company really is.

This got me thinking. What should go in a press kit (or media kit) in 2012? Are local companies in Atlanta and Georgia for that matter, ensuring that their media kits are up to date? Do they really know how to make a media kit stand out from the crowd? Is there someone in Atlanta helping them with their media kits?

Here are some things you should be considering;

The U-turn in Public Relations: Why the media has to change its ways.

The entire purpose of Public Relations is to communicate with the public, whether at a government, organisational or individual level. Therefore, it only makes sense that if we now all turn to our computers to talk to each other, then journalists and PR companies need to do the same.

If you mention the word ‘Twitter’ to a room of PR people, I’m sure it would generate a huge buzz of opinions. After all, it is one of the most fundamental changes in how media works today. Instead of sending out press releases, the publicist can now just send a tweet to a journalist through their twitter account with a link to a press release, landing page, video or social media experiment, and instantly have the journalists attention.

It's Sunday, and like most Australians, I am enjoying the day, relaxing, reading the papers and eating with friends and family.

Reading The Sunday Age is always a treat, especially when I get through the paper, start to finish. It is full of interesting stories on people, places and world affairs.

For some light reading, I often pick up the Sunday Life Magazine, and flick through. Having Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover helps, as I am a BIG fan of her acting, singing and sense of style.

In Australia, for business to business marketing, I still believe that BRW, The Australian and The Australian Financial Review are the best mainstream editorials to receive placement in.

The ‘apology’ media conference by Tiger Woods was a disgrace. He was ill-advised and read from a script that was obviously written by a PR.

Something strange is going on.  A lot of successful business people say that there comes a time in your business life cycle that it either plateaus or the business fires with the injection of new products or services.