Comments on: C-PR: Reviving A Stale Account

By: Aerocles

Aerocles — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:04:51 +0000

Wow…Thanks For All The AMAZING Comments & Suggestions Everyone. Sorry I can’t respond individually! This is really a conversation that needs to happen more often. Clients will hop from agency to agency if you can’t plan for both the near and long term. The ‘recession’ has led many of us to put all our efforts into the – IMO – Overvalued “Immediate Results” Long Term Strategy is essential & this is directly related to “Keeping Things Fresh.” Understanding your clients goals, the short and long term, will allow you to develop a strategy that’s custom tailored to these ends and will help avert the dreaded Robo-Mode that can leave a client feeling under, or completely, unattended to…which is never a good thing.

By: Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:09:48 +0000

One of the things we do is brainstorm a client every other week for organic growth. We say to the client, “You were the topic of our brainstorm this week and we think XYZ.” It’s grown four of our accounts this year, alone. And it creates some serious loyalty.

By: Keith Trivitt

Keith Trivitt — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:50:34 +0000

Deidre’s comment about getting other members of a client’s internal team involved in the entire PR process is really important, IMHO. I’ve found from my own experience that business development folks are some of the best for providing great insight, applications and anecdotal stories that you can use to build new plans and campaigns, particularly once a client relationship begins to reach that point where you have blown through all of the obvious angles and you need to breathe some new life into the plan.

@KeithTrivitt

By: Deirdre

Deirdre — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:02:17 +0000

Really good post. Great tips and I think it’s especially important not to get complacent with a client especially around that 3 year mark as for many companies that’s a time for agency review. Also, one other tip is to get as much information as possible by involving other groups w/in the company. For example, we tend to get the sales managers or the business development team involved with the PR effort (in monthly meetings) because they provide a tremendous insight on the market and the customer. They also have great application stories that often aren’t shared with an internal communications team. Thanks for sharing your insight!

By: Amanda Beals

Amanda Beals — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:29:55 +0000

David,

Dead on. If you do not exude excitement or verve in plain view of your client, you should be in another business. Your suggestions should not be a “nice to have” but mandatory in this economic climate and for that matter any economic climate. The notion of checking in with clients is wildy underrated. And, from my experience, checking in more rather than not (and that does not mean overkill) may engender more excitement from client and potentially dialogue that would augment or ameliorate a campaign at an impasse.

The reality is that each day I see enumerable businesses pop up with ridiculously low fees to promote or work with brands because social media in some ways has been interpreted (and PR for that matter: Please see Bruno for twins at BIG PR COMPANY)as an easy job. Well, its not. But, service that exceeds expectation that is consistent, relevant and demonstrative will trump all others.

By: FLAIR MEDIA

FLAIR MEDIA — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:40:32 +0000

I’m a big fan of exploring what’s happening in other industries, and then adapting appropriate ideas to fit a client’s current needs. I also think that staying immersed in your own creative pursuits, and reading, listening, and participating in a well-rounded life outside of the office helps bring fresh perspective to your work. You never know where those a-ha moments will spring from!

By: Sasha H. Muradali

Sasha H. Muradali — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:12:47 +0000

That is a very on point article.

I think two things are the most important though — knowing your audience and knowing your client, but understanding the shifts.

So I guess that makes it three. Obviously there are more than that — as Laruen suggested Google Alerts and as Mike said, interns, for example.

I def. agree with all of those.

But I just think everything is so subjective in our career. I mean we can generalize, but it really is case by case.

But also, I think interacting with clients is very important. if you can’t see them in the flesh, I think it IS okay too to email and talk on the phone, as long as the lines of communication remain open.

By: CT

CT — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:54:38 +0000

Good tips. The journalist outreach seems to have hit a chord, and since I can speak from past experience on that side: Timing and context are everything. No matter how desperate an outlet might be to fill the news hole that hour/day/week/month, the item being pushed has to be relevant or it isn’t worth the time to look at. And reporters to keep a mental file, so it’s easy to remember if Company A (or Celebrity A, etc.) churns out nothing but routine product releases that aren’t even that noteworthy within their niche. @mikeschaffer above said that creativity is a huge part of doing PR, and that needs to be applied in order to get attention.

By: Melfi

Melfi — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:27:28 +0000

A lot of good thoughts here. I completely agree with Lauren’s 5th point above. Take a journalist out for lunch to get to know them better. If they don’t have the time, pick up the phone and see what stories are coming down their pipeline. Some of the best hits I have gotten for clients I’ve had for multiple years have come from just asking a journalist what he/she finds interesting right now and what he/she is planning out for the next month.

By: alexaizenberg

alexaizenberg — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:16:29 +0000

Well done, i agree with Lauren F’s additions… gotta check up on competitors, gotta be close by if not ahead… even if by way of ‘lay of the land conversations’ with your client directly (yes, def should be done daily!)

This is a great timely post as i sit here writing plans for clients whom are grandfathered in… hard to have non stale thought starters and ‘new directions’ that are not new keep rearing their heads in there. Chief Twitter Officer anyone? (*thanks David for the tweet that gave me this idea a few days back).