Archive for July, 2009

Tech PR is more than ‘spin’

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

It’s high time to debunk an old yet enduring myth about the public relations profession:  that it’s only about ‘spinning’ or simply about pumping out press release after release.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The real practice of PR — especially the tech PR business, in which companies must fight daily to gain visibility in a noisy, highly competitive environment — goes well beyond these limiting and inaccurate labels.

Tech PR is a strategic discipline. It’s about analyzing clients’ corporate and technology assets, target markets, competitive issues, and customer needs, and then devising a customized strategy to reach their key audiences via the right combination of messaging and delivery vehicles. This may include press releases, pitching and other common tools and tactics, but it frequently involves other activities as well, including blogging, social networking and SEO.

At the end of the day, PR is about helping a company manage how it interacts with, and is viewed by, its public.

A good PR professional is trained in the “art and science” of verbal and written communications, communications strategy, positioning, and a host of other skills. So, to suggest — as some critics have — that PR is nothing more than glorified telemarketing and press release writing completely misses the mark.

And, it certainly does nothing to help the many tech organizations that could benefit from experienced PR counsel.

Interested to hear your feedback.

Geo2

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Posted in PR strategy, SEO, blog, brand visibility, media relations, press release, social media, tech PR | No Comments »

USA Today: Think twice before slashing your PR budget

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

There was a great Entrepreneurial Tightrope column yesterday on USAToday.com by Gladys Edmunds.

It was in response to a business owner who asked if cutting her marketing/PR budget was a good or bad strategy to cope with shrinking budget resources. This question is undoubtedly on the minds of many professionals and business owners in these difficult economic times. And, many have already made the tough choice to reduce marketing and communications budgets, along with a number of other business expenses.

Ms. Edmunds took a pragmatic and logical approach in her response, cautioning the reader not to make a hasty, ill-informed decision she might later regret.  Her argument boiled down to the following:

“If reducing your budget is necessary for the life of your business, that’s understandable. However, you must continue to be as visible to the public as possible…public relations, marketing and advertising are the things that keep you and your business in the public view.”

Certainly, in some cases, cutting marketing dollars is unavoidable. However, an efficient, cost-effective ongoing communications program designed to maintain company brand visibility among customers, influencers and the media can go a long way to optimizing an organization’s position for continued growth once the economic climate improves.

In other words, be careful not to cut off your nose to spite your face.

If you’re a marketing/PR professional or executive at a tech or consumer organization, I strongly encourage you to read the column.

And, be sure to let us know what you think.

Geo2

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Posted in PR, brand visibility, consumer technology, enterprise technology | No Comments »

A Green Tsunami

Monday, July 6th, 2009

I’m surprised that there hasn’t been a lot more green-/chip-blog chatter about a recent story that ran on the front page of the NY Times Business Section regarding Taiwan Semiconductor’s (TSMC) likely move into the solar cell and LED lighting businesses.

As the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, TSMC has the proven ability to rapidly alter to the economics of any market it enters.  In a fairly short time span, TSMC manufacturing prowess could dramatically increase solar cell and LED manufacturing volume.  The result would be an order of magnitude increase in the supply, and sharp decrease in price, of both.

If this happens, it could easily have the same kind of effect that Intel had on the PC market with its X86 architecture, or that Apple had on the digital music business with the iPod.  It’s a game-changer.

If TSMC moves ahead, the potential benefits to energy consumers – individuals, businesses and government – and, of course, the environment are enormous.  The impressive reduction in carbon emissions forecast by Cooler Planet if just 5 percent of households went solar could be a gross underestimate if the price of solar panels dropped precipitously.  LED’s potential of slashing industrial, residential and public lighting energy requirements – as well as significantly reducing the energy required to run air conditioners to cool all those lights – could be realized as well.

For existing producers of solar panels and LED lighting, TSMC’s possible move should have their marketing and PR teams burning the midnight oil (fossil fuel pun, sorry).  Some of their top priorities might include:

  1. Researching how leading fabless semiconductor companies build and maintain market value
  2. Developing communications programs today to ensure brand value in tomorrow’s market
  3. Understanding how customer requirements and motivation are impacted by price

Being prepared for foreseeable contingencies in business is always smart.  In the case of the still embryonic green tech community, I believe it’s essential.  As far as this situation goes, my guess is that TSMC won’t keep us hanging for too long.

Bob Walt

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Posted in LEDs, enterprise technology, green technology, semiconductors, tech PR | 2 Comments »