Public Relations is at last receiving its due!

This powerful marketing tool has long labored with misunderstood status competing for recognition with the style and glamour of big-league advertising. Recognition is at last growing for the unequaled brand-building power of public relations. Many of today’s great brands have been built not on advertising, but rather on the methodical, less-showy, but undeniably effective power of great PR.

In a world of cynicism, self-serving advertising claims and ever increasing advertising messages bombarding consumers every day, the credibility of third-party endorsement is like a match that can ignite a fire under a brand. PR gives your brand credentials that can overcome uncertainty, cynicism and inaction.

Credible, powerful…and cost-efficient

A carefully constructed PR program is a long-term unfolding of a series of strategically managed steps that reveal and reinforce a credible truth to a consumer – the benefits of your product or service to that consumer and its advantages over your competitors. PR isn’t about big-budget media blitzes. The focus isn’t primarily on impressions, reach and frequency, but rather on the credibility of the impression. Public Relations is the most affordable and most effective way to build a brand. It just takes more patience and requires more creativity.

More than you expect

Public Relations at Smith O’Keefe is much more than the traditional perception of PR – press conferences, press releases and PR events.

1. Idea starters – Smith O’Keefe PR professionals bring ideas to the table. They are highly creative participants capable of working with senior executives and strategic partners. They’ll help you build a marketing plan that utilizes PR’s unequaled power to build credibility in your brand’s claim to distinction.

2. Relationship builders – PR today has broadend into building co-marketing relationships with media and other publics that expand the power of marketing budgets. This often-overlooked focus on relationship-building can result in enormous added value – often paying for your entire investment in PR services or more.

3. Technology leaders – Smith O’Keefe is at the leading edge of applying sophisticated technology advances to enhance PR services – from building practical, user-friendly web-based Electronic Press Rooms that meet media needs more timely and efficiently…to utilizing the latest technologies in research and electronically releasing news to the wire services and journalists worldwide… tracking media inquiries for immediate follow up, monitoring and electronically reporting news placements to clients, to make public relations measurable and accountable.

4. Highly respected by media – Our expertise in this field and knowledge of the media’s needs have established a high level of credibility and acceptance of news and feature ideas submitted by Smith O’Keefe. Our clearly communicated ideas and copy are well received by publishers, editors, assignment writers and producers at the regional and national level. In our leisure specialty, we are recognized experts approached for comment on industry stories and often approached as a source of story ideas.

5. Experts in crisis avoidance and management – Smith O’Keefe senior PR personnel are certified by the Institute for Crisis Management in Louisville, KY and are highly knowledgeable in this too-often-overlooked area of planning. We help clients become better A.R.M.E.D FOR CRISES in a volatile world.