Are Brands More Valuable Than Companies?
Smart branding decisions are important for any company. Read more in this recent Forbes article
Two Are Better Than One: RMR & Associates Named to Multiple Rankings for the 2019 Washington Business Journal Book of Lists
Rockville, MD – August 16, 2019 – RMR & Associates, Inc., one of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area’s leading Integrated Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations firms, announced today that it has achieved another year of ranking on not just one, but two lists compiled by The Washington Business Journal in its Annual Book of Lists. RMR & Associates was included on both the Top Advertising Agencies and Top Public Relations Firms lists for the DC Metro Area in 2019, at #16 and #12, respectively. This year’s ranked companies were featured in the August 2, 2019 issue of The Washington Business Journal. Being named to both lists this year is particularly impactful to RMR as the firm has continued to expand its value-added service offerings to exceed its clients’ expectations, often leveraging a combination of advertising and traditional media as well as social media strategies to propel its clients forward. The Washington Business Journal publishes its rankings of local companies by various categories, business types, and professional themes throughout the year. This year marks RMR’s 12th consecutive year of inclusion on the annual rankings, a testament to its expertise and industry leadership that continue to amplify its role in increasing the [...]
What Business Owners Need to Know about Pitching the Media
Getting the media to pick up your company’s stories and press releases is vital to keeping your company in the forefront of consumers’ minds. It’s rare that a Reporter picks up your story without it being pitched to him first. So, it’s crucial to make the pitch relevant and personal to the Reporter’s beat. Here are four simple steps on how to pitch your story more successfully. 1. Story Eclipses Everything Everyone loves a good story—and Reporters are no exception! When pitching about your product or service, remember that it’s not about the product or services, it’s about people and lives. If you can bring in a human aspect, something that invokes emotion, Reporters will be more likely to pick up your story. Before you reach out to a Reporter, ask yourself, “what is the story and why will people care?” 2. Reporters are PRODUCERS Gone are the days where Reporters only write articles and nothing else. With the move to online and digital platforms, Reporters have to create content that appeals to all audiences. That means using pictures, videos, infographics, graphs, and much more to catch and hold readers’ attention, as well as concisely convey the message. If you [...]
Bring New Products to Life Using 8 Simple Steps
The greatest challenge facing any new product is the FUD Factor—Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. This holds true whether you’re trying to influence Reporters, Editors, Prospects or Customers. Effective public relations not only eliminates FUD, it earns your product the dominant position in customer minds. In PR, like many areas of business, the 80-20 rule applies. In this case, 20% of the market influences the other 80% of the market. In his book titled “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” author Al Ries says, “The birth of a brand is achieved through public relations, not advertising.” When your product is first in its category, effective PR not only brands your product, it can make that entire product category synonymous with your product’s name. For example, if I say, “a candy with a hole in it,” it’s likely that the first thing that pops into mind is “Lifesaver.” Other recognizable examples are the first adhesive bandage, Band-Aid, the first cable news network, CNN, the first portable personal computer, Compaq, the first microprocessor, Intel, and the first cotton swab, Q-Tip. Effective PR informs, educates and influences Editors by providing them what they most want to provide their audience—what’s new, what’s first and what’s [...]
Increase Employee Well-Being
Workplace culture plays a significant role in company success. Read Forbes’ recommendations on how to strengthen company culture here.
How to Save Your Business Time and Money
Every business owner wants to save time and money. Read Inc's 6 tips here.
Improve Sales Results with Marketing Integration
Once upon a time, an enterprising company hired a Marketing Firm to create a dynamic, multi-faceted campaign that included advertising, PR, and targeted email. A few days after the campaign broke, the company received an envelope containing a check and a note saying, “I’ve been waiting forever for a product like this! Send me 1,000 of them right away!” The CEO ran to the bank with that check immediately, ran back, and waited for the next day’s mail. And the next, and the next and the next….and guess what happened? Nothing! That’s because the chances of receiving a large order without a nudge or phone call from your sales staff is roughly the same as receiving a bucket of magic beans. Far better to follow standard protocol – once your marketing campaign breaks, have your sales people step in, follow up on the leads, and close the deals. “Sales and Marketing” are often lumped together as if they were one function, when in fact they are distinct, separate functions that need to work together. The role of marketing communications (MarCom) is to create your brand image, make your target audience aware of your brand or product through “Air Cover”, and [...]
Rebranding Your Business
Are you considering rebranding your business? Business News Daily shares excellent information from 5 business owners Read the article "Rebrand Your Business Without Losing Your Audience" on Business Daily News HERE
The Difference Between PR And Advertising, And Where The Lines Are Fading
Forbes shares interesting information on how "Now, more than ever, the lines between earned, paid and owned media are fading, as PR, advertising and content creation become inextricably linked." Read the Forbes article HERE
Public Relations Can Help Your SEO/SEM Results and More – Part 2
PR as Part of the Modern Marketing Mix - Part 2 This is the second part of the article discussing PR as a necessity to a modern marketing mix. Name recognition and visibility are keys to growing your business and public relations is one of the best ways to make your company more visible. Did you know Public Relations can even help your SEO/SEM results? To read Part 1, click HERE Part 2 Different combinations of vehicles can help you accomplish different things. Depending on your goals and your budget, you may want to use some vehicles more often, some less often, and some not at all. Below are continued descriptions of vehicles, uses, and outcomes. See which ones are best suited for your business. Media Training Now that you’ve chosen your spokesperson, you must get started on media training right away. This should include identifying and memorizing the company’s key message points, preparing the speaker for awkward questions, and teaching repetition and bridging techniques to ensure your spokesperson stays focused on the key message points. Ideally, your messages will be included, verbatim, in the interviewer’s article. Many PR firms have media training capabilities that include video and audio recording to prepare for [...]