Tag Archives: Financial Times

Keith Trivitt

The Media World is Changing — PR Pros Should Rejoice

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As a media junkie, I follow news from the media universe (whether it’s PR, advertising, newspapers, digital publications, etc.) religiously. It’s a bit nerdy, I know, but it’s what I enjoy. At any rate, the past several weeks have been especially exciting, and not just because we’re only a few days away from Christmas.

No, the last several weeks have seen a slew of important shifts and announcements among major players in the news business, especially those that appear to a) actually have some money to spend; and b) among those media outlets that are poised to grow exponentially in the coming years, and thus, provide a lot of high-level media opportunities for PR pros and their clients. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

5 Tips to Make the Most of a PR Pro’s Summer

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Ocracoke49/120701 -- Sand dunes on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina.Ahhh, summer. What a calm, relaxing time of year. Time to bask in the glory of the previous months’ triumphs, while relaxing our minds and bodies for the grueling months ahead. And in the media world, it’s the one time of year when things are decently slow.

Which means if you’re a bit hyperactive like me, summer is when you spend most of your time worrying; wondering what might be next around the corner. But, that’s OK, for you have resolved to use this summer as a time to get ahead of your competition and make the fall and winter truly your time to shine (pardon the pun) with great messaging and outreach to key reporters and bloggers you’ve been aiming to reach all year. Continue reading →

Jeff Esposito, Keith Trivitt

Two Marketing Guys Walk Into a Branding Storm…

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Ice cream vendor s bicycleFor marketers, 2010 has thus far been a tough year – at least on the branding front. We’ve seen the downfall of several of the world’s top brands, including the ongoing BP oil spill debacle and the ensuing fallout for its corporate image and brand, along with Google’s recent privacy concern issues and several other high-profile branding dustups.

A recent Financial Times article (PDF Version) examined the perils of a tarnished brand. After reading the article, we thought it might be interesting to examine the broader issues and implications from a marketer’s perspective, with Jeff Esposito coming from the point of view of a corporate communications guy working for a global brand (Vistaprint), and Keith examining this issue from the perspective of a PR agency exec who works with SMBs, global brands and everything in between. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Predicting the Future: Why Trends Matter In an Oversaturated Media Landscape

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Close-up of Indian banknotes of different denomination HorizontalIn a world where there are now thousands of print and digital publications and blogs, covering everything from the nuances of sports law, to the ways in which technology affects our everyday lives and culture and  the joys of botany, securing media coverage for your business has arguably never been easier. On the flip side, there is a vast chasm of noise now coming at us every day, which makes it exceedingly more difficult for your big product announcement, or CEO profile you are pitching, to get the attention you think it deserves.

And it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. A recent study of business media reporting by the ITDatabase found that, in general, the top-8 business publications in the U.S. (The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, BusinessWeek, The Economist, the Financial Times and USA Today) were, “follow[ing] the lead of the media at large in focusing on what’s new and where the money might be going rather than where the money is now.” Continue reading →

Jeff Esposito, Keith Trivitt

What Should Be Increasing in 2010: Branding

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Blank billboard in desert landscapeAs a recent Financial Times article noted, companies are looking to spend more money in terms of marketing over the next calendar year. While we would love to say that a large piece of the pie would be allocated towards branding and public relations, we are realists and know that the money—for the most part—will go towards ever more advertising efforts.

And that is a damn shame. While advertising may be the flashy cog that looks good in media forms, what does it all mean? Your company is much more than a singing fish, talking baby or another gimmick. Sure you can name what companies are associated with the previously mentioned gimmicks. The question is, do you know what these brands really stand for? Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

PR Spending Forecast: Are We Set for a Big Decade?

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Businesswoman Holding MoneyA Financial Times article from Friday, March 26 (online subscriber edition here; free PDF version here), noted that global advertising spending is set to rise 4 percent in 2011, as the advertising, PR and marketing industries start to see a surge in client confidence, revenues and overall re-emergence of the world’s economies. What I found particularly interesting was the note in the third paragraph of the article which explains that even with a strong overall global ad spending growth, the total 2011 global ad spending will still below 2006 levels, which is right about the time the US and UK—which are the world’s top spender on advertising, marketing and PR budgets—saw a drastic uptick in overall corporate market and stock values. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Storytelling Is At the Heart of Effective PR

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Red book, close-upI have been reading a lot lately. Really, way more reading than I was doing in previous months. From the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times on the weekend, to amNY and Metro weekdays, and a slew of business and advertising trades in between, I have been trying to immerse myself in two of the professional areas I have the most passion in: small business and media.

Despite the fact that many of the publications that I have been reading have their own unique audience (For anyone who hasn’t done it yet, check out FT Weekend. Honestly, one of the best papers you will read.), the underlying fact of the matter is that each and every one of them tries to do the same thing at the end of the day: tell its readers great stories in a compelling medium that they enjoy. Continue reading →