Author Archive

Three more choose Bayview for public relations

Monday, July 12th, 2010 by Missy

Three local businesses have recently chosen Bayview Public Relations to reach their goals.

The Tampa office of Fisher & Phillips, a national labor and employment law firm, has selected Bayview to help increase the office’s business through strategic messaging, media relations, grassroots outreach and community relations. With more than 225 attorneys in 23 offices, Fisher & Phillips is one of the largest U.S. law firms to concentrate its practice exclusively on representation of employers in labor and employment matters.

The Strand, a luxury condominium under construction in Clearwater, has retained Bayview to assist in selling units through strategic messaging, media relations, grassroots outreach and community relations. The Strand is being developed by Espacio USA, Inc., the Americas arm of Madrid-based Inmobiliaria Espacio, an international real estate development leader within Group Villar Mir.

33 Hope, a Christian-based book, film and social network, has chosen Bayview to help raise awareness and promote a launch event on July 29 in Tampa. The book, Thirty Three: The Story of Hope, tells how Christianity got its start after the crucifixion and serves as the central content for the 33 Hope project.

We welcome these additions to the Bayview family and look forward to working with each over the coming months to help move their needles.

Posted in Agency, Agency Announcements | No Comments »

Find Us on Facebook

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 by Missy

Bayview Public Relations recently launched its Facebook page where we’ll provide updates on our agency, our clients, and the industry, including media coverage, event announcements, blog posts, and case studies, along with other pages we like. Check us out at Facebook.com/BayviewPR.

Posted in Agency, Agency Announcements | 1 Comment »

“Journalists are liars” and other notes from the front lines

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 by Missy

During a recent message and media coaching session with more than 130 leaders of an international nonprofit, one sentiment was prevalent: the media is an adversary.

Instead of looking at a media interview as an opportunity to share the organization’s mission and positive impact in the community, many of these leaders thought that the media was out to misconstrue the facts and give the nonprofit a black eye.

Some of the attendees had negative experiences in the past, which shaped their beliefs that one must always be on defense with the media. In many cases, a media interview is like a business transaction.

The reporter has a job – creating a factually accurate, interesting story – and needs the interviewee’s help to achieve that goal. The interviewee has a responsibility to provide the journalist with worthwhile information, background, trends, illustrations and interesting examples.

If it’s like a business transaction, treat it like one.

  • Do your homework. What does the journalist know about the topic? How has it been covered in the past? Become familiar with the reporter and the news outlet.
  • Look at it from their perspective. Why should their readers care? Why is it interesting? What does it mean? Why does it matter?
  • Always return phone calls and emails promptly. If you were offered an opportunity from a potential business partner, you’d very likely answer right away. If you’re not the right person to talk to, tell them who is.
  • Prepare for possible questions, especially the tough ones. If you’re asked about a problem, talk about the solution.
  • Answer their questions honestly. If you don’t know the answer, say so. The truth always comes out. Just ask Tiger or Toyota.

Posted in Industry Commentary, Media Relations | No Comments »

Some thoughts as we launch

Thursday, March 18th, 2010 by Missy

Of 21 top public relations agencies listed in the Tampa Bay Business Journal 2010 Book of Lists, only three have opted to use “Public Relations” or “PR” in their company name. Those words simply conjure bad thoughts for some people – a bit of that is deserved, much of it isn’t.

For one, anybody can slap a ‘PR’ on their business card – there are a fair share of slick-talkers, spinmeisters, yes-men, and schmoozers claiming a share of the industry banner.

Other misperceptions are gleaned from film and TV – at best portraying a very narrow segment of the business, and often misrepresenting it entirely (internal meetings on strategies and objectives aren’t usually compelling entertainment).

A few negative perceptions might be earned – any profession has bad apples. Some agency bull artist pulls out all the stops for a fancy new business pitch, but then half-baked strategies are passed along to less-experienced staff. Or a flurry of substance-less press releases are blasted to carelessly compiled lists of media and constituents. The activity reports might look impressive, but needles aren’t moving.

Despite and because of these things, we ultimately decided that ‘Public Relations’ will be front-and-center in our branding. We’re going to embrace opportunities to address negative perceptions head-on, and help spread the word that public relations is an important and credible profession.

Good public relations not only generates measurable bottom-line value for clients – it benefits all parties because it guides organizations to be helpful, to be honest, and to offer useful information to people. Good PR helps organizations listen and respond, identifying key areas and addressing them. Good PR fosters communication that is clear, candid, and productive – to help move organizations forward, in line with the needs and wants of society.

And society is changing rapidly, so as is our industry – we’ve got new and emerging ways of communicating, a very different news media landscape, plus reset economic standards. As the industry reinvents itself, we hope it collects more positive connotations – we’ll be here doing our small part to help.

This blog is a forum to discuss issues and trends impacting public relations, along with sharing client and agency news and other things we or you may find interesting…

Posted in Agency, Industry Commentary | 1 Comment »