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For many business
executives, the period between Thanksgiving and New
Year’s can be slower than normal. Many of their
business partners and customers are either consumed with
holiday business or holiday cheer. In either case, this
can be a great time to plan your 2003 public relations
program.
While many publicity
opportunities arise in the course of daily business,
many other campaigns and plans can be thought out well
ahead of time.
Does your company have a
product launch occurring in 2003? Now would be the time
to start planning around it.
How do your financials for
2002 stack up? Whether they are good or bad, now could
be the time to start working on how you are going to
present your annual statements to shareholders and the
media.
Take a hard look at how your
public relations activities fared over the last year.
What worked, and what failed to meet expectations?
Focus on the positives and try to build upon them. A
detailed review of your p.r. program can result in vast
improvements over prior year performance.
Analyze the performance of
your spokespeople and the results achieved from speaking
engagements and media opportunities. Did your company
come off as dynamic and aggressive in 2002, or do you
need to make changes for 2003?
How well did your
advertising and PR programs work together? The synergy
of a well-run PR campaign with an advertising blitz can
yield amazing results. Did you lose some of the
potential you could have profited from? How can you
improve upon your performance in this area?
Review your collateral
materials. Update media kits and make any changes
necessary to improve your positioning. Have you
capitalized on available technology by having a media
microsite on the Internet? How about a media kit on CD
that can be shipped with your printed version?
Get a jump on seasonal
promotions and opportunities by brainstorming creative
approaches to your programs. The longer your ideas
gestate, the more refined and efficient your execution
will be.
Finally, take a long look at
your marketing plan and determine where and how your
public relations opportunities fit in. Planting seeds
of campaigns early can ensure a strong crop of ideas
when the time comes to deliver the program. |
