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Hannah Oakman investigates why every business in the cooler industry needs a strong public relations strategy. The first impression many people have of PR is one of extremes, either political spin doctors or the absolutely fabulous, champagne drinking of Patsy and Edina from British TV comedy Absolutely Fabulous. In fact, PR is pretty simple. If your company is successful, people will want to tell others about it and this is the kind of word of mouth advertising which helps your business grow. Put simply, public relations is about reputation. It is the result of what you do . . . what you say . . . and what others say about you, either to your face or, quite often, behind your back It is also a planned and long term effort to communicate with those people who are important to your business, such as existing and potential customers, local authorities, associations, governments and employees. PR is made up of a number of different methods. Most people immediately think of media relations or writing press releases but there are several other methods which may not immediately spring to mind. Firstly, you can aim to position yourself as an industry expert. Once you start to become known as an expert on a subject, journalists will start to interview you for story background. Being mentioned or quoted in a major industry article can be a great boost for you and your business. You could also look at local or national sponsorships of events and charities. Showing an outside interest, other than your core business focus, can make your business seem more appealing and lends itself to stories and media interest. It is important to chose an activity which reflects the personality of your company’s brand - ie sports suggests an active lifestyle while arts sponsorships may imply a more cultured focus. Offering something different, particularly an environmental or sustainable stance, or perhaps a unique attitude to staff training or customer service, will also help you to stand out from the crowd. * Media relations - a guide* As Editor of this magazine I receive a lot of press releases. Some are great but some are not. The main problem most of the time is identifying the story quickly. If I am struggling to find the story after 15 seconds I am tempted to give up and this is the case with most media, especially busy newspaper desks which receive hundreds of press releases a day. So how can you make your press release stand out in the pile? The following should be useful as a starting point. • A good press release answers the five Ws (who, what, where, when, why) providing the reader with all the information they need to retell the story. • Start strong - your headline and first paragraph should tell the story. The rest of the press release should provide the detail. This means you capture the reader’s attention straight away. • Pick an angle. It often helps to make your press release timely. For example, if you have just acquired another company or launched a new product, how might this tie in with recent developments in the industry or legislation? • Your press release should include comment from a relevant spokesperson. Rather than just expressing pleasure at the launch of a product, try and say something meaningful such as why you are pleased and how it will have a beneficial effect in real terms. • Avoid exclamation marks, capital letters and other alarming punctuation. Remember the exclamation point is your enemy and is the easiest way to destroy your credibility when writing. • Your press release should end with a short paragraph, otherwise known as a boilerplate, which describes your company, products, services and a short history. You should also always include a relevant contact person - telephone number and email address for a journalist to get in touch. • The phrase “a picture tells a thousand words” is often true. While we may not have glamorous travel images or fashion shots in this industry, a clear, high resolution photo from your company of your key spokesperson or new product will really help your chances of coverage. • And finally . . . it’s all about deadlines. You might have the best story in the world, but if you miss the deadline it won’t appear. When looking at different types of media this varies. If you are working on a story with a local, weekly paper, they will have the same deadline day every week so it is worth ringing to check. Magazines, meanwhile, tend to work at least two months ahead of the distribution date.