The Good, The Bad, And The Atrocious

The inhabitants of Troy were not pleased by the appearance of their new neighbors, but defended themselves properly over the next few days after having checked with their lawyers to make sure it was justifiable self-defense. The Greeks refused to give up, since they just finished building a new Starbucks in their camp. After some flaming arrows had been shot, it was determined that a conflict had officially begun. Since Kofi Annan hadn't been born yet, the feud lasted for a few years, until one day some buddies of a Trojan named Yorba decided that he would like a cake with a beautiful maiden jumping out of it for his birthday. They sent their order out by carrier pigeon.

One of the Greeks, seeing this tasty pigeon flying overhead, put an arrow through it and started de feathering it for lunch. He found the note and got an idea. What if they were to fill the order for Yorba's birthday but to replace the beautiful maiden with a warrior instead. Then someone suggested that a whole army would certainly do better than a single warrior, even if he was a WWF heavyweight champion. So they quickly constructed the wooden horse, slapped some frosting on it (your history book didn't mention the frosting? Oh the tyranny that comes from revisionistic history!) and pulled it up to the gates of Troy then jumped into their ships and sailed off. The Trojans, seeing what they thought was Yorba's birthday gift arriving, quickly pulled the wooden horse into the city. At the stroke of midnight, the Trojans were rudely awakened by the sounds of Greeks slaughtering people and breaking porcelain dishes in fireplaces. Troy had been taken.

Today, Trojans, like everyone else, are fighting for the public's attention. The other evening, I was watching television with my family. At the commercial break, the first commercial scene turns to a young couple on a park bench. They say a phrase or two, then in a flash, superhero music plays, and out jumps TrojanMan! It's a guy wearing a giant condom costume! I don't know about you, but isn't there something really, really wrong about a guy running around town in a condom costume?! I think I would call the police, and I certainly wouldn't accept anything from the guy. Needless to say, the couple's smiles are from ear to ear (probably because they couldn't keep a straight face) as they yell "Thanks TrojanMan!" At the end of the commercial, I was laughing so hard, I was in danger of bursting a lung. What was the company thinking??!! Now, I'm not saying that the maker of Trojan is a bad company. But, I am saying that they will probably need to do some serious damage control to fix their reputation after that commercial.

Now, the company that makes Trojan certainly wants a good image. But, as good taste would dictate, giant condom costumes running around in public places just really drops a bad image.

Don't jeopardize your image in an attempt to make something memorable. It's not worth it, and in the end, you will probably lose more business than it generates. Want some tasteful suggestions?

- Be careful with humor. Humor is great in the right doses. But overdoing it, or using humor that is crude or somewhat questionable wont earn you any points.

- Take an objective point of view from several people. That should set things on the right path.

- Don't allow your creativity to take away from the message intended for the audience. If they walk away shaking their heads wondering what that was advertising, you're on the wrong wavelength.

Use these wisely, and you should be able to avoid the fate of others.

Do you struggle to get good publicity? Some people do. And, it's not a bad idea to learn some lessons from other's mistakes.

I can promise you that getting some great publicity will be a far better investment of your time and resources than creating an ad that will be laughed at and ridiculed. One great tool to help you do that is to pick up a copy of our ebook Media Relations Power. It's one of our hottest selling products. Here's what's in it:

Special Report #2: Questions You Can Expect Reporters to Ask During an Interview (Including Nasty, Hostile Ones)
Most people focus so hard on getting attention, that they forget the true battle is knowing what to do when you're in the spotlight. Before you do your next press interview (or allow your CEO to take an interview) prepare by studying the 26 quick tips in this Report. Includes common questions reporters will ask you, and recommended ways you should answer them.

Special Report #5: How to Identify Story Ideas Within Your Company or Organization
How do you get news when you don't have a new product or earnings report to talk about? This Report will inspire you with 30 time-tested tactics that are proven to work.

Special Report #12: 52 Tips for Kick-Butt News Releases (and Bonehead Mistakes to Avoid)
Even if you have something newsworthy to talk about, 99% of the time reporters will ignore your releases (unless you're already incredibly famous.) That's because most press releases are written in a manner that doesn't sound interesting to reporters. This Report gives clear you instructions on how to write a must-read press release.

Special Report #4: How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor to Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Issue
It's very easy to get your letter to the editor published in a major magazine or newspaper (such as your local newspaper, or even the biggies like Business 2.0 or The Washington Post), if you know how to write one properly. This Report includes a template for a great letter as well as useful do's and don'ts.

Special Report #6: How to Write "How to" Articles That Position You as an EXPERT
Reporters love to quote experts in their stories, radio talk shows seek out guest experts, conferences are always looking for expert speakers ... and once you appear as an expert on one of these venues, you'll often gain new clients. Plus, you may be able to raise your prices without hurting sales. This Report gets you started.

Special Report #7: How to Write the Perfect Pitch Letter That Convinces an Editor to Write About You
Press releases are not enough. In fact you can get a lot more media attention from a pitch letter. (Reporters love a good pitch letter.) This Report helps you create one that really works.

Special Report #25: How to Pitch Reporters Over the Phone and Make Every Second Count
What should you do when a reporter says, "No thanks" or "Not right now"??? Yes, there are ways to continue the conversation and ultimately get media attention. However calling to say, "Did you get my press release?" isn't one of them! Learn why, and learn what you should say on the phone in this Report.

Special Report #26: How to Make Your Story Pitch Stand Out in the E-mail Jungle
The average reporter gets more than 200 emails a day. Some get more than 500. They only have time to read and digest a fraction -- and an even tinier fraction ever turn into stories. This Report explains exactly how you can make sure your emailed story pitch can have the greatest chance of success. (Frankly this particular Report alone is worth the cost of the entire Media Relations Power book.)

Special Report #24: How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and Conferences
Learn what you should do before the show, at the show and afterwards to get the most bang for your booth (or party) buck. Plus, this Report also tells you how to get media attention if you're attending but not exhibiting at a conference.

Special Report #23: Profitable Publicity Tips to Jump-Start Your Consulting Business
Report Author Joan Stewart brings a wealth of hard-won personal experience to this detailed Report which includes tips on how to use speaking gigs to land more clients; when to send your photo to reporters; how pro bono work can turn into paid engagements; and how to form strategic alliances with other consultants so you all get more work! It's a must-read for anyone considering becoming a consultant.

Special Report #14: How to Piggyback Story Ideas onto Holidays and Anniversaries
Many media outlets run "round-up" features around holidays and they are always looking for fresh new items to include. This Report tells you how to get yourself or your company included. Plus you'll also get tips on taking advantage of a corporate anniversary for publicity's sake.

Special Report #16: How to Write Tip Sheets That Catch the Media’s Attention If you don't have time to write a book or long articles to get attention, a tip sheet is your next best bet. Plus, you can probably whip together a tip sheet in under an hour. This Report tells you how.

Special Report #1: Damage Control: How to Keep the Media from Making a Mess of Your Story
Ouch! Even if you're not Enron, sometimes news stories can reflect badly on you. This Report includes 17 useful tips on how to avoid being misquoted, handle tough on-air questions, and make sure the facts about you are represented as accurately as possible. Plus you'll learn what to do if a story comes out that's either wrong or possible libelous.

Special Report #18: Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call
This Report includes an even dozen inspirational tips and ideas for contests you can run to get media attention either locally or nationally. Web site contests included.

Special Report #19: How to Use Polls, Surveys and White Papers That Brand You as an Expert
Reporters love official-sounding numbers, charts and factoids. This Report shares the secrets of how to create them, and how to draw traffic to your Web site with them too.

Special Report #22: How to Create an Online Media Room and Keep the Media Coming Back
A recent study found that 87% of Fortune 500 Web sites had inadequate press areas. (Even Amazon's press area includes some of the most common mistakes!) This report helps you avoid the common mistakes and create a press area that works for you, without costing a lot of time or money.

Special Report #28: How to Get Booked on Radio Talk Shows, Give a Great Interview and Get Invited Back
How would you like to be featured as a guest on a radio talk-show that commuters listen to intently as they drive to and from work? Radio drive time is invaluable exposure. This Report helps you get it.

Special Report #32: On the Air: How to Create Valuable TV Coverage
This Report includes quick hands-on tactics to pitch TV talk shows, TV news assignment editors, and even get your own cable show.

Special Report #30: Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes: The Shortest, Easiest Articles you'll Ever Write
Are you already writing regular articles or an email newsletter to get attention? If so, sooner or later you'll probably experience "writing burn-out." This Report helps you over the hump with ideas for easy-to-write articles that readers love.

Special Report #35: How to be the Local Angle to National Stories
Want to make your news pitch "irresistible"? This Report tells you how to get national news coverage as a local or regional source.

Special Report #13: How to Recycle Your Publicity (for Serious Publicity Hounds Only)
Wonderful -- a reporter just did a glowing article all about you. Now what? This Report includes 16 classic ways you can re-use that article to get even more attention and benefits from it.

This ebook is great. I recommend them to anyone who is even remotely interested in building their business through free publicity. Don't try and cut corners, and then spend a bundle of money. You might end up with the TrojanMan quality of commercial or write-up. Aim for great publicity, and follow the steps in these reports, and you will do well.

You can get this ebook at: http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=64056

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