Public Relations
A Public Relations Primer for Business Owners
By Nicole Nashar Andrews
With today's tough economy and streamlined promotional budgets, business owners are faced with doing more with fewer resources. To help 
their businesses survive, owners must find smart ways to stand out in a crowded marketplace by launching cost-efficient public relation (PR) campaigns with tools that drive measurable results.
Do the Research.
The first step is to evaluate your business to determine the key differentiators that make up your distinctive set of products or services. Once your differentiators have been identified, develop a core organizational message that effectively states the overall value delivered to your customers and the uniqueness of your company's products or services. This is a critical thought process that will help to ensure you are communicating the right message.
Plan the Work.
Now that you've defined your unique organizational assets - and before you can begin to pitch your company - develop a list of targeted media outlets and contact persons for your story ideas. Be sure to include your area newspapers, business journals, trade publications, and TV and radio outlets.
The Role of PR in Your Start Up
Four Hot Tips for Start-ups
Coca-Cola: The Power of a Brand
By: Bob Zurn
There are few images as recognizable throughout the world as the Coca-Cola brand. Travel to the furthest reaches of the globe and you will probably encounter it on a clock or a sign, if not on the drink itself. Marketers today look to the Coca-Cola brand as a model of marketing power. Its image has transcended national borders and cultural barriers to reach almost everyone on earth. How did the Coca-Cola symbol become such an omnipresent image?
Beginning in 1886, Coca-Cola president John Pemberton began traveling the country introducing pharmacists to the drink. At that time it was considered a medicinal substance that could relieve headaches and other minor woes. Candler distributed clocks, calendars and other items laden with the Coca-Cola logo as he toured the country, spreading the brand and selling his product.
From there the brand continued to penetrate further around the world. The bottling rights to Coca-Cola were sold in 1899 and in 1915 the Root family submitted a standard size bottle for distribution, but it was too fat in the middle. The Coca-Cola Company liked the bottle so much they thinned it down and has been used ever since and is called a Hobbleskirt Bottle. By 1920, with new bottlers springing up all the time, the brand had expanded into Cuba, France, Puerto Rico and other territories.
What's In A Name? The Six Essential Elements You Need To Know
By: Susan Friedmann
Selecting a name for your new business is not easy. A name does more than identify your company. It tells customers who you are, what you do, and more than a little about how you do it. Your name differentiates you from your peers, peaks customer interest, and invites further investigation -- if you do it right.
I didn't do it right. At least, not at first.
All entrepreneurs make mistakes, and I
made one of my first ones right off the bat. Thrilled with the fledgling business I was starting, this precious enterprise so near and dear to my heart, I christened my company Diadem Communications. Diadem means crown-- a fitting name for what I felt was a crowning achievement.
What does Diadem say to you? Does it evoke thoughts of me coming into your company, training your sales team to be the best booth staff ever, ensuring that every single trade show you attend turns out to be amazingly successful? Does it make me sound so good that you just can't wait to hire me?
