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One of the most frequently asked questions we get is if Couture Consulting is a public relations company. Although we work directly with PR companies to provide them a unique brand concept to run with for each wedding vendor, we look to PR experts to make our concepts visible in the media stream. One of our go-to public relation agents is Audrey Strong, whom I closely worked with at The Ritz-Carlton, Denver and is now a free lance public relations agent. Within weeks of meeting her, I had holiday expert segments on two television stations and my name was coming up on nearly every business newspaper/blog in the Denver area. She recently wrote a post for our blog that we found thought provoking and wanted to share.
Audrey Strong, PR Agent
It’s tough out there now and getting tougher in the bridal and catering business. The Internet, bloggers, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, IPhone apps are making more and more noise, distracting us increasingly and constantly, pulling your potential clients away from traditional media sources. Attention spans are shorter. The economy means that bridal publications including Modern Bride were folded, leaving fewer publications that are even tougher for obtaining editorial coverage. So, the question is what do you do now?
It can be easier than you think. After working with Kristy and Katie in developing a strong brand concept, what’s one cost-effective solution to expose your new brand to potential clients? Public relations.
When Kristy and I worked together within The Ritz-Carlton organization, she was the Director of Catering and I was Director of Public Relations. We understood the symbiotic nature of these two areas of expertise, knowing that one can drive the other and vice versa. Pushing outbound media relations, in a mix of traditional and social/emerging media yielded sales leads for her department, and her identification of a unique approach to catering provided me with terrific pitches to go out to media, including television, radio, the Web and eventually, helping us team up during the development of Chenell and Jimenez.
Did you know if you can find just one strong differentiator in your business and brand (which Kristy and Katie define for businesses), a strong public relations practitioner can help build the brand, enhance it and secure editorial coverage that would cost you literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in ad buys? I single-handledly garnered more than $3 million dollars in ad equivalency and exposure for The Ritz-Carlton, Denver in exactly one year. It can be done.
In a business sector as bridal, the intimacy and emotional connection of your clients and potential clients to your brand is paramount. Public relations are the way to forge that connection and provide a “feel” for your business and your story to a client, to draw them in organically and drive your sales. Multimedia approaches ad layers to the mix, video and audio can personalize your staff, your story, your products and what you offer that is truly different.
I’d love to explain more about how a healthy, affordable blend of traditional and social media can help your business reach its goals. Strong PR & Multimedia can be reached at audreystrong2009@yahoo.com or by calling (720) 231-6097.
-Audrey Strong, PR Agent