Getting noticed: PR and ads work wonders.

The market's hot, your competition is making deals east and west and is constantly being quoted in the media. You are just as smart or smarter, just as good or better at what you do, and just can't seem to get in on the clients or the action.

So who you gonna call?

Public relations, marketing and advertising firms are experts in getting you the attention you need. They will talk to you about yourself and your company, and help you get the recognition you need to grow your business.

"The biggest shortfall is not that they are not known, but that there is not 'top of mind' awareness," said Paul C. Mesches, who heads his own firm.

When deals are made by well-known people, there is instant media attention. But Mesches says when smaller players do the exact same thing, "it's almost like nobody cares. It doesn't get reported unless they put out a press release or take out an ad."

Florence Quinn, president of Quinn & Co., believes the best way to get noticed is to have something newsworthy to tell others.

"The daily reporters can't write something up unless there is news," she said. "The trade press - such as REW - is more obligated to cover the industry."

Quinn says the easiest items that have news value are when they are the first, the biggest, the tallest, or are representative of or part of a new trend. For instance, your small renovation in Tribeca isn't necessarily news on it's own, but if you bring the idea to a reporter, your work can be mentioned as part of the larger trend story.

"If you don't have that, you should look for something that is newsworthy that you can bring to your company or project," she suggested.

For your company, it could be the results of a survey or report. For a product, you can create a new service that no one has ever offered, or make some advancement in technology. And then of course, announce it.

When Quinn meets with clients they look within the company or product for ideas, and try to pull the news out. Often, she says, the client isn't even aware of the news value.

"We're mining for it all the time," she said. "We mine for the stories within the company, and if it's not there, we bring the ideas to the client."

Mesches says clients can get name awareness through advertising, public relations and direct mail.

You don't know when or if someone has a need for your service, Mesches says, but when they do, they should be able to remember your name and identify it with the service they need.

Roxanne Donovan, president of Great Ink, agrees a public relations firm can get you "on the dance floor."

"If people see your name in a publication in which they have faith, it gives you credibility and provides them with a comfort level in your firm," said Donovan. "A public relations firm can help you shape your message and put it in the places where your target audience is most likely to see it."

While Donovan only does PR, "because that's what I'm good at," she will work with the client's ad agency. Still, she thinks you get more bang for your buck with PR because your dollars can go farther.

"It's a much more powerful marketing tool than advertising because people are also skeptical of ads," Donovan said.

Mesches' firm, which also works on advertisements, focuses on narrowly defined targets and the frequency of message delivery. Because his clients have tight budgets, he says it is critical that they have a compelling ad.

Guy Lawrence, managing director and executive vice president of K.P. Ross, also focuses on PR and represents real estate and financial firms and attorneys.

"We have two sets of clients," explained Lawrence. "One is the clients who pay us, and the other is the press."

Lawrence says he doesn't just place a story but is always trying to put the two parties together.

"I want it to make sense for them to talk, and create a situation that can become an article in the near term or the long term.

To get your firm noticed, Lawrence suggests a public relations program that forms both the press and potential clients that you have expertise in these areas.

"You can accomplish ties through meeting the reporters and editors that write about your area and serving as a source for them when they need information about that topic. Then they can quote you as an expert in that area."

He suggests and helps clients get onto programs, panels and seminars where they can demonstrate their expertise at the conference, and also through the distribution of the conference materials. "So people can see you are an expert panelist in that area, he explained.

He also suggests writing by-line articles about your specific areas of expertise that can be placed in newspapers which reach your target market.

Lawrence's firm also subscribes to a national service that all reporters can use when researching stories. That way, he's been able to put clients together with reporters for major outlets that would otherwise have been unknown.

And if you get the call from a reporter, Quinn says she advises being accessible to the press and returning the call, "so they always know if they call you, they'll get a call back."