Media relations: getting it right.

With the memory of the worst real estate recession since the 1930s fresh in their minds, many industry professionals are asking how they can best market their products and/or services in the shaky 1990's and beyond.

One answer is publicity, which has two enormous advantages over advertising - it's much less expensive, and it has vastly more credibility. But obtaining a steady flow of good publicity requires considerable thought and effort. Of course, it isn't that hard to attract the attention of the media when, for example, you sign up a 200,000 square-foot tenant. But what about when the opportunities are not so simple'?

Sometimes it helps to look for ideas right under your nose. They may seem too obvious to you, but that doesn't mean they are obvious to the media. For example, while at a meeting to discuss publicity for The Alexandria, a luxury condo at Broadway and 72nd Street, our client mentioned how much more educated and trained his superintendent was than supers were in the past. Intrigued, we investigated a number of other buildings; sure enough, a genuine trend existed. The result: the lead story in The New York Times real estate section, complete with a page-one color photo of the Alexandria's marquee and staff.

Similarly, publications like Real Estate Weekly look for stories about all legitimate aspects of the industry, whether they involve deals, trends, legislation, regulatory concerns, unusual personalities, etc. Short, spicy items have their place, too; Real Estate Weekly's "Between the Bricks" column by Lois Weiss has quickly become one of the most widely read features in New York's real estate press since it began appearing earlier this year.

Another way to obtain publicity is simply to fill a particular reporter's need. When a Crain's New York Business editor told me she was planning an article on subleases (with no particular angle), we sought comments from clients who we thought might have something to contribute. The angles they presented to us provided us enough fodder for two of our clients to get mentions in the story.

In some cases, a publication may accept a by-lined article. Over the years, for example, we have placed and written many articles under clients' bylines for such media as Barron's, The New York Times and American Banker. Keep in mind that some media, such as Business Week and Forbes, rarely take by-liners, and that even those who accept them on occasion will insist on a legitimate reason to run them.

One way to obtain publicity in an important publication is by tipping a reporter off to a good story elsewhere. In such a case, if you don't fit into the story yourself - or if you don't want to be in it - the reporter may well feel the need to "re-pay" you by quoting you in another story.

An excellent time to reach out to the media is when a new reporter has been. assigned to a particular beat. Here's a related example: when The Wall Street Journal earlier this season created a new regular Friday feature section on residential real estate, with several regular contributors, we reached out to three of the writers to suggest story ideas. One day - probably not too long from now - those writers may well have many more contacts than they need, and "pitches" to them may become unwelcome. In the meantime, however, reporters new to a beat need all of the good ideas they can get.

Having good ideas is necessary, but it is not sufficient for getting publicized. Once you have the story idea, you must get to know the specific print and broadcast media that can best help fulfill your publicity goals. That includes becoming an expert on the idiosyncracies of the press. For example, it's unwise to call the New York Times real estate editor on a Wednesday, when the section is getting ready to close. And while it's imprudent to pitch The New York Times' Wednesday commercial columnist the day before the column appears, it's also foolish to pitch him the day after, since he then has almost two weeks of time before the column appears again, and his mind is likely on other matters.

Obtaining favorable publicity is a little like signing that 200,000 square-foot tenant. It takes some doing, but the result can be well worth the effort.