PRESS PRIMARY IN PUSHING POSITIVE PUBLIC RELATIONS.

Byline: Judy Smith Guest Column

Perception-building goes back to the Garden of Eden and the first written account of an incident. Perhaps if Eve had considered public relations seriously, which I believe Adam and even the snake did, history would have viewed her differently.

Articles have been published on marketing and public relations ad nauseam relating to the ``why bother'' and ``how-to's'' of what some people consider a mystical art. That is not the purpose of this column. At the outset, it's assumed you are aware of the credibility factor of editorial coverage vs. advertising, you believe public relations must be integral to every company's overall marketing success, and you are convinced it is the most influential and cost-effective way to get strategic messages to your target audience.

If you are responsible for your company's finances, I am assuming you also believe it leads to sales revenue and investor value.

If you agree with these points, chances are that your competitors do as well. The challenge then is to obtain visibility for your company when there are hundreds of companies vying for coverage.

Just as product technology is evolving, sometimes quite rapidly, so is communication. I remember all too well a time when a human being answered the telephone and opened mail because there was no such thing as e-mail, and Fed-Ex was considered the utmost in rapid delivery. Today we have voice mail, e-mail, teleconferencing and World Wide Web pages to handle communications more efficiently, albeit impersonally.

Assuming the message in your written materials is on target and exactly what your potential publication wants, the challenge is twofold: Who at the publication should receive it and how?

The person you last contacted may no longer be at the publication or no longer cover your market area, or the publication may have been refocused with a new perspective. Once you discover all this (and it is not an easy task), the next question is in what way do you communicate? Does he or she prefer e-mail, fax, Fed-Ex, or some form of telepathic communication?

We already know that personal telephone dialogue is usually out of the question. To make this even more difficult, it seems that some publications find it desirable to change their layout, deleting sections, adding others and even closing down. These days, knowing what your key publications cover and the most effective way to exchange information will provide you with a smooth path to editorial coverage.

Public relations professionals overcome the many obstacles and meet the challenge head on every day. There are simple tried-and-true procedures they follow and ones that will definitely work for you.

First and foremost, establish working relationships with the media and analysts who are important to your company. Keep them up to the minute on what your company is doing and maintain a consistency of news. Make your management people available to them at all times, not only to talk about your company, but as a source of information on the industry as well.

If you expect editors to stay current with your company happenings, return the favor. Read their publication, know what they cover, know who their readership is and more importantly have respect for their time, deadlines and needs.

The successful implementation of an aggressive public relations program is a tremendously time-consuming project. Companies - from start-up to multibillion dollars in revenues - in many cases enlist the talent of public relations agencies.

Your importance to your company will not diminish, for public relations agencies value in-house marketing people and need their help in getting the job done. The better the information received, the better the results.

Using an outside agency provides numerous benefits. If you select wisely, the agency you will be working with specializes in your industry and has an experienced team of professionals with longstanding relationships with the editors and analysts you need to reach.

While the challenge is great, the rewards are certainly worthwhile. Your company will be viewed as a leader in its industry, your company executives will be quoted regularly in industry roundups and market forecast articles; and your company's bylined articles will be published regularly.

Your products will be awarded ``Editor's Choice'' and your sales will be up as well as your stock price. And, if we are to stretch our imaginations a bit, you will even be getting a lot of respect and a salary raise.

Public relations is not a mystical science, although some of us wish it were. It takes knowledge, hard work and most importantly the tenacious pursuit of meeting the ever-more demanding and ever-changing challenge.