Respect comes with performance, not a title.

Like U.S. comedian Rodney Dangerfield in a blue velvet suit, there is a new wave of public relations people complaining that they simply get no respect.

At best, public relations is difficult because we serve two masters - the company or the client who is starved for favorable press coverage and the press that only wants information that will inform, educate and/or entertain its audience. We have responsibilities to both parties and none of the authority. The PR people who can balance the wants and needs of both parties get the respect they deserve.

With organizations being pared to the bone, product life cycles continually shrinking and tough market conditions, all management wants from public relations is results, instant results!

The challenge is that few in management understand that the press:

* isn't waiting breathlessly for the latest product enhancement release

* won't give the company front-page coverage for the latest in a series of contract announcements

* won't automatically check with you at a trade show to find out what is new or spend hours in your booth taking down information on the latest staff and policy changes

* doesn't understand or track the company on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis.

Despite the lack of management understanding regarding media's and public relations' roles, their marching orders can be achieved if PR people really understand the:

* product

* technology

* applications

* marketplace

* competition

* channels of distribution

* target audience

* media

* art and science of writing.

Unfortunately, many public relations people earn media's scorn because they don't know these items. As a result, public relations people often are viewed as a hindrance rather than a valuable asset.

Recently we completed a six-city, two-week press tour. Let's look at the tools that were prepared to ensure the client's (and publications') goals were met:

* product summary releases

* product technical backgrounders

* product application backgrounders

* product photos (stock, graphic, application' shots)

* product positioning/market summaries

* beta user profiles and contacts

* product presentations

* market research analyst contacts

* pre-tour management report on publications, editorial direction and readership 

* report on editors' and reporters' likes/dislikes, beats and quirks (if any)

* a limited inventory of thoroughly tested new products at the plant set aside for media evaluation.

This looks like a lot of extra work for a series of one-hour meetings. However, professional PR people understand that editors aren't doing their jobs simply to serve them. Their jobs are to inform and assist buyers in understanding the issues so they can sort out the good products from the bad.

The PR professional who thinks in terms of helping rather than selling the editor knows it is important to make the editors' job easier by providing the information they want and need.

The goal is not simply to impress management by putting them in front of a horde of editors but rather to clearly and accurately present the company's message and make certain the editor gets a good story.

If that's so simple then why do so many people fail? Why don't they get the respect they feel they deserve?

Be prepared: At every "Meet the Editors" event I've attended, the same tired question is asked: "How do I get your publication to use my release?"

Every evening our people take home stacks of business and trade publications. That's how releases get used. They read constantly. They have to know the editorial direction of the publication. They have to know who covers what beat. They have to know the circulation mix.

By knowing the publications, the staffs and the editorial calendars, PR people can be assistant editors and gather research data for upcoming articles. They can provide editors with white papers and industry/product/application background. They can provide technical and customer contacts so the editor/reporter can do his or her job a little more easily and better.

You don't have to bond with every reporter you work with, but you should take the time to get to know him or her. Look at a stow idea or product not from the company's perspective but the reporter's. Why should he or she care? Why should his or her readers want to know? Once you have walked in the editors' shoes you can present stow ideas that meet their needs.

Beyond the story pitch, get to know editors as people. Call them periodically and compliment them on a particular article. Ask them for advice on a story idea you have. Ask them how their spouses, kids, dogs or cats are getting along. Treat them like business partners rather than pitch targets.

Every time there is a major trade show I hear the same complaint from editors. They never hear from some people except at show time. Then PR people can't understand why the editor won't schedule a meeting with his or her management. Editors get calls from "boiler room" callers who read from a pitch sheet and ask if the editor wants to set up a meeting. They hear from people who obviously have no understanding of the products, the technology, applications or the specific media.

How do editors possibly get any real work done when they have to field calls from "PR people" like these?

Prepare management: Some managers have a natural reluctance to talking with the press or they want you to be a gatekeeper for them.

It's public relations' responsibility to make certain management understands how to work with the press. That means making certain they know as much as possible about the publication and editor so they can tailor their discussions to meet the publication's readers' needs. It means helping them understand how to tactfully avoid discussing proprietary information and off-the-record subjects.

If there are legitimate reasons why management can't go on record, then look for alternatives to help the editor. For example, refer them to an industry analyst who can assist the reporter and suggest how that reporter can approach the subject from a different angle.

Solid writing is critical: Next to a lack of solid business, market and product understanding, editors deride PR people most for the poorly written materials they provide as releases, company and product backgrounders, white papers and other "news" materials.

It's not really necessary that a PR person has news experience or understands the difference between letterpress or offset. But there is no excuse for producing handouts that end up in the recycling drum.

Quality press materials are as important as your contacts. If editors know they can rely on you for accurate, comprehensive materials they can use as resources for their articles, they will take your calls. They will read and use your press materials. They will turn to you for assistance again and again.

Does it really work that way? In the trade press, opportunities are always there to place opted, industry trend, approach-to-problem, application and technology articles that are more than thinly veiled product puffery. Writing of this type can get the company's message across to readers as effectively as anything you can do. It simply has to be good reporting.

Keep in mind also that editors often assign article ideas to free-lance writers, and the background materials you've produced help them focus their articles. Well-written backgrounders and white papers help you position the company and the product clearly and succinctly. Information on the industry, company history, milestones, target customers, competition, marketing strategies, technologies and products help the writer and give you a better chance for quality coverage.

We have seen many instances where facts, figures, paragraphs and even pages taken from press materials and included in articles. It's not only flattering, but it also ensures that the company's strategic messages are reaching the firm's prospective customers.

Help editors help you: It is the rare editor who can keep abreast of every development in a specific business or industry. Even niche-publication editors welcome efforts to help them understand a specific technology, its place in the market, its applications and its benefits.

When you provide this type of public relations support you earn the reporter's gratitude and trust. The company gets the kind of coverage it wants and needs. Instead of being a gatekeeper, you're a facilitator that both sides respect.

G.A. "Andy" Marken is president, Marken Communications, Inc., Santa Rosa, Calif.