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Author: Laura Bentz

PR Tips | Beyonce’s PR Surprise

January 13, 2014
When was the last time you heard about a musician whose album released without a peep? No album promotion in interviews, singles, concerts, music videos, or Saturday Night Live hosting gigs. Well, artist Beyonce did just that when she defied all conventional wisdom by not doing a shred of publicity prior to her self-titled album launch last month. There was no crescendo, no drumming up of anticipation and excitement -- a total sneak attack. Beyonce worked on the album secretly for about a year before releasing it exclusively to iTunes. She made countless appearances during that time but never led on to the fact that she was recording a new album that fans would kill to know about. She had the confidence that it would be clamored over, whether people knew about it 6 months in advance or not. So how'd the PR plan pan out? Apple says it sold 828,773 copies of the album in three days. And it's No.1 on Billboard charts for the third week in a row, which is the longest run for any album since April.

June 4, 2013

I recently saw this fascinating "apology ad" from JC Penney. In the ad, JC Penney declares to consumers that the company has changed, perhaps for the worse, and that it has resolved to do a better job of listening to its customers. The advertisement is completely...

PR Tips | Let’s Not Call It a Sales Pitch

February 5, 2013
Selling your product is a crucial part of any business -- and the process often starts with the "sales pitch." Although I don't think of selling that way. For starters, the very term "sales pitch" carries a stigma. It makes you think of cheesy salespeople desperate to "close the deal." Selling is my job, but I try not to pitch. I don't want to create awkward pressure. Instead, I  remind myself that the sales call isn't salesy at all -- it's simply a casual conversation introducing my product and my company to someone new . . .  so they know I'm here and understand my product. Because I have a good product, there's a high chance that the person I've called will eventually need what I'm selling, even if he doesn't need it right now. (This assumes I've done my research and called the right person.) My job is to let him know that my product exists and, if he's interested, to help him understand its benefits.