Questions For Alec Rosen

From time to time I get requests from students asking questions about PR:

Now that I have a blog, I will post the Q's as well as the A's

Questions For Alec Rosen

Why did you choose the PR field?
I didn’t choose PR, so much as find it -- especially after fits and starts in other areas including four years in the Navy and a job as mechanic, and a year spent backpacking across Europe in the early 80s.

After military service I entered college and majored in international business and Spanish Lit. After college I was working as an informational analyst for major oil company and then got a job in the PR department of another oil company.

After leaving the oil industry, I started my PR career in earnest when I was hired by Burson-Marsteller’s Miami office.


2. How does AJR define a target public? Do you believe that one exists? And if so how do you segment it?

Target public has many meanings: do you mean AJR’s target market or our client’s target audience ….

AJR targets mid-market technology firms, although we count Microsoft as one of our clients, as well as early-stage start-up firms. Companies should understand their target markets and excel at it, that is what we do.

A client always has a target audience.. .certain people buy BMWs other only Fords, and not every car decision is predicated by purchasing power. (we own a BMW and a Mustang)

In order to segment a client’s audience, you need to understand what the company does, and understand its value proposition in order to properly market and segment the company both horizontally and vertically to its target markets



3. On your website it states: To make an impact on the customer, we start the communications process by analyzing your company, competitors and market in order to develop the strategic and creative ideas that will form the cornerstone of our communications campaigns.
How important is it for your client to understand the “market” that they are in? Because I get the feeling sometimes as a consumer, representing several different demographics, that some companies don’t understand the market/field that they are in. How do you help them discover what it this is? Is the research conducted quantitative research or non-quantitative? Do survey’s help?

It’s critical to understand the target audience in order to properly target them (there is no 100% solutions, but you can come close)

For example: for a business-to-business market (company A sells stuff to company
“B” you need to understand the needs of “B”. -- with business software
solutions, who is the decision maker at “B”, what keeps him/her up at
night worrying about the business, is it greater IT functionality and scalabilty
(i.e. the CIO) or is better financial management through cross-functional
real-time reporting i.e. the CFO or CEO. Or is it the sales clerk that
does not want to re-enter data from sales forms to accounting systems --

Once you know this, you can customize key messages and PR / marketing material that speaks to their needs.

On the other hand, if you are marketing a consumer product, such as an MP3 player, it’s a different ballgame, and you need to know the psychographics of the target consumer, for example:

• Age
• Sex
• Income
• What kind of car they like (minis or Volvos – my guess, Mini)
• Activities – are they couch potatoes or like rollerblading
• So and so forth.
  
  Is any research conducted outsourced?
  
  Sometimes, but we use primary and secondary research, such as can be found online
  
  5. Public Relations is defined by most as “publicizing an organization or individuals image” where as Marketing and Advertising are about the product. How do you draw the line between these three fields? Many people get confused and use the terms interchangeably.

PR is “earned media” based on third-party credibility, that is other people i.e. the media, saying how great you are.

Advertising is “paid media” based on what you say about yourself in a 30-second spot or full-page ad.



Public Relations

PR is art of influencing the behavior of a targeted audience through the credibility of others. This media is “earned,” as the client / agency needs to “sell” the story idea to a third party, such as an editor, who in turn will write / produce an objective story about you.

The ultimate goal of PR is to change attitudes and behavior or perceptions about the client via the positive nature of third-party credibility infused with the client’s key messages. One good story in the influential Wall Street Journal is worth a year’s ad buy in the same publication, because of the credibility factor inherent in the paper’s editorial coverage.

In PR you do not “own” the content (story), but can influence it through key messages and positioning and a proactive PR campaign.

Advertising

Advertising is the art of creating a change in behavior, attitude or perception about a product / company, based on what you say about it yourself. Because you “own” the space, the 30-second ad or full-page ad, you own the content.

For advertising to be successful it requires frequency and reach, besides good creative. Frequency is the number of times your ad runs and reach is the amount of people who will see it.

Other than the Super Bowl, people don’t really talk about ads they have seen, especially in trade journals, but they will discuss a well written thoughtful article, and even e-mail it to others.



6. How important is it for a Public Relations professional to focus on the Latin Market, specifically your work in helping Microsoft establish a presence in this area?

A company like MS is a global player and therefore focuses on a global market place, but also has programs and people in most markets. The most successful PR people, in my opinion, can work easily in multiple markets and across various industries. This is not a function of good PR education, as it is a function of a good business background, such as B-school or MBA. International markets of course require knowledge of other markets, but the principles still apply – basic business and marketing principles.

Latin America is a big market, but then again so is the US.


And how important is it for me as a college student venturing into this field to be aware of the strong, if not domineering presence of the power and influence of the Latin market? You should be aware of all international markets, as we are in a global economy.

The Latin market is big, but not a domineering presence or power except in certain commodities and in certain geo-markets such as South Florida.

Brazil and Mexico are huge markets, especially for US companies ranging from Microsoft to GM, but individually, neither one is as big as the California market expressed as GDP.

Outside of South Florida and a few other places (NY for banking), LATAM is just another international market – an important one, but put it into perspective

7. What has been AJR & Partners greatest Success?

Everyday.

8. Greatest failure?

Don’t see failures, just lessons to learn from, everyday I learn something new, try something new

9. What do you look for in an employee?

Right now, my business model is predicated on outsourcing work to PR freelancers. But I look for people who have a better head for Business than PR. That is, can you read and understand a balance sheet, can you understand the interrelationship between the concerns of the CEO, CFO, CIO and the marketing or sales manager. Can you spot trends in a client’s industry and help them capitalize on them. Just writing press releases and knowing some media contacts, does not add value to a CEO, and if that is all someone can do, it will keep them at the bottom rungs of PR.

10. I told you a definition of PR earlier, what is your personal definition of the field, after all the things you have accomplished so far?

Modifying behavior and changing perceptions through targeted communications.



Thank you so much for your time and I wish you continued success!
-Millia Jimerson