Dynamic Media Relations

Dan Malachowski at DoubleClick Performics ran a great blog post yesterday, “Rotten Tomatoes Present a Sudden Opportunity for Search (SOS).” The post talks about the recent salmonella tomato outbreak and one legal entity’s effort to leverage paid search engine advertisements to connect with victims of the unfortunate incident.

In this ever changing era of media relations best practices, we have much to learn from interactive marketing firms, particularly those specializing in search engine marketing, social media and other emerging channels. This is just one great example.

Not only can paid and natural search help a brand enter or even dominate a conversation; it can do so incredibly cost effectively (at least today). As more marketers begin to realize the advantages offered by proactive communications campaigns like this, expect cost effectiveness to wane, because when more marketers start getting in on the action, competition will climb and so will bid prices.

So raise the voice of your brands or your clients’ brands now while opportunity abounds. The lines of paid and editorial communications have been blurring for quite some time, and PR and media relations pros only sell themselves short when they completely overlook paid opportunities to significantly boost a brand’s presence or share of voice in hot discussions like the recent tomato/salmonella outbreak.

Thanks to Dan for the fantastic cross channel insights!