By Mark Macias
“Creativity at its deepest level begins underground.“
I posted that impromptu quote on Facebook several years ago during a vacation in a foreign country at an underground club. I just realized that quote is not a shallow status update inspired by spirits. It’s actually a principal that applies to public relations – or for that matter with business.
But let’s focus on why that quote applies to PR and how it can help your tech startup or business build a brand on the web.
Public relations and journalism are similar in that creative ideas drive the coverage. In the morning news meetings, the person with the best story idea is always driving the conversation. I became an Executive Producer with NBC in New York at a young age – not because of my experience, but because of my creative ideas. And when I hired freelance producers at NBC in New York, I chose creativity over experience when everything else was equal.
That’s because creativity drives all news story ideas. Experience or great sources don’t really inspire great ideas. I could argue they actually inspire complacency since a person is rarely pushed outside of his comfort zone.
But not everyone sees it that way.
Earlier this week, a person told me he only wanted to work with a PR firm that has experience in the pharmaceutical industry. It didn’t matter that my PR firm has delivered prominent news stories for major health care clients. I respect that decision because he knows his business better than I do.
But I do know the business of PR and if I were looking to hire the best PR firm in NYC, I wouldn’t hire a PR firm based on experience or their contacts. I would hire the most creative PR firm in NYC.
That’s because creative ideas drive all news stories, which is why this is now my new favorite quote of the week: “Creativity at its deepest level begins underground.“
Macias PR was named the 2015 “PR Consultant Firm of the Year – USA” by Finance Monthly. The firm was founded by Mark Macias – a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. Macias is a weekly contributor with CNBC.com and author of the communications book, Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media, which has been featured in the NY Times, Fox Business, NY Post and others. Macias PR has run media campaigns for tech startups, financial groups, service providers, nonprofits and politicians.