Tag: best pr agencies

Can you sell a story in 30 Seconds?

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias

Before I launched this PR firm in 2009, I lived inside morning news meetings at both the local and national level. It’s the place where stories are killed or made – in a matter of minutes.

At the Arizona Republic and the local TV station, Channel 3, we had to pitch story ideas in front of editors, producers and other reporters. In New York, I pitched stories for a nationally syndicated TV program, American Journal. I also approved story ideas as the Executive Producer for Special Projects with NBC.

I don’t want to bore you with my journalism background. (You can read more of my background on LinkedIn).

Here’s why that experience inside the newsroom matters: you only have seconds to pitch a story and that background is the center-point of MACIAS PR.

As the above video demonstrates, if you can’t identify the narrative, communicate the story and angle within 30 seconds, your PR firms in tech and healthcare won’t succeed.

Before anyone on our team pitches a reporter, we practice and perfect our pitch. To outsiders, that might seem a bit childish or even less productive. It’s not.

Continue reading “Can you sell a story in 30 Seconds?” →

The Future of Branding in Digital World – Forbes Analysis

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias

It might seem hard to believe but the future of brands will not look anything like it does today. Yes, we will continue to have names like Coke, Netflix and Starbucks but their upstart competitors will have a huge advantage when it comes to the world of digital competition.

I wrote about this recently in Forbes, which you can read here. If you’re short on time, I’ll give you a faster read.

Unlike the 1990s and earlier, it took years to build a brand. But today, search engines like Google are dominating the branding space. You no longer need to remember brands. Instead, we just turn to Google, ask our question, and then the brand that Google chooses pops up.

Outside of the consumer market, brands are already beginning to exist less, and if you don’t believe me, look at your own personal journey. When was the last time you were searching for a restaurant in a new neighborhood?

You probably searched for “best restaurants near me” on your phone — and Google brought them to you. You didn’t have to remember the name of a restaurant chain; a search engine replaced your memory with an option. Those expensive commercials on TV were likely replaced with the restaurants listed on your phone.

The good news is this new digital world is leveling the playing field for upstart brands. But the key to this successful brand strategy is to create a campaign around the right words.

As I wrote in Forbes: It’s not enough for people to search for the name of your restaurant on their phones. You want to position your product or service with search terms that new customers will use to find your product. 

Click here to read more of my thought leadership in Forbes.

ABOUT MACIAS PR

Marketing peers named MACIAS PR the 2017-2020 Strategic PR Firm of the Year. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. City & State Magazine named him a PR Political Power Player in 2021.

What is PR and How can it Help Your Business?

Posted on by Mark Macias

                       

What is PR? It’s a common question that many business owners might secretly wonder but few ask publicly. MACIAS PR learned this at a recent Tech Startup Trade Show that involved hundreds of tech entrepreneurs. Many of these budding entrepreneurs approached our booth, and asked us point-blank: What is PR and how does it work?

First off – a successful PR campaign will get your story on the news. It will tell your story in a way that motivates people to action. And, it will be memorable story. This is infinitely more valuable than any paid advertisement.

Many successful entrepreneurs, from Bill Gates to Richard Branson, have discussed the value of PR. Gates said “if I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.” Branson has repeatedly said “a good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad.”

Why is that? Because consumers remembers stories. We forgot advertisements. Your customers watch the news to become educated on current events and to learn. We walk out of the room when the commercials come on TV.

Continue reading “What is PR and How can it Help Your Business?” →

MACIAS PR Celebrates 10 Years of Business

Posted on by Mark Macias

                

NEW YORK, June 3, 2019 (Newswire.com) – MACIAS PR is celebrating 10 years of business in June, growing from a boot-strapped agency into an award-winning full-service public relations firm.

Over the last ten years, MACIAS PR has led media and branding campaigns for clients in technology, healthcare/digital health, finance, politics and the nonprofit sectors. Their clients have ranged from boot-strapped startups with no messaging in place to established companies with international brand recognition.

MACIAS PR won its first industry award when Finance Monthly named it the PR Consultant Firm of the Year in 2015. The following year, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year. In 2017 and 2018, marketing peers named MACIAS PR the Strategic PR Firm of the Year.

The founder, Mark Macias, started the firm after an extensive career with NBC, CBS, American Journal, KTVK and The Arizona Republic. He was Executive Producer with NBC, Senior Producer with CBS in New York, and Investigative Producer with the nationally syndicated TV program, American Journal. Macias started his journalism career with the Arizona Republic and KTVK-TV 3 in Phoenix. He’s also the author of the business book, Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media, and a contributor with CNBC.

“Potential clients and competitors always try to figure out how we succeed on such a large scale,” said Macias. “Journalism is at the root of our strategy. Our firm continues to dig deeper, searching for the best angles to position our clients in the news. We won’t promote fluff or engage in hyperbole. Instead, we look at the timely news cycle and find ways to position our clients in it.”

Macias credits that editorial approach with helping his firm secure prominent media placements with the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, New York Times, Bloomberg and others.

Continue reading “MACIAS PR Celebrates 10 Years of Business” →

Top 10 Reasons MACIAS PR Delivers Better Results

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias

There are several rules that MACIAS PR applies to every campaign we launch. I won’t share those internal discussions because they play a critical factor behind our success.

However, there is one rule I will share with you from our playbook.

Every news angle must be objective – not subjective.

PR is frequently referred to as hyperbole. During my brief time when I consulted global PR firms under NDAs I saw that hyperbolic approach up close. The account leaders always encouraged their young, 20-something account executives to make the story sound bigger than it was. I never told those PR firms why their approach was wrong. I figured, they would learn on their own.

So what does that have to do with MACIAS PR? I’d like to share the Top 10 Reasons why your business will get better results by turning to MACIAS PR. It’s my Top-10 List that details why MACIAS PR has an edge over other PR firms. Or in hyperbolic terms, why MACIAS PR is the best PR firm explained in objective terms.

Continue reading “Top 10 Reasons MACIAS PR Delivers Better Results” →

Biggest PR Mistakes – and How to Prevent Them

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias

There are many mistakes you can make while pursuing public relations. Fortunately, you can overcome most of those mistakes, however, there is one PR mistake you can rarely overcome. The error effectively makes your entire media placement worthless.

What is it?

Continue reading “Biggest PR Mistakes – and How to Prevent Them” →

Getting Media Traction – Adapting the PR Strategy

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias

What happens when you can’t get traction for a story, no matter how hard you pitch it? Or worse, when journalists tell you, “that’s not a story.”

When this happens, it is time to redefine the narrative. In journalism and PR, the story narrative is crucial to success. Without a strong narrative, there will never be a media placement.

During my years as a news producer with NBC and CBS, there were many times when I pursued a story only to discover that the story I thought I was pursuing was actually a different story. When this happened, we had two options – kill the story or salvage it.

As Executive Producer with WNBC, I oversaw a very large production budget that funded the Special Projects unit. At the time, GE owned NBC, so as every shareholder knows, GE was very big that you come under budget or you get fired.

There were many times when I approved a story idea and we invested money into the story, only to discover half-way through the story that it wasn’t there. This was when we had to put on our creative hats and think of a way to salvage the story.

Continue reading “Getting Media Traction – Adapting the PR Strategy” →

Affiliate Marketing PR Campaigns – Why One Size does not Fit All

Posted on by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias

The owner of an affiliate service emailed me recently, asking about a PR starter kit for her clients. Her intentions were in the right place with her email.

“I’m looking for a very inexpensive package to offer my (affiliates), a sort of starter kit to help kick-start their marketing campaign. Most of them have no clue what to do,” she wrote.

Hiring a publicist is not like buying a shirt. There is no universal “starter kit” that works for every business.

For each campaign to be successful, you need to identify the story and what makes it unique. If you are selling t-shirts to teenagers, that requires a different publicity strategy than selling suits to men. And to underscore that statement, it’s even more strategic when targeting women.

Continue reading “Affiliate Marketing PR Campaigns – Why One Size does not Fit All” →

Connecting the Dots with the Media – Best PR Campaigns

Posted on by Mark Macias

PR is in many ways like a puzzle. The best PR firms will connect the dots and identify the right narrative for your business.

An experienced media strategist will also find ways to fit your narrative into the larger, media puzzle.

MACIAS PR has a consistent track record for securing stories with the biggest names in news. From the NBC Today Show to Good Morning America, our firm has gotten on our clients on these morning shows. We find unique ways to connect your story line into the news line.

It’s not an easy task, especially in today’s cluttered market where startups of all sizes are striving to stand out in the market.

Continue reading “Connecting the Dots with the Media – Best PR Campaigns” →

MACIAS PR – Media Report Q1 2019

Posted on by Mark Macias

NEW YORK, April 4, 2019 (Newswire.com) – The top tech and healthcare PR firm — MACIAS PR — has released its first quarter publicity report, detailing the media coverage it secured for clients from January to March 2019.

In January, MACIAS PR secured a TV segment with the top-rated morning show, the NBC Today Show, the showcased the world’s first smart belt, reaching more than 1.4 million viewers across the country. Over the course of the media campaign, MACIAS PR also secured publicity for the health tech client on Entrepreneur, USA Today, Forbes and others.

Continue reading “MACIAS PR – Media Report Q1 2019” →