In the height of the pandemic, MACIAS PR, published a consumer survey that looked at the waning influence of commercials and online ads. It’s valuable insight that is still relevant today, especially as consumer spending slows during this economic downturn.
The online survey was conducted July 15-16th, 2020 and involved more than 2,000 Americans who answered questions detailing the best approach to get them to buy new products.
The survey found a staggering 70 percent of participants said TV commercials no longer influence them to buy products. In contrast, roughly 45 percent said positive online consumer reviews and positive stories on the news influence them the most when it comes to buying a new product or service.
A few years ago, a friend and co-founder of a major retail startup asked me a question over dinner: Why can’t AI be used in PR?
He explained how AI was helping his startup sell products by predicting which products would be best sellers. If AI could help sell shoes and clothes, why couldn’t it work to sell news stories?
That conversation inspired a recent article I wrote for Forbes: Artificial Intelligence in PR: Is it Science Fiction. You can read that story here but if you’re short on time, here are the quick takeaways.
There’s not enough Big Data in PR to Use AI
You need billions of data points for AI to learn, grow and predict over time. But more importantly, you need quality data. If AI uses incomplete or unreliable data, it will never be able to learn and develop.
PR is nowhere near gathering this kind of big data for news coverage. But even if we did have big data on news generation, it wouldn’t have the critical thinking and creative mindset to create new enterprise stories from scratch. More important, this data would likely be outdated every 24 hours, meaning billions of new data points would need to be created from scratch every day.
Journalism is an Art – AI is Science
Micro journalism is one of the reasons why viewers can turn on the local news and see many stations starting with the same two or three news stories. But as the newscasts continue, that’s when micro journalism becomes more apparent.
News selection will begin to mimic its editors over time, and as editors change, so will the news selection. If AI pushed stories in the media, the ideas would all be the same since it’s trying to generate coverage that is most likely to be covered. If it’s that obvious, the story will already be in the news by the time AI suggested it.
Best PR Campaigns Leverage Critical Thinking and Creativity
AI doesn’t have the critical thinking or creativity to create enterprise news angles from scratch. And based on my experience inside the newsrooms, I don’t see that developing in my lifetime. Another reason why I don’t see AI running PR campaigns is that it is difficult to conceptualize abstract ideas into a news story. Even the most experienced publicists have difficulty consistently placing stories across different sectors and media outlets. This craft gets even harder once you start factoring in the different editorial anglings of the local, national and trade mediums.
So if you hear new buzz about AI entering PR, put up your critical thinking and ask the solid questions that machine learning has yet to think of.
About MACIAS PR
MACIAS PR was founded in 2009 by Mark Macias – a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. The top tech and healthcare PR firm uses strategies that stem from this background inside the media.
NEW YORK – (Newswire.com) – Forbes Business Council – an invitation-only organization for successful business leaders and entrepreneurs – has announced Mark Macias – founder of MACIAS PR – as a Council member.
A review committee selected Macias based on his depth and diversity of his experience as a journalist, author, entrepreneur and media strategist. The committee evaluates each member’s business track record and leadership, as well as personal and professional achievements.
“We are honored to welcome Mark Macias into the Forbes Business Council,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Business Council. “Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”
New York, New York , August 31, 2020 (Newswire.com) – The top tech and healthcare PR agency, MACIAS PR, is celebrating 11 years of growth in the competitive NYC public relations market.
Over the years, MACIAS PR has grown from a small cubicle with no clients into an award-winning strategic PR and digital marketing firm that works with clients across the healthcare, finance, tech and the nonprofit sectors. It’s also won numerous awards and accolades from both journalists and industry peers.
Marketing peers named MACIAS PR the 2017, 2018 and 2019 “Strategic PR Firm of the Year,” honoring it with the ACQ5 Global Awards. The award is based on the firm’s media and marketing strategy. In 2017 and 2016, journalists with Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the “Financial PR Firm of the Year” based on the firm’s media strategy, deliverables, expertise and innovation in PR. In 2015, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the “PR Consultant Firm of the Year.”
The History of MACIAS PR
MACIAS PR was founded on June 1st, 2009 by Mark Macias, a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. He founded the firm during the Great Recession when many businesses were failing.
Since then, the agency’s clients have appeared in the biggest news publications in the world, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Good Morning America, The Daily Mail in the UK, The Financial Times and USA Today. MACIAS PR has also secured media placements in other languages, including Spanish, Korean, Portuguese and Russian news publications.
Today, Macias is a frequent contributor with Forbes, giving readers advice on business, strategy and messaging. You can read some of his thought leadership here. Macias is also a popular PR and branding expert with major media publications, including CNBC, the Washington Post and entertainment publications.
The Editorial and Strategy Behind MACIAS PR
At MACIAS PR, every client works directly with the founder of the firm. Macias says it’s like having an Executive Producer on your team, Identifying the best news angles for your business.
“The owner of every business always treat his clients and customers better than any sales guy,” said Macias. “It’s no different with MACIAS PR. We put our clients’ goals first and out-think the competition when it comes to strategy and execution. Our competitive streak shows when it comes to selling stories to the media. We fight for stories and don’t give up.”
Macias predicts his firm will continue to grow but will never lose the personal touch that makes every client personal.
“MACIAS PR is not quite a teenager, and that’s a good thing” said Macias. “We’re not lazy or worried about how we look, like most teens. We just want to make our clients proud. This PR firm will grow based on our media deliverables but our personal interaction with clients and reporters will never change.”
New York, New York, November 7, 2019 (Newswire.com) – The ACQ5 Global Awards has announced the top tech and healthcare public relations firm, MACIAS PR, has been named the 2019 Strategic PR Firm of the Year by marketing and industry peers.
The global award is based on an independent analysis of marketing and industry professionals who evaluate media deliverables, expertise and innovation in public relations and digital marketing.
In 2019, MACIAS PR led media and branding campaigns for clients in digital health, technology, biotech, politics, e-commerce and the nonprofit sectors. Those media campaigns led to prominent features for their clients with the NBC Today Show, Washington Post, USA Today, ABC News, Wired, TechCrunch, People Magazine, CNN, New York Times, Politico and others.
This is the third year in a row that MACIAS PR was recognized by the ACQ5 Global Awards. In 2017 and 2016, Finance Monthly also named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year and the PR Consultant Firm of the Year in 2015.
What is PR? It’s a simple question that many business owners ask MACIAS PR in conversations. In short, Public Relations introduces your brand or story directly to consumers through a third source. The media is one of the most popular platforms used in PR. Unlike advertising, public relations doesn’t buy media placements. The PR firm places your story in the media.
How is PR different from advertising?
Credibility: When commercials appear, you just want them to be over and return back to what you were watching. Consumers don’t trust ads, because the ads are trying to sell you a product. However, a TV segment brings more credibility to your product or service since it’s coming from the media.
Target Audience: Ads focus on targeting potential customers. PR can also target your desired customer by placing stories in the desired media outlet. But unlike advertising, PR continues working for your business long after the budget is over. With advertising, your ads are immediately pulled when your budget runs out.
Goals: Public Relations builds brand awareness through influential media placements. They also build trust with consumers who watch the story on TV or read it in the newspaper.
Macias PR has just released a new PR mobile app that can help tech startups and business owners identify the news narrative needed for coverage.
The Publicity App was developed by our team, applying many of the media strategies we use to secure coverage for our clients. The free mobile app teaches users how to create a timely, targeted and customized narrative for any media campaign. It includes real life examples of successful media campaigns and contains interactive games that strengthen your understanding of the PR industry.
The Publicity App also guides users through the initial steps for launching the most common types of PR campaigns: 1) Startup Publicity 2) Event Promotion 3) Credibility 4) Online/SEO 5) Crisis Management and 6) Revenue Generation.
Of course, it’s important to remember every PR campaign is customized based on timely components, the competition and even a business model. Users of The Publicity App must still apply critical thinking and creativity for their own customized media campaign, but the app does guide every business owner or entrepreneur who doesn’t know where to start.
You can download the iPhone app here and the Android app here. And when you’re ready for a more customized media strategy, reach out to us and Mark will help you with a more customized media strategy based on your business goals.
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.
During my time with NBC and CBS, I was nominated for five Emmys in five different categories. It felt good to be honored by my journalism peers, but today Macias PR received an international recognition that feels even better than those five Emmy nominations.
The international publication, Finance Monthly, announced today that Macias PR is the 2015 top “PR Consultant Firm of the Year – USA.” The M&A Awards contained several big named firms, including Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, but Macias PR was the only Public Relations firm selected from the USA.
Every industry and era inspires a business or technology that tries to disrupt the status quo. In a critical thinking profession, like public relations and journalism, I suspect it may take a few decades before robots learn how to gather news and pitch publicists.
But I’d like to believe Macias PR is slowly disrupting the public relations industry, and challenging the PR giants on innovation, cost, strategy, expertise and deliverables. Now, Finance Monthly has validated that belief by selecting Macias PR as the “PR Consultant Firm of the Year.”
The Finance Monthly editorial team of researchers applied a 10-point criterion to select and identify the top PR firm in the USA that included measurements of:
Strategic Thinking and Planning
Expertise and Innovation
Innovation in Client Care
Peer Recognition and Personal Achievement
Deliverables in the Previous 12 Months Compared to Industry Peers
Involvement in Significant Transactions
Size (value) of Involvement within Transactions & Deals
Our team always knew that we delivered more media placements at a faster pace than any big-named PR firm, including many of the largest tech and financial PR firms. If we are fortunate enough to earn your business, I believe you will see why our team has discovered passion and conviction, combined with hard work and critical thinking will always outperform the industry leaders in any profession.
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.
As a business owner, I am extremely lucky to work closely with the CEO of one of the country’s oldest lending organization. Every time we speak, I learn how to become a better business owner, entrepreneur, publicist and person.
Earlier this week, this CEO led an inspiring speaking series where he explained how he uses “magic” to sell in his boardroom. Not the kind of magic that deceives people, but the kind of magic that allows people to believe in you and your product.
We may not realize it, but if we want to grow our businesses, we must inspire others to believe in our products or services. Tech startups, young entrepreneurs and even experienced business owners must continually prove to potential customers or clients why our expertise will take their business to a higher level. We must also convince journalists to believe in our tech startup or business if we are going to succeed with media placements.
As a former Executive Producer with NBC in New York, I needed to believe in a story before I approved it. Now, as the owner of a PR firm, I need to get other journalists to believe in our clients if we are going to succeed in our media campaigns. And after listening to this inspiring speech, I am going to sprinkle a little “magic” as we try to sell our stories to reporters.
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.
