Public Relations Agency Warns Against Knee Jerk Reaction in Today’s Economy

Feb. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Travel entities are contemplating ways in which they can ride out the recession. Slashing their marketing budget is a knee jerk response of many companies and “while understandable, not wise,” according to Lorraine Abelow of Abelow PR, an agency that specializes in travel entities from hotels to tourist boards to cruise ships. She says media relations specialists and PR agencies with expertise in both online and traditional media have an arsenal of highly cost-effective tactics that will bring new customers and raise awareness in the market place at a fraction of the cost of an advertising campaign.
Engaging a PR agency, will differentiate the brand from the competition, which she says,  is extremely important in today’s economic environment. By engaging your target market through a consistent PR campaign that maintains brand awareness, a company is positioning itself to emerge from the recession with an advantage.  

“Studies have shown that those companies that invest in an aggressive PR campaign during a recession will come out ahead of the pack when the economy turns around,” according to Ms. Abelow, who has been doing PR for the past 25 years and has been active in Search Engine Optimization and Online PR for the past decade.

Boutique PR agencies such as Abelow PR, can achieve significant penetration of the target market, even if the allocated budget is modest. Coverage in online news sites like Forbes.com or MSNBC.com, for example, can reach millions. Another essential vehicle of a public relations firm savvy in web marketing is to imbed search terms in their press releases, a function of search engine optimization.  “You’d be surprised by how many PR agencies are not taking advantage of this tactic,” says Ms. Abelow.

When done in a consistent basis, adding new content with your search terms will get your company on the first page of Google, a paramount marketing goal in today’s web-based information age. And it is probably the essential method for edging out the competition in a challenging playing field.

Recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle and difficult as it might be, business owners should try not to react by cutting out the very tools that could help keep their heads above water. Public relations firms that aggressively secure prominent media exposure, will put you in the forefront  of the playing field and  in a better position when the storm is over.

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Boutique PR agency with 25 years experience in the consumer and business field. Clients have included Trump International, UBS, Four Seasons Hotels and Tetley Tea.