10 Commandments for Companies Seeking a PR Agency

1. Favorable Public Relations results from getting caught in the act of doing something good or doing something well.
2. Nobody has a divine right to favorable publicity; it must be earned. And in most cases, both favorable and unfavorable publicity is usually deserved.
3. A positive reputation is never purchased, it’s given.
4. A solid reputation is a financial asset that doesn’t appear on your ledger sheet. You can’t turn it into cash, but no amount of money can get it back fully once it’s been lost
5. 99 times out of 100, your company golf outing, Christmas party or business open house is not news.
6. In all but the smallest markets (and probably there too), the media doesn’t care how much you advertise with them
7. If you aren’t doing the right thing, no matter of PR (or Advertising for that matter) is going to help you.
8. Someone will always know the truth – your customers, your employees or your government will know.
9. The press release isn’t written for you; it’s written for the news media.
10. Half of what the PR firm does on your behalf gets you into the news; the other half will be to keep you out of the news.

- posted by MediaObserver @ 8:15 AM