Incentive - September 2008 - (Page 58)

Start Spreading The News Public relations agencies are using incentives to inspire high performance and innovative thinking from their publicists By Alex Palmer ngaging people. Motivating behavior. Making big impressions. All are goals of incentives, of course, but also the aims of public relations agencies as they plan events, work with the press and attempt to spread the good word about their clients. So it makes sense that PR agencies are embracing incentives in a big way to strengthen the performance of their own employees and improve their bottom line. Their tools? Travel, gift cards, merchandise and experiential awards. These companies are using incentives to inspire creative thinking and raise the level of engagement with their publicists’ work, resulting in a win-winwin for the client, agency and employee. E There’s No Such Thing as “No Press” New-product promotions or announcements of new initiatives form the biggest part of PR companies’ pitches to editors and media representatives, but even the most active clients might have a slow news week, or quarter. That doesn’t mean their PR agency can just sit back and wait for something noteworthy to promote. “What do we do in the absence of news?” Ilene Adler, CEO of San Francisco–based Vantage Communications, asked her staff in 2007, as they were considering how to better serve their clients, some of which didn’t have regular product rollouts or events that would lend themselves to press blitzes. The staff came up with holding “pitching contests,” where employees could suggest ideas for how their client might appeal to the media beyond just the latest “new and improved” announcements. “We always tell our clients that there is never a Each year the winner of Pierce Mattie PR’s Publicist of the Year award enjoys a trip for two to France 58 | Incentive | September 2008 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - September 2008

Incentive - September 2008
Contents
Editor's Note: The Best of Times and...
Headlines
Cover Story: MetLife Rethinks Recognition
Incentive Interview: Russ Edelman
Case Study Orkin: The Presidential Treatment
Coca-Cola Bottling: The Sweet Taste of Success
Keep Cash Off the Hood: Auto Incentives
Handle with Care: Motivating After Layoffs
Start Spreading the News: PR Incentives
Planning: Got Lemons? Make Lemonade
Industry Veterans Speak: The President Slept Here
Motivation: Action! Start Teambuilding Now!
Incentive Primer: How To Reward Well
Motivation@Work: The Character Connection
Travel News: Where To Go and What To Do
Top Undiscovered Destinations: New Territory
Field Report: South Africa In Style
Field Report: Golf's Pilgrimage
Potentials Here and Now
In-Room Gift Ideas: Pillow Talk
Shopping Sprees: Shop Till You Drop
Gift Cards: Plastic Is Perfect
Advertiser Index
Last Word: Outsmart! Author James Champy
Special Supplement: Mexico

Incentive - September 2008