Terry Catchpole, founder and president of The Catchpole
Corporation, a boutique PR firm specializing in securing speaking
engagements for high-tech business executives, thinks the dot-com
debacle was a blessing in disguise for niche PR.
Huh? Aren't those the same dot-com companies that, while
throwing money at PR firms during the late-1990s, reinforced the
reputation of PR execs as glorified publicists? And didn't PR
enable the dot-com companies - many of which have since flamed out
- to put out elaborate press releases that didn't really serve any
message (or plug any real product) so much as the CEO's ego?
Catchpole, whose clients include Adobe, Microsoft and Palm,
looks at it from a different perspective, pointing out that the
Internet rush of a few years ago conditioned marketers to hone
their media targets more carefully, and what better way to do that
than with PR specialists. "The seed was planted that it was
possible to deal with a series of experts in different areas as
opposed to always going to full service PR firms," he says.
The dot-com boom-and-bust is one of several factors that have
played into the hands of niche PR players in the last few years.
For starters, niche firms are a lot more affordable than the big
players in the field. Although underlying economic trends are
heading in the right direction marketing budgets are still tight,
and the value niche players can offer can't be underestimated.
Niche PR firms are also flatter and more flexible than the
heavyweights - no small thing when you're watching every dollar.
Another reason for the growth in niche PR: clients know they're
going to get service directly from the boss(es) of the firm rather
than an account executive from a large firm who is a few years out
of school and doesn't know the space very well.
In the current climate it is also reassuring to client when you
speak their languages. "Our clients understand 'dollar cost
average' basically means talking to reporters continually over time
and you'll eventually hit a single, double, triple or maybe a home
run," says Dan Soundhelm, a partner with SunStar Financial, an
Alexandria, VA-based PR firm specializing in PR for financial
services and money management firms, whose clients include the
Jensen Portfolio, Johnson Asset Management, National City Bank and
Wells Real Estate Funds. "Most of our clients are undiscovered and
they want to be recognized for their products and investment
philosophy."
Victoria Morrison, VP/director of marketing at Johnson Asset
Management, which manages all of the JohnsonFamily Funds, says
because SunStar execs know her business so well -- and don't suffer
from a lot of management layers - they have been able to get solid
media exposure for the firm, which has generated sales. "They don't
get caught up in the paper work and the phone calls like some of
the larger [PR] firms," she says. "They turn things around very
quickly." SunStar has been able to get Johnson Asset Management
executives to appear on CNBC, CNN, and "Forbes on Fox" in addition
to being quoted in BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune. Since SunStar
has been able to cultivate such close relationships with financial
reporters Morrison says it's not uncommon for reporters to call
Johnson Asset Management President-CEO Colette Wallner directly.
Says Soundhelm: "We've been able to establish a two-way street with
reporters because they trust us and know that we're going to give
them good ideas."
Niche PR firms are also able to respond more nimbly to an
increasingly media chic culture, where every conceivable line of
business wants to celebrate itself. "So many different kinds of
businesses have branched out of traditional advertising and added
PR to the overall marketing plan," says Katherine Rothman,
president of KMR Communications, New York, which specializes in PR
for the beauty, medical and fitness industries. Clients include the
American Laser Centers, Bosley, a hair restoration chain and CAN DO
Fitness, a chain of health clubs in New Jersey.
On a recent media tour in New York with an executive from client
Rene Furterer, which markets hair care products, Rothman was able
to secure coverage in several of the top women's fashion magazines,
including Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and W as well as Ladies' Home
Journal. "We were really holding their hands for three days. But we
know what the media wants and don't waste the client's time,"
Rothman says.
Of course, there are some accounts that niche players simply
can't handle, and they sometimes have to turn away business they're
not equipped to handle (and refer the query to a larger firm). At
the same time, with the late-'90s froth having fizzled, it's not
uncommon these days for the bigger firms to compete head-to-head
with niche firms in the $5,000 monthly retainer range. It's at this
stage, depending on the account, that niche PR firms may be able to
trump their larger competitors by offering more hands-on
service.
"I've been in this business for 20 years and what it has turned
into now is just-in-time consulting," says Todd Appleman, head of
virtual PR agency The Appleman Group (Los Angeles), which
specializes in strategic communications in healthcare and whose
clients include Comview Corp. Medivance Inc. and Medtronic Inc.
Appleman, who had stints at the former BSMG Worldwide (which in
2002 was merged into Weber Shandwick), Burson-Marsteller and
Fleishman-Hillard before his stating his own PR consultancy in
2000, says his clients know they're going to get experienced hands
to work on the campaign rather than getting the "bait-and-switch"
from the big boys.
"When put a team together they I might have a health care
technical writer with 15 years experience or a media relations exec
with 25 years experience," Appleman says, adding that he provides a
laser-like approach for his clients. "I have about 300 media
contacts who are the heart and soul of healthcare coverage. And
they know when they get a pitch from me that this is something they
could use as opposed to getting an e-mail blast from a monolithic
level."