Public relations campaigns for Web sites have become an integral part of online publishers' marketing efforts, often providing a measurable boost to viewer traffic.
Some publishers find it more cost-effective to use their in-house public relations staff to handle their print and online products. Others see the benefits of outsourcing some or all of the public relations duties to an agency. Agencies can charge more than $20,000 per month depending on the extent of their responsibilities, but many executives said the price is worth the viewership spikes that result from media coverage. Increased traffic often lingers after the promotion has ended, executives said.
Publishers, however, told us that public relations is just one component of the marketing plans that are essential to keeping the site's name afloat in an increasingly crowded market.
Whether they use public relations to build excitement for an entirely new site or as a means to publicize an alliance or the latest viewership figures, online publishers said these promotions are significant audience-builders.
"We think [public relations] has a big role to play because it seems that our traffic goes up in direct proportion to the promotion and public relations that we do," said Owen Youngman, director of interactive media for The Chicago Tribune.
The Tribune primarily uses its four-person public relations and interactive promotions staff and has recently hired agency Hill & Knowlton to help promote its online newspaper (http://www.chicago.tribune.com) and Digital City sites. Hill & Knowlton will receive a six-figure fee over the course of a year to gain exposure for the sites, Youngman said.
The Tribune will focus on traditional PR tactics, while Hill & Knowlton will concentrate on finding new alliances and partnerships and setting up public appearances for executives to promote the site.
Other publishers, such as Time Warner's [TWX] Sports Illustrated, keep almost all of their public relations efforts in-house, assigning online responsibilities to their print and broadcast PR staff.
The publication has not devoted very much money to outside PR help for SI Online (http://www.sportsillustrated.com) and Sports Illustrated For Kids Online (http://www.sikids.com), said Art Berke, director of communications at New York-based SI.
PR executives told us they are seeing an increase in the number of online publishers who are taking advantage of their services.
Some of these publishers feel it makes better sense to let their existing staff focus on the core business and let an outside firm direct new media public relations, said Larry Weber, chairman and CEO of The Weber Group, whose clients include Ziff-Davis Publishing's ZDNet mega-site (http://www.zdnet.com) and Wire Networks Inc., publisher of Women's Wire (http://www.women.com)
Michael Kaminer, principal with New York's Michael Kaminer Public Relations, agrees with Weber. "There's a whole different universe of media you have to know" when promoting a Web site, said Kaminer, whose firm works with print publications such as The Advocate and Fast Company, and online publications such as FEED (http://www.feedmag.com) and TheStreet.com (http://www.thestreet.com).
Alexander Communications, which is working with Discovery Channel Online (http://www.discovery.com), stresses the importance of getting its clients in front of analysts and key press members prior to the launch of their site, said Brad Daves, vice president, creative director in Alexander Communications' Atlanta office.
(Owen Youngman, 312/222-4179; Art Berke, 212/522-2687; Larry Weber, 617/661-7900; Michael Kaminer, 212/627-8098; Brad Daves, 404/897-2300; Bruce Zanca, 202/955-2578; Jeffrey Bierig, 312/222-3920; Robin Shallow, 212/522-5282)