Focusing on 2009

I talked to another client today about how the economy is affecting business and how PR fits in with the plan.
In an effort to curb expenses he is changing our relationship from a retainer-model to a project-based model. He is not the only one in our stable that is being forced to consider the value of an ongoing relationship with a PR firm, which includes daily access to an executive level resource and ongoing pitches to the media, versus a reduced effort which only focuses PR on specific events or in the event of a crisis.
2009 is going to be a challenging year—no matter what business you’re in. At Ellis Strategies we aggressively promote the fact that we offer Affordable, Effective PR http://www.ellisstrategies.com/
because many small to medium sized businesses just can’t afford to allocate $10,000 a month to pay an industry-standard retainer with a PR firm.
The Public Relations Society recently posted an article titled “Economic downturn should not stop companies from being inventive”, which points out that in a bad economy companies that remain creative and innovative will prosper. The article is valuable for all business people—especially for PR firms. To survive in this market we have to summon all our strategic and creative thinking to bring more value to our clients.
Here are three initiatives we’re focusing on:
1-Developing pitches the media will respond to
2-Promoting additional services like media training, crisis planning and video production which clients can use to strengthen their businesses
3-Better integrating with the client’s overall marketing efforts to maximize their investment

We see the opportunities in project work and look forward to filling the needs of current and future clients.