I’ve shouted out to The Tercet Group before in this blog, but in light of recent revelations, I’ve decided to shill compliments one last time. As of May 31, 2008, the Chicago-based full-service marketing and communications agency will be closing its doors.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with these ladies for the past year, as they’ve represented industry supplier S&S Activewear. We say it all the time around here at PM—if every company in the industry dealt with the media the way this group did, we’d have a much easier time getting things done.
This industry has been blessed with numerous trade mags that, simply, want to help you sell more. But in order to put out the best, most educational volumes, we need your help (and it’s not just PM—I’m taking the liberty of speaking for the industry’s entire press corps).
So, in honor of the always-on-top-of-it Terri Scales, Pam Helminski Devitt and Aimee Floto (the company’s three partners), here’s a short list of what everyone could be doing to leverage the power of the press to the best of their ability:
1) Be timely. We will happily send out our editorial calendar to anyone who asks. Get your hands on it and start pitching (distributors) or sending us your high-res, 300 dpi jpegs (suppliers).
2) Get the images in our hands. Speaking of high-res, 300 dpi jpegs, it’s important for all suppliers to have them. They should be at least 3×3”. You can either follow Rule #1 and send them a few months ahead of the editorial calendar, or simply pass on a disc full of images (from your catalog, perhaps) and we’ll keep it on file for product showcases. We’ll love you. You’ll get in the issue (and by “the issue,” I mean every issue). OR you can add them to your Web site. Just don’t send a Web-quality, 72 dpi pic. We can tell.
3) Know the etiquette. If an editor from any magazine calls you for an interview, it’s best NOT to a) keep them waiting for a call back (we’ll have moved on to the next person in line), b) tell them you’ll participate, then back out last minute (you can pretty much guarantee that reporter will never include you again) or c) flake out on a response deadline (with e-interviews) or a phone call time. We appreciate that you’re busy, but any media relations specialist will tell you free press is worth 10 minutes of your time.
4) Interview well. A good interview will address what’s happening in the industry right now. A great interview focuses on how past market trends are affecting the current climate and what this looks like for the future. Don’t just promote your product … make it relevant. Educate the reader.
Okay, done. Snaps to The Tercet Group for being great at what you do. I have no doubt exciting new challenges are in store for you all.
