Public relations is a tricky discipline. Done well, it can be extraordinarily valuable. But most believe the path to getting press is to hire a PR firm and have it create a campaign. While that strategy can work, it often does not. If you talk with most corporate marketers, their history is littered with slick PR people who promised the moon, only to deliver a big pile of "not much."
With that in mind, I'm always on the lookout for companies doing PR "the right way." That includes those companies that seek unique opportunities to connect with their audiences in circumstances relevant to their business while providing value to the media outlet.
I recently saw some press about Michael Phelps training in Phoenix and a company I hadn't heard of before, Presidential Pools, Spas & Patio, associated with the athlete. That immediately caught my eye. How could a local pool company get associated with such a huge celebrity?
As a small business owner myself, anytime something like this happens I'm curious about the backstory. How did it happen? While currently operating only in Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas, Presidential Pools is the largest pool builder in the country. It is often said that PR starts with a solid foundation, and this is an excellent example. Someone of Phelps' stature has to be cautious about who he aligns his brand with, especially leading up to this summer's Olympic Games in Rio.
The point is that good PR doesn't just come out of the blue. There are things you can do to increase your chances of landing an excellent PR opportunity, like aligning yourself with the best and building a reputation. When I contacted the company, its CEO, Tim Murphy, said, "Michael Phelps created a line of swim spas with Master Spas, and when they wanted to do a water safety event, they chose Presidential Pools. We chose to carry Master Spas because they're simply the best."
Murphy was happy to answer my questions about how his company partnered with the superstar - even though as a resident of Manhattan, I won't be in the market for a pool any time soon! He reiterated that hard work and attention to detail lay the foundation for excellent opportunities. By becoming the best and associating with the best, other small business owners can do the same. Here are a few tips I gleaned from Murphy that other entrepreneurs can put into practice in their own companies.
1) Be Excellent: Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman, said, "Safest way to get what you want is to deserve what you want." If you're the best, opportunities to partner with equally excellent companies will arise.
2) Be Open: When Murphy's Presidential started carrying Master Spas, Presidential told the spa company that it was always open to potential partnerships or ways of working together beyond retail.
3) Be Decisive: The time that extended between Master Spas' suggestion of the event to the moment Presidential agreed to host it was little longer than a phone call. The immediate and decisive answer was "yes."
4) Amplify With Relationships: Presidential didn't just let things take their natural course; its employees made personal phone calls to news outlets, sent out press releases, and posted on social media.
5) Execute: The pool company offered to roll out the red carpet and it did, hiring a team of photographers, displaying the Michael Phelps line of Master Spas, and fine-tuning every small detail to make sure the event was worthy of an Olympian-in-training's time. It also didn't hurt that it had the nation's largest demonstration pool park as a backdrop.
6) Promote: People of all ranks at Presidential were enthusiastic about the company, its history, and this particular event. The responses to my questions were in the form of long, rich narratives -- not boring, manufactured responses.
Ultimately, it was a win-win-win. Michael Phelps took time out of his Olympic training schedule to educate a group of kids, and Master Spas and Presidential Pools both were able to help the community and associate with a top-notch athlete. That's what good PR is made of, and a model entrepreneurs across all areas of business should look to emulate.