Part 2 of 2 Book Excerpt From For Immediate Release by 5WPR CEO Ronn Torossian – Read Part 1 Here
For less than 0.000001 percent of what the big fish spend, Public Relations helps this small fish stay relevant and reach and excite its consumer targets. Best of all, it delivers name recognition. Through massive yet strategic media relations that span from 30-minute business features on Hint’s husband-and-wife team on CNBC and a profile in the business section of The New York Times to product placement in People and other national magazines, Hint can compete with the big-brand ads on the next page or the commercial break.
We have also been able to facilitate well-deserved “water of the year awards” editorial coverage in Self, Health, and Good Housekeeping magazines, along with strategic, positive business-oriented pieces in Forbes and Time. In fact, I would argue that a top national magazine editor’s backing of Hint is more valuable than a full-page advertisement. Consumers trust an editorial endorsement over an ad every time.
All of the editorial coverage for Hint earns millions of impressions per month, which is serious visibility. To the consumer, the brand strategy is more about communication than promotion, or at least that’s the perception. Since the way in which the consumer sees or hears about Hint is through editorial coverage, product sampling, and/or social media and crowd-sourcing, the consumer has a greater tendency to believe the claims made about it because they come from sources seen to be more “organic” and authentic than brash marketing or ad campaigns. Of course, Hint is an excellent product—the best PR in the world couldn’t hope to accomplish much if the water didn’t taste great and offer good value.
In Hint’s case, PR has made a real footprint not only in the beverage space but also in the marketing industry. This company is widely recognized in the beverage industry as having gained its popularity through nontraditional marketing efforts. A couple of years ago, a friend at a major beverage conglomerate told me that the Business Week feature we secured about Hint’s husband and-wife team hangs in the office of the Chief Marketing Officer(CMO) for one of their beverage brands and is on the company’s “Watch What They’re Doing” list. This small fish is a game changer.
Onward and upward
