Full Frontal PR: Getting People Talking about You, Your Business, or Your Product [Hardcover]

Richard Laermer (Author), Michael Prichinello (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1576600998 | ISBN-13: 978-1576600993 | Publication Date: February 2003 | Edition: 1

Whether looking to promote a person, a business, a product, or even an idea, with "Full Frontal PR," anyone can design and implement a simple plan and earn essential media coverage--without a large budget.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For a public relations professional, Laermer might have succeeded too well with this book: it could threaten to put firms like his own, RLM PR, out of business. After all, write Laermer and co-author Prichinello in this do-it-yourself guide for snaring publicity, the PR industry's dirty little secret is that "you can create the buzz factor yourself." Among the tips: adopt a media-friendly approach that cultivates friends rather than making enemies; use a host of tactics like embargoes, leaks, source filings and exclusives to your best advantage; and give yourself a leg up by knowing what time-pressed journalists are looking for and handing it to them on a platter. The authors bolster their case with examples of good and bad PR: e.g., how BigStar, an online movie retailer, spun its competition with Blockbuster into a David and Goliath tale, or how Kozmo.com's reliance on the media's love affair with its CEO compromised its ability to deliver on its promises. Some troubling references slip in (Laermer's own staffers watch the movies Wall Street and Boiler Room to get revved up for pitching journalists, and the authors admit "someone once told us that media people often dislike PR practitioners a lot"), but, that aside, this is a valuable road map to the land of buzz.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A great PR overview, ideal for newcomers to the industry or for veterans who want to enjoy interesting case studies. -- PR News, 6 January 2003

An essential read for anyone seeking buzz. -- David Neeleman, CEO, JetBlue Airways

Armed with Laermer's public relations know-how, you can start promoting like a pro. -- BookPage, February 2003

Demystifies the task at hand by stripping the PR process of 'spin' and 'sound bites' and teaches what really matters. -- Jonathan Norman, producer, Charlie Rose

Informative, elegantly aggressive, and right on target. -- Jodee Blanco, author of The Complete Guide to Book Publicity

The best-written, most interesting, most up-to-date manual on the PR field. -- Al Ries, co-author of The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press; 1 edition (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576600998
• ISBN-13: 978-1576600993
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,040,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a well-known authority (read big mouth) on media and the author of the brand new book "2011: Trendspotting" plus coauthor of "Punk Marketing" and author of "Full Frontal PR." I'm pretty regularly quoted in papers, magazines, TV and the online society about the strange goings-on in the so-called fourth estate--and future trends. A former magazine and newspaper journalist, I have lots of other books, too. But...

My day job is as veteran CEO of the independent public relations firm RLM PR (RLMpr.com)

I am also the host of the new radio show Unspun and the co-manager of BadPitchBlog (badrelease.com).

RLM PR is the aggressive and particularly creative group that represents some of the top mid-tech (online/wireless/software), entertainment, healthcare, entrepreneurial, publishing, and 'uniquely positioned' businesses. Founded way back in 1990. Seems like a long time ago.

You can sign up for the RLM trendSpotting Report at www.RLMpr.com. It's monthly and you won't want your 15 minutes back.

Other books: trendSpotting, published in 2002 from Plume, has become the single most fun trend reference guide for the new millennium. And I'm proud to say the series Native's Guide to New York series is in fifth edition from WW Norton.

I have a single goal: to ensure marketing in its old style glory will never be the same and show people how to make money by spotting trends and diving into them.

Have a wealth of experience on many-many-sides of the media, as a well versed media junkie and sometime guru. Worked as a reporter beginning in 1980, and columns, reporting, and reviews have been published in The New York Times, the New York Daily News, Reuters, USA Today, People, Saturday Review, US, Interview, The New York Post, and Rolling Stone, Editor & Publisher, Crains, among others.

Books have been reviewed and featured on CNN, The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, MSNBC, National Public Radio, New York One News, and Bloomberg radio/TV, as well as dozens of other local TV, radio, and online venues. I am recognized as the bubbly guy on Public Radio's Marketplace program, also known as The PR Professional, doling out stories depicting how the media works for and with PR every day.

Founded RLM when I recognized companies' increasing need for effective media representation. Saw clearly how publicists were not grasping the intricacies of their clients' businesses. With many years' experience as a journalist, I finally saw how crucial it was to deliver results for clients while respecting the demands placed on overburdened reporters. Over the past decade, RLM PR has gotten results for its clients by capitalizing on current and emerging trends.

In 2003, I shocked a few friends and acquaintances on both coasts by moving to CA to open RLM's office there. I'm not there that much anymore and have become particularly bicoastal. I still spend half my time looking at airline seatbacks, however, where I travel on behalf of clients and am featured at speaking engagements worldwide (which I love).

For more see Laermer.com and PunkMarketing.com.

Please write me. I'd like to know what is up. I'll get back quickly. [BlackBerry junkie.]

[e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed with useable tips, December 25, 2005

By 

Benjamin Figgis "Ben F" (Qatar) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Full Frontal PR: Building Buzz About Your Business, Your Product, or You (Paperback)

I found this book to be packed with practical ideas and information. After reading it I felt that I had a sound basic knowledge of how the news media works, and was confident about how to prepare materials for them to use. Of course every layman thinks they know how the media works, but after reading this you realise how intricate it can be.

Strengths of the book:
- Covers the whole industry - print, TV, internet
- Fairly up to date (2003), with a better Internet chapter than a 2005 PR book I just finished
- Dense with tips and practical information
- Written in a fun, up-beat style
- You will walk away from this book and actually use many of the suggestions. I've had a top-name PR agency on retainer for a year and I now realise how uninspiring and lazy they have been.

Weaknesses:
- Information isn't logically laid out. The first third is set out as an encylopedia in alphabetical order, rather than a logical narrative, which I find is a poor way of "teaching". Overall it is a collection of tips rather than the step-by-step guide it claims to be
- Assumes you are in US and only deal with US media
- A little bit too up-beat at times for my taste (no shortage of exclamation marks)
- Assumes quite an advanced understanding of the media to begin with - reads like he's talking to a fellow PR buddy over a coffee
- I think case studies are especially useful, but there aren't many in here.

Overall: Highly recommended, it really gave me a "quantum leap" in terms of my understanding of the media, inspiration, and practical ideas for how to get my material out.

Incidentally: Much, much better than "Media Relations" by David Henderson which I finished last week.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very very good, but...., October 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Full Frontal PR: Getting People Talking about You, Your Business, or Your Product (Hardcover)

Full Frontal PR is a great book for any novice business-owner or budding PR professional to get a baseline on how the successful PR execs perform their job. I don't quite buy the argument that the book is the only resource one would need because there is a ton of information thrown at you and it's difficult to absorb all at once - a human element seems to still be essential. That being said, it does provide excellent insights into public relations and the resource information is invaluable. It's also a bit daunting to realize how much is actually involved, but that's the whole point of the book. You can't just send out a press release and wait for people to come beating down your door. It just won't happen that way.

This book should take up permanent residence in your briefcase/backpack/duffel bag/etc. for a handy reference when needed. I only deduct a star because I thought the chapters could have been organized and laid out a little better.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Non-pictorial Textual Book for Buzz Builders (if you were worried), March 25, 2007

By 

M. Swinney "Marc My Words" (Flower Mound, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Full Frontal PR: Building Buzz About Your Business, Your Product, or You (Paperback)

Richard Laermer, PR pro of a New York City Public Relations firm, spills the beans on the secrets of the buzz-building industry in this concise and easy to read book. "Full Frontal PR: Building Buzz About Your Business, Your Product, or You," is a perfect little concise guide, one that is very readable by the way, for those medium to small businesses that may not have it in their budget yet to hire a marketing or advertisement firm.

I have been in the Public Relations field for three short months now and picked up Laermer's book from Amazon to delve into some professional reading on my new-found profession and I must say, it didn't disappoint. I found myself learning a lot and tried to hone in on the chapters discussing on-line ways to build buzz as its very much an interest of mine as well as directly related to my professional job. If your marketing and communications budget is tight, you could easily pick up Laermer's book and take a few suggestions (in your spare time right?) and run with them to get your business more exposure in the press and the public eye. After all, you've got to find some way to get your product, service, mission in life out there. I used to do non-profit management and I have to say, I wished I ran across Laermer's book upon starting that job. I think it would have given our non-profit better tools to court the media than those we were using.

One of the best features I liked about the book is the invaluable web site recommendations collected at the back and scattered throughout the book. I haven't had time to peruse them yet at length but plan on book marking them and using them at work. Some of his advice was covering known ground so the book might not appeal to the PR pros who have been in the industry for 3 or more years I'd say. But I'm sure for the open-minded among you, there are things you can pick through from "Full Frontal PR," that might jog some thoughts and ideas. I think for some folks who have been practicing PR for awhile, there is a reluctance to embrace new media formats for getting the message out there in the papers, on the web, and on the streets and in the homes...this book may just open some of those windows for you.

Good book. Catch a buzz in your local bar while reading this book and then follow-through with some of Laermer's advice. You never know what just might pop up? ...mmw