What makes a good conversationalist? I’ll give you a hint: it has nothing to do with how well a person can deliver a punch line or how well read they are.

A good listener makes the best conversationalist. That’s right, more important than witty banter or animated storytelling is the art of listening. Think about the last truly good conversation you had. There was an open exchange of dialogue, your points or arguments were thoroughly considered before you received a response, it felt like you were really being heard and that what you had to say mattered and it left you eager to speak with that person again.

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Common misconceptions about PR – the practice and the professionals

I remember when I was studying Public Relations (PR) back in the day, or when I subsequently first started my career in PR. I’d be in some sort of social situation and the inevitable question would come up:  “What do you do for a living?”

My response, I came to discover, was usually a conversation killer: “I’m in Public Relations.” …not because I’m a dull conversationalist, mind you, but because it seemed that nobody outside the industry actually knew what Public Relations, as a profession, really was. (continue reading…)

I guess this is the thing to do this time of year – summarize the passing year and make predictions for the upcoming one – so I’ll put my two cents in. However, I w will stay away from the standard safe-bet predictions out there – the push to digital media will accelerate, social networking will continue to evolve, Apple will release its tablet computer, the economy will start edging up, etc. Rather, I’ll focus on what types of companies will be successful in 2010.

The biggest winners will be those companies who start ramping up their marketing now. Although we certainly won’t have recovered from the economic downturn, there are already signs up an uptick. Moreover, as we saw in the final week before Christmas, there is a growing pent-up demand by consumers that is starting to be realized. People will still be cautious and look for value, but more and more they will be ready to buy. Therefore, the companies who are out their increasing their presence will be the prime beneficiaries of the expanded spending. Similarly, businesses that have been holding off their spending will start to loosen their reigns somewhat, again giving opportunities to those who are ready to sell.

So, as an investor, look at which companies are already expanding their marketing. As a marketer, look at your own company. Have you already begun to ramp up your advertising, PR, and sales campaigns (both online and off)? Or are you going to suffer another disappointing year?

Domus, Inc. is a full-service marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, please visit our web site at http://www.domusinc.com.

There’s a saying that even bad publicity is good publicity, but unless you’re Paris Hilton that is far from the case. Some companies may not see the value in public relations, but if they become victim to a devastating media disaster then the value of public relations becomes priceless. However, PR isn’t just meant to quality control major disasters, it’s one of the main branches of an integrated marketing campaign. PR will raise brand awareness through legitimate industry sources vs. paid advertisements and help shape how customers view a product, company or even…you.

For instance, the State Lotteries are no stranger to negative publicity. The amount of press covering stories of lottery winners whose lives have been negatively affected by the money trumps the number of positive winner awareness stories. With a solid PR program, that could be reversed. By broadcasting on tier one outlets and creating feature stories, positive life changing stories would be heard, attracting consumer attention which will help raise sales.

Bad publicity might get you on the map, but a negative impression is hard to shake. By implementing a fully integrated marketing program with a strong public relations presence and internet presence tracking, any product, brand or company can raise awareness levels and inevitably raise sales.

Domus is an integrated marketing communications firm based in Philadelphia. For more information, please visit our web site at http://www.domusinc.com.