Marsha Friedman | Public Relations Expert | Speaker | CEO of EMSI Public Relations

WGN Coming Up on 90th Anniversary: Flagship Chicago Radio Station’s Longevity Confirms Medium’s Vitality

April 19, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

In a media landscape that is growing and changing nearly every day, most of the players are relatively new. CNN is barely 30 years old and Fox News is a teenager at age 15. Even New York’s WABC-AM radio station is only 60 years old. So when Chicago flagship radio station WGN-AM announces that 2012 will be its 90th birthday, it’s cause for celebration.

But it’s not just about a big birthday or a dazzling history; it’s that WGN is a sterling example of why the medium of radio isn’t going away anytime soon. Over the course of its 90 years, WGN has been with us through some of the key stages of American history and with some of our country’s most beloved broadcasters.

After doing some homework I found that back in 1925, it was the first radio station to broadcast from a courtroom. WGN allowed the nation to listen to the famous Scopes “Monkey” Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, where teacher John Scopes was tried and convicted of teaching the theory of evolution in a public classroom, in violation of a local ordinance. Read more on WGN's 90th anniversary →

Filed Under: Marketing, PR, public relations, Talk Radio Tagged With: book publicist, building your public profile, emsi, Marsha Friedman, media coverage, public relations, publicity, Talk Radio

How Charlie Sheen’s Use of Talk Radio Demonstrates the Medium’s Influence over Everything Else

April 13, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

Have you noticed how Charlie Sheen has quieted down? It’s not that his public meltdown has slowed or that he’s run out of things to say. It’s just that he isn’t saying it on radio anymore.

I was actually surprised when I realized that Sheen’s daily presence in the news wasn’t just from his tweets or his videos that he posted online, but rather his radio interviews. The meatier comments the media used for their stories about Sheen actually came from his constant calls to national radio shows like The Dan Patrick Show, The Alex Jones Show and a wide variety of morning shows in different cities.

In fact, Philadelphia’s Wired 96.5 FM station – recognizing Sheen’s penchant for phone-in radio rants – flew a banner over Sheen’s house inviting him to call the station. He did and another news cycle ensued. Read more on Charlie Sheen's use of talk radio →

Filed Under: Marketing, PR, print PR, public relations, Talk Radio Tagged With: book publicity, building your public profile, celebritize yourself, creating buzz, emsi, Marsha Friedman, media coverage, PR, public relations, publicity, radio interviews

Hollywood Screenwriter, Pen Densham, Shares His Insights on Writing and Winning

April 7, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

How a high-school dropout became a Hollywood success with Back Draft, Moll Flanders and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

One of the things I love about my business is I get to meet the most interesting people who are luminaries in their industries. One person who fits that bill to a “T” is Pen Densham. You may not recognize his name, but I guarantee you’ve seen his work. Read more on Pen Densham, Hollywood screenwriter →

Filed Under: book publicity, Marketing, PR, print PR, public relations Tagged With: book promotion, book publicist, book publicity, creating buzz, emsi, Event Management Services, Marketing, Marsha Friedman, media coverage, public relations, publicity

How Do I Gauge My PR Campaign? Why The Internet Hasn’t Changed The Rules

March 23, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

Recently, I received a question from one of my clients regarding how we track the success of our print and online PR campaigns. In the process of thinking through the question, I realized that the changing landscape of the media (due to the fast face of technology) really hasn’t changed the way we look at these kinds of campaigns.

Since time immemorial, the only way to actually gauge the success of a print PR campaign was to indicate where placements were made and then list the circulation of that print outlet. For instance, if the Tampa Tribune ran your story on a weekday, the print circulation would be in the 150,000 range. On a Sunday, it would jump to 225,000. Now, that’s not to say, nor has it ever been intended to say, that 225,000 people read your article. It simply rated the size of the news outlet that carried the piece. Read more on how to gauge your PR campaign →

Filed Under: book publicity, Marketing, PR, print PR, public relations Tagged With: book promotion, book publicity, emsi, Event Management Services, Marsha Friedman, media coverage, Online Marketing and PR, public relations, publicity

Not Making Your Sales? Maybe What’s Lacking Is Trust

March 16, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

In the world of sales, trust is king.

You can advertise, promote, tweet, post, blog and sell like Dale Carnegie on steroids, but if you haven’t built trust with your potential customer, it’s truly a waste of good resources.

Regardless of what “behavioral research” professionals tell us is the reason why a consumer takes the leap of faith to make a purchase, I know from my 20-plus years in PR, that trust is one of the most essential ingredients. And, in today’s marketplace, I believe the issue of trust is even more significant than ever. Read more on not making your sales →

Filed Under: book publicity, Marketing, PR, public relations Tagged With: book promotion, book publicity, emsi, Marsha Friedman, media coverage, Online Marketing and PR, public relations

When Doing PR, How Do You Get Past the Gatekeepers to Reach Your Consumers?

March 9, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

I can’t tell you the number of clients who ask me, “How many press releases will you send out for me?” Some want us to put out numerous releases a month, using the tiniest of reasons as an excuse to reach out to the media in the hope that their messages will drive sales when read by consumers.

The problem with this strategy is that in order to reach the consumer, you must first interest the editor who holds the key to running your story. They are the gatekeepers. The disconnect for most people is they think writing and distributing numerous press releases chocked full of sales messages will get them the coverage they’re hoping for. And, it’s this primary misunderstanding that leads to the failure of more PR campaigns than I care to think about. Read more on how to get past the gatekeepers to reach your consumers →

Filed Under: book publicity, Marketing, PR, print PR, public relations, TV Appearances Tagged With: book publicist, building your public profile, emsi, Event Management Services, Marsha Friedman, media coverage, public relations

Is the TV Commercial Dying? Why What Happens Between the Commercials Has Become Even More Important

March 7, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

My Senior Campaign Manager, Tony Panaccio, wrote a great piece the other day about the state of TV advertising and I thought it was so interesting I wanted to share it with you.

Maybe it’s me, but I read something the other day that made me wonder if I’m the only one who doesn’t see the logic here.

The Nielsen Company tracks the audience viewership of TV programs so that programmers and advertisers can get a handle on how many people are watching certain shows. Programmers take that data and figure out how much they’ll charge to advertise on their shows. Of course, they pay attention to key demographics and more granular statistics, but at the end of the day, this is the data that helps them figure out that they’re going to charge $3 million per minute to advertise on The Super Bowl broadcast and $1 – $3.80 per minute on reruns of the recent reboot of Hawaii Five-0. Read more on is the TV commercial dying →

Filed Under: Marketing, PR, public relations, Talk Radio, TV Appearances Tagged With: book promotion, book publicity, creating buzz, emsi, Event Management Services, Marsha Friedman, media appearance, media coverage, TV Guest, TV Interview

Is Your Book PR Not Doing The Job?

March 2, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

Maybe It’s Not Your Message, But How You Position the Messenger

Having written a book myself, I know how hard people work to achieve that coveted designation of “author.”

And, I know how it goes, you don’t want to make it a big deal with your friends and family, but deep down where you don’t talk about it openly, you really wish there was a button you could buy that reads “AUTHOR!” You also wish that it was socially acceptable to wear it on your lapel, because, darn it, writing a book is NOT easy. You worked hard to write a book and when it’s done and published, you do enjoy being able to claim membership in a relatively exclusive fraternity. Read more on is your book PR not doing the job →

Filed Under: book publicity, Marketing, PR, print PR, public relations Tagged With: book promotion, book publicist, book publicity, creating buzz, emsi, Marsha Friedman, media coverage, public relations, publicity

Marketing Expert and Author, Al Ries, Shares His Insights on Positioning, PR & More–Part 3

February 28, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

Here’s the third installment of my interview with marketing expert and best-selling author, Al Ries. While I originally intended to have a fourth part, I realized that it would be best to give you his insights in one final document.

If you’ve missed parts 1 and 2, click on the following links to get the complete interview:

Al Ries Interview, Part 1
Al Ries Interview, Part 2

So, get a good cup of coffee or tea, pull up your chair and enjoy the rest of the interview!

Marsha Friedman: We’ve covered so much information, Al, and it’s all been so good. I don’t want to take up too much more of your time, but I have two questions I want to make sure I ask. First, what are your thoughts about marketing today, as compared to the seventies and eighties when we didn’t have things like the Internet, social networking, social media marketing, blogging, etc.? How has it changed marketing and do you think it’s better? Read more on marketing expert and author, Al Ries →

Filed Under: book publicity, Marketing, PR, public relations Tagged With: book publicist, branding, building your public profile, creating buzz, emsi, Marsha Friedman, media coverage, public relations, publicity

More Americans Listen to Talk Radio Today Than Ever Before

February 23, 2011 By Marsha Friedman Leave a Comment

Are You Taking Advantage of This Platform For Your Book Promotion?

In the age of the Internet, 24/7 cable TV news channels, news on your laptop, desktop, PDA and smartphone, I think it’s important to remind folks about the significance of talk radio as it relates to getting publicity for your book. But don’t just take my word for it.

The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism recently reported that 48 million people get their news from talk radio. Surprised? Don’t be. While other traditional media outlets in print and TV were shrinking, the genre of talk radio was growing. Inside Radio Magazine further reported that the number of radio stations that carry talk shows grew in 2010 to 2,056 from 1,370 in 2009. Read more on why more americans listen to talk radio today than ever before →

Filed Under: book publicity, Marketing, public relations, Talk Radio Tagged With: book promotion, book publicist, book publicity, creating buzz, emsi, Event Management Services, Marsha Friedman, media coverage, publicity, radio interviews, Talk Radio