Our latest HRintelligence eNewsletter has been distributed and it is chock full of industry intelligence, commentary and analysis for HR service providers and we’ve included some of the highlights below.
Top Advertisers for November
Top advertisers, listed alphabetically below, are determined by measuring advertising placements across the major monthly HR trade publications, not including buyer guide or product directory listings.
- Aetna
- American Express Incentive Services
- Delta Dental
- MetLife
- Recruitmax
- T. Rowe Price
Commentary and Analysis: Aetna, Delta Dental and Met Life consistently make our list of top advertisers in the HR trades. American Express Incentive Services is also a regular advertiser, but this is the first month they have made the top list, due to aggressive promotions of their gift cards during the holidays (we even bought a few). T. Rowe Price and Recruitmax make the list this month for the first time since March 2005, although both regularly advertise in the major HR trades. Research shows that unless you are committed to running at least a 1/2 page advertisement in your key trades every month for at least a six-month duration, then you probably should not be running ads. Your marketing dollars will be better spent on direct marketing and marketing PR. In their best-selling book, The Fall of Advertising, Al and Laura Ries write that advertising is generally not worth what it costs, with one exception: when it serves a functional purpose like defending an established brand (not building one).
So where should HR suppliers spend their marketing and PR dollars? In 2006, HRmarketer.com will be releasing the first-ever reports on this subject in a series entitled "Trends in HR Marketing." The schedule of reports is as follows:
- Q1: Trends in HR Marketing: Annual Report
- Q2: Trends in HR Marketing: Marketing Activities
- Q3: Trends in HR Marketing: Online Advertising
- Q4: Trends in HR Marketing: Budgeting
The reports will be based on ongoing HRmarketer.com surveys of hundreds of leading HR suppliers across all HR industry segments including recruiting & staffing, compensation & employee benefits, training & development, HR software, Consulting, etc.). The reports will also segment findings by size/revenue of companies and type of HR product/service sold, allowing HR suppliers to benchmark against their competition. Lastly, HRmarketer.com's leading marketing and PR analysts will identify best-practice trends by analyzing the marketing and PR practices of highly successful HR suppliers in each industry segment.
To request an advanced copy of these reports, please send us an email at info@hrmarketer.com and provide us with your name, company name, and a phone number to contact you.
Top Editorial Placements for November
To determine the organizations receiving the most media coverage, we look at the number of non-paid editorial placements across the major monthly HR trade publications.
- Accenture
- Aon
- Hewitt Associates
- IBM
- Kaiser Family Foundation
- Mercer Human Resource Consulting
- SHRM
- Watson Wyatt
Marketing and Media Visibility Tip of the Month
Ring in the New Year...with a Media Plan
In this time of increasing competition for the media’s attention, it’s more important than ever to start 2006 with a media relations strategy and plan for the year ahead. Here are a few ideas to move your media relations efforts forward in the New Year:
- Plan your media relations program – devote some real planning time to what you want your media relations efforts to accomplish this year, and then outline a campaign. Assess what worked last year and what didn’t. Don’t stop with one story pitch idea –maximize your coverage by parceling out potential stories to various media outlets. Include online media outlets in your plans.
- Narrow your press targets – Decide which publications are most important, and read them regularly so you can understand their coverage topics. Reduce your media list size so that it’s manageable, and so you’re concentrating on those pubs with the most impact.
- Try some new ideas - Instead of sending a press release and calling to make sure a journalist received it (which most journalists hate), why not call them first to alert them of the release you’re about to email? Or make a “top five” list of journalists you most want to develop relationships with, and call them in January to offer your company as a resource, and learn what kinds of news they’re interested in receiving. Send a pitch letter, which normally isn’t as time-sensitive, by regular postal mail, rather than e-mail.
- Based on tips from the PRSA newspaper "Public Relations Tactics”