A Crisis Without Exit

For several months now we have heard or read statements to the effect that the recession is over. There is so far very little evidence, if any, that this is indeed the case. At this point it would be useful to take stock and review what has happened to date and what the future may hold.

The recession started as a financial crisis that transferred to the real economy, in the process generating massive unemployment. As the downturn became more severe unprecedented measures were taken to stop and reverse the downward slide.

These measures were inspired by the analysis of the Great Depression. The main conclusion reached by the Federal Reserve was that in the 1930's the government had not provided sufficient liquidity to the banking system. Had this been done, the reasoning went, financial activity would have returned to normal, providing enough credit for economic growth to resume.

The prescribed cure for the current crisis was thus to insure that abundant liquidity was provided to the banking system. This was done through the printing of money, zero interest rates coupled with deficit spending, and a variety of programs and devices that provided abundant and cheap funding to the financial sector.

The expected result of these measures was to be a rise in the availability of credit, which in turn would lead to increased borrowing, spending, investment and other business activity.

To-date this has not happened. While the financial sector is awash in money, credit to the general economy has in fact significantly contracted. Except when temporary government subsidies have been available, economic activity is still at a very low level, with no sign of a significant improvement.

The above analysis of the Great Depression might have been correct as far as the nineteen thirties went, but in applying it to current circumstances a critical point was overlooked. Whereas the 1929 economy was national, the present one is integrated within a globalized financial system.

The key characteristic of this system is that capital can freely and instantaneously circulate around the globe. Under such conditions it will naturally move to where it will generate the highest return. U.S. authorities have injected trillions into the system, on the presumption that these funds would be mainly put to work in the United States, as they would have been in the thirties.

Conditions in the U.S., however, are not favorable to high returns on capital: interest rates are near zero, the economy is depressed, and growth is sluggish at best. Assets offering far better returns, be they foreign stocks, commodities, or currencies, are to be found all over the planet. That is where the money naturally flows.

The immense funds disbursed by the U.S. government and central bank have essentially leaked out of the country, leaving the national economy struggling, unemployment at high levels and prospects poor. But that is not all. Another pernicious effect is building up.

Budget and trade deficits, liquidity enhancements and the massive creation of money depreciate the currency, while all assets offering the best returns inevitably rise in value. Because of the sheer size of the U.S. economy and monetary mass, the outward flow of money generates dollar inflation wherever it finds something to acquire.

If the U.S. economy were strictly national, the wholesale increase in liquidity would produce internal inflation. The global financial system sees to it that this inflation instead occurs wherever our dollars end up: in foreign stock markets and property values, for instance, or in the dollar price of commodities such as oil and metals.

Since the U.S. imports far more than it exports, this outside inflation will eventually be imported as well. As the dollar depreciates and imports rise in price, domestic consumption will be choked off just at the time it begins to grow again. The U.S. consumer, being and feeling poorer, will further reduce spending, and the economy will remain stalled.

The entire anti-recession effort would have been for nothing. In fact that very effort will have ensured that the recession will continue into the foreseeable future. The only tangible results will be a much higher national debt, a devalued currency, and a financial industry even more addicted to short-term speculation.

What the country needs to recover is a strong emphasis on domestic investment, which alone will create employment. This is perfectly attainable, but requires a radical departure from the current policies.

Jacek Popiel was born in Poland and educated in Africa, Canada, and the US. His career spanned military service and international business development. He is currently a writer and his first book Viable Energy Now is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. For more articles and information: http://www.viableenergynow.com

Top 7 Tips To Take Supplements Without Getting Taken

Walk down the supplement aisle at most health food stores, pharmacies and, increasingly, supermarkets, and it is almost impossible not to feel overwhelmed by the dozens - sometimes hundreds - of brands and combinations. Should you select a multivitamin/mineral combination or a dozen bottles of single-nutrient supplements or a multi plus a few additional singles? Should you buy natural supplements or synthetic? Regular or timed-release? A store brand or a national brand? Tablets or capsules?

If so, how much more? Energy formula? Stress formula? Women's formula or men's? It is such a hassle, there are so many brands and so many combinations. The choices are confusing, and few consumers know much about what they are buying. As a result, they often spend much more than necessary for supplements that may not meet their needs. Fortunately, you can take supplements without getting taken. Here is what I can advise.

1. Look For An Expiration Date

An expiration date is no guarantee of freshness, but it suggests that the packager understands that vitamins have a finite shell life. Steer clear of supplements within six to nine months of their expiration dates. They have probably been in the bottle for several years and may be past their prime.

2. Keep Supplements Away From Children

This is especially true for iron, often taken to treat iron-deficiency anemia or iron loss from heavy menstrual flow. Although - iron and supplements in general - are safe for most adults at the optimal daily requirement, it takes only a few tablets of a high-potency iron supplement to kill a child. An estimated 5,000 children swallow toxic doses of iron supplements every year; a few die. In the typical case, an adult carelessly leaves iron supplements on a bathroom or kitchen counter. Don't do this.

3. Don't Get Taken In By Hype

Want more energy? Stress management? Sexual ecstasy? Longevity? Immune enhancement? Freedom from illness? Some supplement labels promise their products can do everything except raise the dead - and maybe that too, if you take enough. Biochemically, vitamins and minerals play important roles in virtually every body system and process. So yes, they are involved in energy production, stress reactions, sexual enjoyment and everything else. But by themselves, supplements do not eliminate fatigue, alleviate stress or make you a great lover. Some supplements can help prevent and treat specific conditions, but brands that claim to keep you young, beautiful, energetic, mellow and sexy offer more hype than hope.

4. Think Food First

Supplements absolutely, positively do not replace food, and they cannot undo the damage caused by a chronically poor diet. Before you buy supplements, fill your shopping cart with fresh fruits and vegetables - and eat them. Buy organic produce if you like. But the data clearly show that any fresh fruits and vegetables help prevent cancer. Get your five servings a day, and then take your supplements as extra added wellness insurance.

5. Look For Beta-carotene Instead Of Vitamin A

The body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A, so for all practical purposes, they are the same thing. However, long-term use of vitamin A at doses above 50,000 international units a day may cause problems. Beta-carotene is non-toxic even at high doses, so stick to that. Beware of labels that say vitamin A with beta-carotene. If the label does not specify, you can't be sure how much of each you are getting.

6. Supplement Your Insurance Formula

Insurance formulas have breadth but possibly not enough depth for your personal needs. If you have a family history of cancer or heart disease, you may want to take larger doses of antioxidants. In addition, some minerals are simply too bulky to fit into a single pill. The optimal daily requirement for calcium is 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams a day, but it is impossible to get that much from an insurance formula. Magnesium is also too bulky to fit into a single pill. Women of childbearing age should take 400 micrograms of folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects, but insurance formulas may not provide that much.

7. Forget Brand Names

All vitamins are essentially the same. Only about a half-dozen drug companies, such as Hoffman La Roche, actually make vitamins. They supply all the hundreds of companies that sell them. What you are paying for is basically packaging and advertising. Personally, I buy the cheapest vitamins I can find. They are just as good as the expensive brands.

Raymond Lee Geok Seng is one of the foremost experts in the health and fitness industry and is a writer specializing in body health, muscle development and dieting. He has spent countless of time and efforts conducting research and share his insightful and powerful secrets to benefit men and women all over the world. He is currently the author of the latest edition of "Neck Exercises and Workouts." Visit http://www.bodyfixes.com for more information.

Redefining Empowerment-A Case Study About Effectively Marketing To Teens Without Turning Them Off

Can we inspire teens to choose to do something with the same methodology that convinces them not to do something? For example, does the same decision-making process lead to teens buying $15 Starbury One basketball shoes and to not buying the designer $130 Nike Zoom Kobe I sneakers? Is there a common denominator in how teens choose to start smoking cigarettes and how they choose not to? Can we as marketers reach them at the pivotal decision-making moment to inspire desired behavior? Denver-based Cactus Marketing Communications thinks they have uncovered the simple truth about effectively altering teen behaviors by redefining empowerment as a marketing strategy.

I. Background

Youth empowerment has been defined as an attitudinal, structural and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults.

Over the past decade, the word empowerment has become a buzzword in business and youth development, but the word has different meanings for different people. According to the Journal of Extension, "empowering teens" refers to a process through which adults begin to share responsibility and power with young people... It is the same idea as teaching young people the rules of the game...Youth development professionals are helping young people develop non-academic competencies that will help them to participate in the game of life.

Traditionally, most campaigns that employ youth empowerment as a strategy actually encourage social movements through advocacy and activism. They encourage teens to speak out for causes and to rally other teens to join them in activism. This notion has been particularly popular with youth development campaigns such as 4-H and public health campaigns such as tobacco control. Another popular example that demonstrates this notion is Rock the Vote, which encourages young adults to serve as brand ambassadors and activists to encourage other young adults to vote.

II. Redefining Empowerment

In the fall of 2006, Denver-based Cactus Marketing Communications launched a campaign called Own Your C that is redefining empowerment as we know it. Rather than encouraging a public advocacy or activism in their communities, Own Your C aspires to encourage teens to make positive choices to implement change in their own lives.

Commissioned by the Colorado State Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership (STEPP), Own Your C is a tobacco prevention and cessation educational campaign targeting Colorado youth ages 12 to 18. Over the past year, Cactus and STEPP have worked hand in hand to produce an integrated marketing campaign with the goal of reducing tobacco use among teens. The following is a summary on the insights gained into the complex world of teens and how those insights led Cactus to redefine empowerment as a marketing strategy with the Own Your C educational campaign.

A. Problem:

1. National tobacco trends:

- According to the Centers for Disease Control, a survey released in July 2006 claimed that a decade-long decline in youth smoking has halted among high school students.

- Ninety percent of adult smokers started smoking by the age of 18.

- Camel's No.9, a new offering that The New York Times called "dressed to the nines," employs fashionable marketing techniques that appeal to young women - from ad placements in fashion bibles like Vogue and Glamour and its name's haunting coincidence to the perfume, Chanel No. 21, and the song, "Love Potion No. 9". Flavored cigarettes, including Kauai Kolada, Twista Lime and Mandarin Mint, also appeal to teens.

2. Colorado is on center stage in the nation's battle against tobacco:

- Decreases in tobacco use rates among Colorado youth have become stagnant in recent years.

- The tobacco industry spent $217 million on marketing to youth in 2005, this is more than 200 percent of the funding the state has to combat their efforts.

- Tobacco companies spend $4 million marketing to Coloradoans every week.

- Colorado is often selected to test market new tobacco products.

B. Insight:

A variety of research methods were employed in order to understand the complex and ever-changing world of teens, both tobacco and non-tobacco related. The goal was to find a message is universally relevant and important among teens of all ages, ethnicities, genders, income levels and geographic locations.

1) Anti-tobacco campaign effectiveness

Through secondary research, Cactus and their research arm, Market Perceptions, Inc., set out to discover whether or not other public education campaigns to-date have been successful in reducing teen smoking levels. What they discovered is that there is a precedent for success with advertising in regards to reducing teen smoking levels.

One study published in 2005 measured students in 75 major media markets with varying levels of state-sponsored anti-tobacco TV ads and found that students from markets with higher advertising levels were significantly less likely to have smoked in the past 30 days, more likely to perceive great harm from smoking and more likely to report they would not be smoking in five years' time. Additionally, a study measuring the effectiveness of the national "truth" campaign reported that 22 percent of the nation's overall youth smoking decline between 1999 and 2002 could directly be attributed to the campaign.

While the counter-industry theme (anti-Big Tobacco) has been proven successful in the past and once tested positively in the late 1990's and early 2000's, more recent studies have shown that due to the proliferation of it as a strategy (nearly two-thirds of all state campaigns use counter-industry), it's yielding diminishing returns. A study published in 2006 by the American Journal of Public Health reported that counter-industry ads did not significantly enhance anti-industry motivation or lower smoking intent.

Studies have found that ads graphically portraying the effects of living or suffering from the afflictions of tobacco use (as opposed to dying from) rank high in getting youth to "stop and think" about tobacco use. Researchers caution against using messages that inflict fear, which have several limitations, and trigger disgust, which some believe to be the single most effective strategy in reducing teen smoking. Ads that employ fear tactics are more likely to be rebelled against, don't break through teens' invincibility barrier, and potentially only enhance the idea of tobacco as the "forbidden fruit," whereas disgust motivates action and corresponds with a lower intent to smoke.

2) Communicating with teens

When conducting a marketing campaign aimed at teens, it's not only important to communicate the right messages to them, but to communicate in the right ways with them. Teens are leading the technology-driven, new media movement, spending more time with computers, the Internet, hand held devices, MP3 players, cell phones, etc.

While talking on the phone is still the preferred communication method of choice (when not hanging out in person), teens' communication patterns go hand in hand with their increased use of new media, with online forums (Instant Message, social networks, etc.) growing in popularity and changing the dynamics of relationships.

After the phone, teens report Instant Message (IM) as their second choice for communicating with friends. IM breaks down traditional communication barriers, lowering inhibitions and allowing them to say things they wouldn't say in person. The same is true of social networks, where a majority of teens build detailed and in-depth profiles for the entire world to see. Their profiles allow them to project an image of how they want to be seen, rather than their true identity. Their profiles also allow them to build a large network of friends, seeking out like-minded teens with similar interests, regardless of geographic locations. Teens more than any other generation, are widely connected to each other through this virtual community.

In addition to identifying and prioritizing the proper communication vehicles, Cactus and Market Perceptions sought to better understand what brands are effectively communicating their messages to teens. Through the mass clutter of brands today, they wanted to understand not necessarily which brands are "in" versus "out", as that is constantly evolving with this fickle audience, but what makes a brand relevant, albeit just briefly, in the minds of teens today.

Overwhelmingly, brand theorists point out that a brand is no longer a badge of quality or insurance of a safe choice as it is with older generations, however, it is a means to define themselves, to express who they feel they are or want to be outwardly to their peers, family, strangers, etc. It is an interesting juxtaposition of self-expression while at the same time enhancing connectedness to other like-minded teens.

A recent global brand study showed that several U.S. brands are losing favor with teens to more innovative, international brands. Experts argue that the brands losing on teen relevance are those that try to impose images on teens, rather than reflecting teens' perceptions of themselves. One particularly successful campaign that resonated with youth is the Adidas "Impossible is Nothing" campaign, which spoke to teens optimism and connectedness.

Overall, teens are aware of marketing and "hip to the hype" and they need to feel in control and that they are discovering brands on their own. Teens need to feel as if they are a part of the brand story.

3) Teen decision-making

While secondary research provided an understanding of tobacco usage among teens, Cactus still needed to understand the decision-making dynamic surrounding teen tobacco use, especially when the decision is not to smoke. There was need to understand teenagers in terms of how they see tobacco within the context of their experience of being a teenager.

Therefore, Cactus and Market Perceptions conducted primary research with the explicit goal of enhancing their understanding of teens through a novel approach that would reveal more about the decision-making dynamics from a teen's perspective. Recognizing that developments in computer technology have transformed the ways in which youth communicate and interact, Market Perceptions built a virtual research space, http://www.YouthRuckus.com. This site became the center around which continuous online interaction afforded insight to uncover these truths.

The methodology for primary research included Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis and ethnographic components. After spending two months with teenagers, watching their behavior and interacting with them, Cactus learned that teen decision-making around tobacco requires a broader perspective beyond the topic of tobacco. The research uncovered the simple truth that tobacco use, or the avoidance of tobacco use, stems from a dynamic that lies at the root of many challenges that teens experience. They are making a transition from doing what others want them to do toward doing what they want to do - and they are learning to make choices along the way.

What Cactus revealed is that there are two ways in which teens become non-smokers.

One way looks very much like the decision to smoke. They don't smoke because someone doesn't want them to smoke. For these teens, we must tell them not to smoke, understanding that we are competing with others who are telling them to smoke.

The other way is a choice. These teens choose not to smoke. Recognizing that these teens are different from their reactionary peers is important in two respects. First, the ability for teens to make decisions for themselves remains a critical element of resistance to pro-tobacco advertising. These teens crave the control to make choices and be accountable for those choices. Second, making choices creates a demand for information.

The implications of this research, therefore, are clear. There are two segments within the teen population. One segment requires a simple message - "Don't smoke!" The other segment requires a very different message - "Own your choices." While membership in these segments is not static, the movement is generally from the first to the second. As teens learn and grow, they all begin to own their choices. Unfortunately, this means that the message "Don't smoke!" will have less impact as they do so, and will undermine their ability to see smoking as a bad choice as they make the transition.

4) Key findings

The research can be boiled down into the following key findings:

- Teens desire to be in control of their lives.

- Teens are pack-oriented and experience self-inflicted pressure to belong.

- Teens understand the choices they make today impact their future but, in the moment of decision, they often ignore this and act impulsively without thinking about the consequences of their actions.

- Teens are concerned with their future, but their notion of future often goes no further than getting into or graduating from college.

- Teens are surrounded by negative messages and want to see things that reflect their optimism.

- Teens have high aspirations and respect brands that reflect this idealized version of themselves.

C. Solution:

Armed with meaningful research, Cactus and STEPP determined that a successful strategy for the commissioned public education campaign would recognize youth's desire to make choices as part of making the transition to adulthood and empower them to seek out information and take responsibility for the outcomes of those choices. Doing this, Cactus redefined empowerment as it had been defined by previous social marketing campaigns. Rather than encouraging advocacy and activism, this campaign encourages teens to make positive choices to implement change in their own lives. This empowerment strategy executed via effective vehicles of communication yielded a powerful and impactful youth tobacco prevention and cessation campaign coined "Own Your C" (Own Your Choices).

"Choice" was selected as a message because it is universal to all youth, regardless of gender, geographic location, ethnicity, sexual orientation, income or age. Choice is relevant to all teens since it connects to them on an emotional level. While youth are impulsive by nature, they demonstrate that they are receptive to messages that provide perspective and empower them. Own Your C was developed as the brand because it embodies the empowerment strategy and choice message. A common vernacular among young adults, "own it" means to step up and take accountability for your actions.

To breakthrough the advertising clutter in a teen's world, Cactus had to create a bona fide youth relevant brand, not just another public health campaign. The Own Your C brand has to compete for attention not just against other public health messages, but against other youth brands so campaign elements were designed to fit within the current fashions and trends of the youth culture. A fully integrated communications strategy was developed with the ownyourC.com experiential Web site as the hub. Tactics include irreverent television spots, a street team, events, cessation tools, mobile marketing, online advertising, and tapping social networks.

The site engages teens in education and conversation on the topic of choice-making as it relates to tobacco. Divided into three main sections of a virtual town called C-Ville, the site include a 'Park area to aid teens in the choices that impact their lives; a 'Downtown' area where teens can be immersed in the Own Your C brand through TV spots, contests and downloads of art, music and ringtones; and a 'Drive-in' area where teens can learn and discuss the impacts of using tobacco.

TV Spots. The television campaign is a series of three television spots that drive home the message that choices define you. "Cecil the Seal" is a tongue-in-cheek play on government-sponsored public service campaigns and introduces the campaign concept: C is for Choice. "Haunting C", based on a thriller suspense movie, reminds teens their choices may come back to haunt them. And "Omnipoteen" centers on a teen superhero who has the power to choose and the consequences associated with his choice. These PSAs are designed to appeal to teens and create a buzz, while driving them to visit ownyourC.com.

C-Ride. A branded ice cream truck, the C-Ride serves as a "C" brand ambassador, building buzz and generating excitement at youth-oriented events statewide. The truck features a back-lit chrome "C" hood ornament, airbag suspension and custom rims, custom lighting and sound, and a freezer for distributing ice cream and treats. Cactus commissioned an artist from the U.K. popular for his offbeat character illustrations to design the truck's exterior. Equipped with a street team, the C-Ride extends the brand to urban, rural and mountain communities and serves as a distribution point for tobacco cessation materials.

Promotional Items. Cactus commissioned artists from around the world to express what "owning your C" means to them. Choice-inspired designs from artists in Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S. have been parlayed into t-shirts, winter hats, stickers and magnets, which are distributed by the C-Ride street team.

Quit Kits. Cactus created discreet quit kits for teens to quit smoking or chew tobacco. The kits are encased in anonymous encyclopedia covers with hollowed interior space to store a quit journal, gum, stress balls and alternative-to-tobacco mint snuff pouches.

D. Preliminary results

Since Own Your C launched in the fall of 2006, it has been acclaimed as a relevant youth brand and has created tremendous buzz among the advertising, design and interactive communities. ownyourC.com has been heralded as one of the world's top Web sites targeting youth and has competed for industry awards in the company of Nickelodeon, Curious George, Gillette, Adidas, Altoids and Nike, to name a few. The site has been honored with recent accolades including:

2007 The Webby Awards Winner in Youth category

2007 The One Show Merit Award in Non-profit category

2007 South by Southwest Web Awards "Best in Show"

2007 South by Southwest Web Awards "Gold" in the Business: Green/Non-Profit category

2006 Favourite Web Site Awards "Site of the Year" third place

September 2006 "Site of the Month"

January 2007 CommArts "Site of the Week"

According to ad industry blogs:

"Denver agencies Cactus and AgencyNet have created a visually stunning, bang on strategy online campaign for the state of Colorado... But marketing the value of choices is a strange thing I hear you say? Well, it's a not so thinly guised push at educating teens about the health effects of tobacco. Its completely non-preachy form of communication is refreshing and the perfect tone for speaking to teens." - Tait Ischia, marketing student, Australia

"OwnYourC takes a form conducive to internet-saavy teen visitors-an interactive world, full of animation, green-screen video, 3D characters, stop motion animation, sounds, etc. The campaign conveys this message artfully throughout the site, and the site creators are starting to see that kids are 'becoming the voice to extend the campaign.'" - Josh Spear, trendspotter, writer, designer, Denver.

What's more important, the campaign has been well-received by Colorado teens. The Own Your C street team has visited 115 schools in 40 counties since December 2006. The Web site has had over 310,000 unique visitors since the campaign launched last fall and it has nearly 7,000 C-Ville "citizens," or registered site members, that receive updates on events, contest information and monthly newsletter.

It seems that Colorado youth have responded positively to the campaign message. They appreciate that Own Your C empowers them to make smart choices and does it without preaching or talking down to them. They also seem to like that this campaign doesn't solely focus on tobacco use, but rather overall positive decision-making for the game of life. According to Colorado teens:

"I think that this a really cool, fresh way to get kids to relieve how their decisions effect their future."

"Thank you for not lecturing me on information that I know about tobacco already."

"I'm amazed that someone came out to our school to talk about positive choices."

"I've made a lot of bad choices without thinking of the repercussions, and the outcome. I think that I will start making better choices from here on out!"

The C-ride program has also been lauded by Colorado schools. The branded ice cream truck and the C-ride street team have visited 120 counties in 40 counties, traveling over 8,700 miles since December 2006. On the road, the street team has distributed thousands of t-shirts, hats, stickers and magnets to teens across the state. Additionally tobacco quit kits and posters were distributed to local community health agencies and about 1,000 urban and rural middle and high schools in Colorado. Feedback from students, teachers and other anti-tobacco organizations has been positive.

What's next for Own Your C? The campaign has national potential for expansion. Five state health agencies from across the nation have expressed interest in bringing the youth empowerment campaign to their states. The State of Colorado is currently taking requests from other interested states.

Written in May 2007 by Denver-based Cactus Marketing Communications sharpideas.com a full-service branding agency that grows companies through advertising, design, interactive, media services and public relations. For more information, contact Ashley Boyden, Cactus PR Director, 303.455.7545 or ashleyboyden@sharpideas.com

Four PR Tips For Marketing Your Product Or Service on TV & Radio Without Buying Advertising Time

You have a great product, service or book, and you know it. But just like the "better mousetrap," it doesn't mean a thing unless your market knows it, too. Interviews on TV and radio talk shows are great avenues for promoting your product to the masses, and are generally far more dynamic than basic print advertising.

You may believe the only way to get great TV and radio exposure is to buy advertising time, but there is an even better and more cost-effective way - harnessing the marketing power of PR.

Regardless of the product or message you'd like to promote, a targeted TV or radio talk show offers a great forum to get your word out. Hosts are always looking for guests that will help them entertain and inform their audiences. With the correct PR strategy you can land these terrific guest spots - pure marketing gold!

Why are these spots gold? You see, when you or your spokesperson is on the air, you're a featured guest on a show whose host has an established audience that trusts his message. Your appearance on the show as a guest confers an implicit endorsement, enhancing your credibility with the host's audience; they're hearing about you and your product or service from their trusted friend.

The best part? An interview as a guest on a TV or talk radio show is free! Even if you decide to employ the services of a public relations firm to arrange these interview spots, such a campaign usually costs about one-tenth of an advertising campaign.

My PR firm was once approached by the CEO of a life insurance agency, and we ended up representing his agency for years. They initially wanted us to arrange local and national radio and TV appearances for the CEO, who was also their spokesman. Now, I don't think it will offend anyone if I state here that as an interview subject, insurance is perceived by consumers as dull, dull, dull. An angle was needed that would not only interest audiences, but resonate with them as an issue of great importance.

We created a very effective headline for our pitch: "Can You Afford to Survive Without Your Spouse?" The interview focus was about the need for spouses and children to be protected financially after the death of the family breadwinner. In effect, it became a human interest story instead of a boring interview with an insurance salesman.

Our client did a large number of both radio and TV guest appearances, but it was clear after a while that the CEO was a terrific spokesman, particularly on the visual medium of television. So the focus for the remainder of the 3-year-long campaign was on TV talk shows. The CEO appeared on numerous national TV news shows, such as CNBC, speaking to the vital issue of financial security for women and families. The result? The highest number of new leads the company had ever experienced, for any type of promotion.

If you think PR can help market your product or service, here are four specific PR tricks you can use to effectively pitch TV and radio producers and hosts:

1. Stay current. Follow the news, know what the hot trends are, and what people are talking about. What is the current "buzz?" Talk radio and TV are all about current events, so make it your business to be "in the know."

2. Tie In to the News. As you follow the hottest stories in the news, think of ways you can relate stories to your product or service. Look for controversy or big names...these are always tantalizing topics for talk show hosts and their listeners.

3. Pitch Your Topic. Keep in mind that TV and radio hosts are interested in what you can do for their audience, not what they can do to help you promote your product. They want an interview, not an infomercial, so when pitching to hosts and producers emphasize the issue or problem for which your product or service is the solution.

4. Follow the Right Press Release Formula. Your press release is critical - it's the key to the media's door! Make sure your headline is enticing and attention-grabbing, and that the text elaborates on the subject matter and what the interview would be about. Also include a short but impressive bio or company profile. As well as a couple of well-chosen juicy or provocative quotes.

And if you have decided to tackle arranging your own interviews the above can be summed up to a couple of key PR rules to keep in mind when approaching media hosts or producers. First, never pitch yourself - pitch the issue on which you are an expert (and you ARE an expert - have you read my book, "Celebritize Yourself"?). Second, never pitch your product - talk instead about the problem your product addresses and how your product ties in as a solution. Good luck!

For 20 years Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations as CEO of EMSI, a national public relations firm. Her firm represents corporations and experts in a wide array of fields such as business, health, food, lifestyle, politics, finance, law, sports and entertainment. Some of the more prominent names on her client roster are Teamster's President Jimmy Hoffa Jr., Sergeant's Pet Care Products, Former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane and the famous Motown Group, the Temptations. She consults individuals and businesses on a daily basis and is frequently asked to speak at conferences about how to harness the power of publicity. Go to http://www.emsincorporated.com to claim your free "Power of Public Relations" video today! Or call 727-443-7115, ext. 202, or email her at info@marshafriedman.com.