Why Hire Benbow International PR?

Benbow International PR (BIPR) provides U.S. and European companies a number of advantages when they want to increase their presence and credibility in the U.S. market.

• Expert securing press coverage for CEOs
• Expert on the U.S. market and communicating messages to it
• Specific experience with U.S. and European clients
• Comparison with in-house resources
• Value for dollars invested in PR
• Value for dollars invested in BIPR
• Why BIPR stays small and selective
• Strong client relationship
• Proximity to Silicon Valley
• Judgment

Expert securing press coverage for CEOs 

BIPR helps CEOs who seek news coverage to help overcome one of four issues:

• Lack of visibility and credibility. The CEO and company are not visible and credible in the U.S. market.
• Company’s sales are down, it does not have the quantity or quality of leads it needs, or its sales cycle is too long.
• Languishing stock price. Either the company has a compelling story to tell but no one has heard it, or it has been unfairly affected by an adverse market trend or competitors’ problems.
• Limited budget, expertise, and/or time when entering the U.S. market.

Expert on the U.S. market and communicating messages to it  

BIPR serves U.S. and European clients. BIPR’s public relations expertise is based on having worked with journalists in 16 countries whose stories have reached hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Specific experience with European clients  

BIPR has communicated messages to the U.S. market successfully for several startups.

For example, BIPR obtained $1.2 million worth of media coverage for a European client in leading international publications and television networks including:

• ABC television
• Adweek
• Business Week International
• Forbes
• Forbes Global
• International Herald Tribune
• Newsweek International
• Reuters
• The New York Times
• The Wall Street Journal
• Time

As a result, BIPR’s client’s stock price climbed dramatically in the days following the news coverage.

Comparison with in-house resources  

Often a company’s PR team does not understand the potential problems and opportunities the U.S. market presents. Particularly for a European company, the geographic distance (over 5,000 miles) and social, economic, and political differences may cause a:

• Lack of U.S. market knowledge, which is compounded by inadequate analytical and research skills,
• Dependence on the Internet and other potentially unreliable research sources,
• Preference to work on local market issues because they are easier and more comfortable to solve, and successful results can be demonstrated in-person to superiors, and
• Tendency to make recommendations that will be received favorably by their superiors.

Value for dollars invested in PR  

There are three recommended ways to analyze Return on Investment for PR:

• Calculate the amount of column inches of news coverage — and its cost if the same inches were purchased as advertising.
• Compare to the criteria outlined in U.S.C.’s The Annenberg School PR Gap study.
• Compare to the criteria outlined in the Harvard Business Review article “Reputation and its Risks” — share of voice, consistency, and whether the coverage is positive or negative.

PR can help to benefit a company and help increase its sales in three ways:

• Improve lead generation — increase the quality and quantity of leads and shorten the sales cycle.
• Influence decision makers who buy products and services based on endorsements from their peers — not advertisements.
• Correlate PR costs and return on investment simply and accurately.

Value for dollars invested in BIPR 

BIPR can complement in-house staff, and offers several advantages. Clients can:

• Capitalize on BIPR’s expertise securing news coverage.
• Benefit from BIPR’s ability to learn complex topics quickly, which shortens the introductory phase of an engagement and delivers measurable results in less time.
• Avoid hiring a medium-to-large size PR agency whose focus is on larger clients, and whose employees have unpredictable and varying experience and capabilities.
• Avoid paying for an additional employee.

The experience per dollar invested, therefore, is greater.

Why BIPR stays small and selective 

BIPR’s goal is to secure news coverage for its clients in the world’s most prestigious media, and therefore:

• Selects clients whose CEO and company would interest top editors and journalists.
• Restricts its number of clients. BIPR cares less about how many clients it has, but rather who those clients are and the results achieved for them.

Strong client relationship  

There is no staff turnover. Priss Benbow is responsible for all aspects of a project. She determines strategic goals and executes the tactics. She meets clients at briefings, presents recommendations, and executes all activities. She is the sole contact throughout the business relationship.

This approach contrasts sharply to larger PR firms which often — after a contract is signed with a client — delegate work to inexperienced junior staff.

Results are demonstrated to client. Priss Benbow is solely accountable for results to the client, providing both interim updates and a final report at the conclusion of the project.

Proximity to Silicon Valley  

BIPR’s San Francisco location benefits its clients by its proximity to Silicon Valley, the hub of U.S. technology innovation. Silicon Valley’s success is based on its:

• Access to financial resources (major banks and venture capital firms),
• Leading universities (Stanford, UC Berkeley), and
• Population of workers who are skilled in technology and entrepreneurship.

Where appropriate, U.S. and European companies may wish to explore relationships with Silicon Valley firms.

Judgment 

Throughout her career, Ms. Benbow has applied sound judgment to make thoughtful strategic and tactical decisions, and also to predict, avoid, and solve PR problems.

Furthermore, Ms. Benbow has the integrity to address and realign clients’ strategies gently when it is in that firm's best interest.