The Importance of Publicity in Marketing

While attending the big kick-off of the Southeast Idaho Farmer's Market in Pocatello, Idaho on May 6th I witnessed an excellent example of publicity, advertising, and cross-promotion working synergistically to increase traffic and sales.

Publicity Marketing

In 2006 the Southeast Idaho Farmer's Market moved from their original location of 15 years to the Historic Old Town section of Pocatello. This move had been highly debated, but necessary because of space limitations and other pressures at the previous location. Of course, moving from an established location is always risky, but the move needed to be made. Here is where publicity helped a lot.

Old Town Pocatello was very supportive of the move and actively assisted in publicizing the event. The local newspaper ran several articles on the move in conjunction with efforts to revitalize Old Town Pocatello. I talked with many customers who read about the move in the paper. This shows that publicity can drastically help traffic at your farmer's market and other selling locations.

Cross-Promotion

Another big boost to the publicity buzz was the cross-promotion of the grand opening of the farmer's market with a pancake breakfast and the kick-off for the Pocatello Clean-Up Day. By having the two events in the same location it made more people aware of the new location and offerings at the Southeast Idaho Farmer's Market. It also helped more people know about the clean-up efforts taking place. A win-win for everyone.

Advertising

Just as a disclaimer, please don't think that if you generate enough buzz and publicity that you can just quit advertising. Advertising is still important because it allows you to say what you want to say, exactly how you want to say it. Publicity can be biased and may not portray the exact image you want, so don't forget to continue utilizing your most effective advertising methods.

How Can Publicity Benefit You?

If you're a small roadside produce stand or a big-city farmer's market, publicity is a way to reach thousands of people for almost no cost. If you have a special event going on, many papers are starving for local content to keep subscribers interested with the onslaught of internet news sources. They want to know what's going on and write stories about it. So take confidence and get the word out by using publicity in your marketing mix.

P.S. I just read a recent story about Nancy Burpee and the difficulty she is having participating in the US Paralympics. She is being represented by Simmons, Jannace & Stagg in an effort to allow Nancy to compete. Support Nancy by visiting the above link.