How do you know whether trade media relations is a fit for your building product brand?

Do you think your company could do a much better job of “getting the word out?” 

That phrase always begs the question: “getting the word out” about what? 

About new products or services that raise the bar for innovation? About existing products and services that strive to exceed industry standards? About ambitious corporate initiatives and how they singularly benefit customers? About setting your brand apart from others?

Then again, maybe “getting the word out” is no big deal or — even worse — downright harmful. Why let competitors know what you’re up to? Better to keep ‘em guessing. After all, you know who your customers are and where they work. Those same customers know fully who you are, what you sell, and why they use it over someone else’s product. Additionally, your friends and allies happily act upon every business day, knowing they believe in your brand.

Below, we discuss whether trade media relations fit your building product brand. Use this information to make a strategic business decision that can greatly impact your building product brand.

Let’s talk about communication

Choosing to communicate with the external world, friend and foe alike, through a formal program of marketing public relations is a momentous undertaking for any company. Courting the media outlets and influencers serving the same trade customers and buying influences you pursue takes time and money. 

Perhaps it also takes more than a little courage to project genuine industry leadership, promoting product innovation and your company’s take on the key trends and issues of the day.

Your trade media relations checklist

How do you know whether trade media relations is a fit for your building product brand? If you meet any of the following conditions with even a guarded “yes,” it may be time to consider embracing a properly funded program of trade public relations.

Using media to reach the trades makes sense if

• The trades are a primary driver of product sales and innovation in your business.
• You seek more trade customers than you currently have.
• The trade is still learning about your brand and its mission.
• The trade is still learning about your product, its key features, and its proper application.
• The trade doesn’t readily recognize what makes your product offering different from rival products on the market.
• Your product offering is changing/expanding in response to changes in the marketplace.
• You are trying to bring attention and awareness to a new product you are getting to market.
• Aspects of your product offering are unlike anything else on today’s market.
• Your product meets a need that the trade doesn’t know exists or meets in an unfamiliar way.
• You are trying to project leadership in the industry you serve.
• The trade does not see your company as a market leader.
• You are seeking the credibility of a third-party endorsement through media coverage.
• The trade looks to your brand for guidance on key industry trends and issues.
• Your employees want to feel proud of the company they serve and represent.
• Your company is growing — or at least wants to grow — and needs a steady influx of talent and experience to make it happen.

Seek to maintain a leadership position in a forever-evolving design and construction industry. The practice of marketing PR and the cultivation of industry media can and should be key pillars for that commitment.    

With over 20 years of experience, our team has successfully provided our customers with media relations support. If you want to elevate your brand with media relations, Contact us to book a discovery call to learn more about how we can help you drive brand awareness and more.