Public Relations: Positive News Generation

The Interview
Reprint Management
Press Releases
Target Publications

In our public relations practice, the foundation of our firm, we aggressively create opportunities for our clients to meet regularly with key journalists. We help you tell your story directly and unfiltered to the financial media. Our account executives work diligently on your behalf to help you build long-term relationships with publications dedicated to your industry as well as the major news outlets in television, magazine, daily news, and online.

We've spent our careers developing trusting and long-lasting business relationships with reporters and members of the financial media. Knowing these individuals helps us to understand their perspective as well as the messages that will have the most impact.

Proactive

We develop your story to revolve around the messages you want to deliver to your audiences. We begin by telling your story to reporters and producers at the publications in which you want to appear. Our account executives' goals are to persuade them that your story is newsworthy and should be covered.  Each reporter your representatives talk to will be pre-screened and interested in what your executives have to say.

Regularly, we conduct conference calls with you to develop story ideas, keep you apprised of all work in progress, make recommendations regarding the content and use of press releases, and discuss additional strategies and tactics that may be used to attract and retain advisors and investors. SunStar will also provide monthly progress reports of all work in progress.

Opportunistic

• SunStar will monitor the press to seek opportunities for you to be best represented within those media outlets. SunStar will work with the media outlets to positively position you within articles or news segments.
• Journalists come to us looking for specific types of experts.  Whenever possible, we will offer you to them for an interview.
• Journalists will call you for information.  Let us know when that happens so we can help prepare you or your experts for the interview.  We may know the journalist has biases or tends to write negative stories.  We can call them to get more information regarding the content of the interview.  We can coach you or your experts through the interview or advise you not to do the interview at all.

Pre-interview

Custom pitches and materials for reporters
SunStar writes and edits targeted pitches and emails for specific reporters based on their interests, writing styles, and biases.

Interview preparation and coaching
Because we have built long-lasting relationships with members of the financial media, we have an insider's knowledge that we will put to work for you. We know if a reporter is adversarial or friendly, knowledgeable or ill-informed. We know which reporters you need to talk to and the way to attract their attention, and we can help your spokespeople turn their interaction with the press into profitable experiences for your company.

SunStar executives are always on call to offer strategic communications counseling throughout your media relations campaign so that your spokespeople are confident and prepared when dealing with the press. Your account executive will actively participate in your interaction with the media during the ups as well as the downs. We will offer counsel that will guide your spokespeople through the obstacles and pitfalls of dealing with the press.

Post-interview

Interview follow-up
To maximize press coverage, we will contact each reporter following an interview to see if he/she needs additional information.

Interview critique
We will provide feedback to you and your portfolio manager on possible ways to conduct stronger interviews.

Reprint Management

Recommendations for reprints
SunStar will recommend strategies for promoting third-party endorsed news coverage in advance and for using reprints in your other sales and marketing efforts.  SunStar will offer gudiance to assist you in obtaining copies of any published or broadcast news coverage.  For an additional fee, SunStar can manage the entire reprint process including working with the publication for permissions and pricing, preparing disclosures and coordinating approvals with compliance, and facilitating placement of the reprint or link to your Web site.

Reprint management
Linking selected news stories to your Web site and/or having PDF or print copies to distribute via email, trade shows, and personal contact makes the most of your public relations program. SunStar will manage the entire process (your firm retains responsibility for all auditable files).

SunStar reprint management services include:

• Obtaining reprint rights and/or owners’ permission for distribution online or in print
• Obtaining and processing necessary fees and paperwork on your behalf at your authorization
• Preparing mock-ups and recommended footnotes and submitting through you or directly to your compliance resource, including obtaining transcripts and video on CD as necessary
• Working with compliance to ensure appropriate disclosures are included
• Working with your Web master and/or the publication to finalize distribution
• Proofing the site or publication materials

Press Releases

SunStar's resources include a network of financial writers to prepare press releases. We will distribute the release to our proprietary database of mutual fund, investing, and personal finance journalists and can also release it to a broad range of publications using a distribution service such as PR Newswire. Keep in mind that press releases do not generally result in serious, high-end coverage - meaningful press results from a good story, relationships with individual reporters, and aggressive follow-up.