Publicity is such a powerful compliment to traditional advertising that most mid- to large-sized corporations either employ a public relations agency or have their own in-house communications departments to get their messages in the news. These communications come in a variety of forms such as topical announcements, standard press releases, or as more complex and direct pitches to reporters and producers for full feature stories, article ideas or maybe to solicit a radio or television interview.

Although the benefits of a ongoing media campaign are proven and numerous, many smaller companies lack the resources to sustain a full-time media blitz, even in a small, local market. This failure to fully exploit the publicity phenomenon allows more visible competitors to increase market share while casting doubt on the credibility of smaller, less visible operations.

In some not-so-rare cases, nationwide service providers have moved into new territories and armed with a strategic media and marketing campaign have all but eliminated local competitors in a matter of months. The support of the local media can have that much influence in the minds of an increasingly skeptical consumer.

So what's a company with a limited amount of time and resources to do? Recycle the publicity you do get!

Since the main focus of public relations agents is restricted to getting their client in the news, leveraging the publicity they do generate is usually beyond the scope of their job. This is where the savvy self promoter has the upper hand and can out flank competitors with even the largest public relations budget.