Newsworthy!

We’ve come a long way since the first days of Bravado, and I’m happy to say that we’ve got most of our foundation set, and the rest is planned and being put in place, early 2009. Of the things I’ve mentioned before, branding, marketing, networking (all which I’m sure we’ll touch on again) nothing gave us quite the boost that media exposure did.

In college I got the chance to meet a couple of executives from Canada Newswire, and one of them mentioned, when you’re ready to launch your company, (a different project at the time) give me a call and we’ll set up a proper press conference. At the time, I was polite and thanked him, but I really couldn’t grasp the idea of a small local business needing a press conference. Now, with Bravado we need all the exposure we can get.

Taking the time to research more about press releases, it is amazing how quickly you can really get the word out! I sound like a broken record, but its true, the internet has advanced how quickly we can do business. Being able to write your press release (take a look at what's appropriate for your industry) and have it posted can be done instantly with various mediums depending on your geographical or demographic relevance. Be ready to spend a couple bucks to get featured placement, but there are many websites that will let you post for free.

The best sources to use are going to be the ones which feed into the news outlets you’re looking to hit. Do a bit of research, I’ve done a couple of blanket US/Canada postings on www.free-press-release.com and we have seen results, even with their free posting.

We managed to get in touch with some of the “Around Town” writers here in Vancouver, and thanks to Fred Lee, we were seen in TV Week Magazine, Vancouver Courier, National Post, and Fred mentioned us on CBC Radio. He’s a contact that we’re really looking forward to working with since he covering the types of events we’re planning!

Stick your neck out when you need to. Networking never hurts! As much as new technology comes along, networking and traditional mass media are not going away overnight – use it to your advantage! Majority of people still get and read the newspaper, and watch the 6 o'clock news. The blackberry and pod-casts haven't fully taken over.