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Hair apparent. Donations and mustaches growing for prostate cancer fundraiser.

Steve Dubin
Steve's Mo two weeks in

Two weeks ago, I began growing a mustache as part of Movember, an international fundraising effort to raise money for prostate cancer research.

My colleague at PR Works, Joe D’Eramo, joined me in this effort. The competition to grow a decent mustache is still very much in the air. You can see for yourself.

What’s becoming a closer battle is the fundraising. At this writing, I’m at $270 and Joe is $110 after a very slow start. At stake, besides raising money for a very good cause, is our unofficial bet that the loser must keep his mustache an additional month. That’s one neither one of us wants to lose.  

If this sounds like a just a fun thing between two co-workers, that’s definitely true. But Joe and I are particularly passionate about prostate cancer and other male-related cancer health issues because it’s impacted many people we know.  Most likely, it’s impacted somebody you know. Just check out these numbers:
  • One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
  • A man is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 2.2 minutes.
  • One in two men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
  • 24 percent of men are less likely to go the doctor compared to women.
Joe D'Eramo and his mo
Joe D'Era-mo

Would you like to join our mustache growing fundraiser? There’s still plenty of time. The Mo the merrier. You can register by going to Movember’s website. And if you’d like to follow our progress, feel free to visit PR Works’ blog or Facebook page. To make a donation under my name, please visit my Movember site; here is Joe’s.  

If you’d like to find out more about the type of work you’d be helping to fund by supporting Movember, take a look at the Programs We Fund section on the Movember website: http://us.movember.com/about. Movember is a registered 501 (c)(3) charity; donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.     

Thank you in advance for supporting our efforts to change the face of men’s health.

Hair apparent. Donations and mustaches growing for prostate cancer fundraiser.Read More

Trick or ‘tweet’…Local South Shore Ad Club survey reveals small business owners on board with social media.

KINGSTON, MA…

We live in a day and age when what celebrities and athletes post or tweet grabs more attention than what they do in their respective industries. But if you’re a regular joe like a small business owner, how do social media sites affect what it is you do? More importantly, how do they impact your bottom line? A survey issued to attendees at the recent South Shore Ad Club business expo revealed that local small businesses are just beginning to embrace social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

“The small business owner has a different challenge when it comes to social media than celebrities like Chad Ochocinco or Kim Kardashian,” said Steve Dubin, owner of PR Works and former president of the South Shore Ad Club. “For small business owners, they realize social media is a force that needs to be part of their marketing arsenal. The question is how much.”

People who took the survey were asked five questions. There were 64 total respondents and the results of their responses are as follows:

  • 84% were small business owners.
  • 47% regularly post/update their business’ Facebook or Twitter.
  • 6% contract a third-party to post or Tweet on their behalf.
  • 17% noticed an increase in sales since using social media.
  • 39% look for deals, respond to offers, ‘fan’ or follow their favorite companies using their personal Facebook or Twitter account.

“Granted, it is a fairly small sampling but it’s safe to say small business owners who use social media on a personal basis are more likely to use it for their business,” said Dubin.

Adds Dubin, “That only 17 percent have noticed an increase in sales and a mere 6 percent hired a third-party to handle their social media is also telling. Does that mean small business owners are not yet convinced of the power of social media? Or is it because they are handling it in-house and not letting experts conduct their social media that they are not having more success with it?”

Based in Kingston, Massachusetts, PR Works does offer a social media package as part of its Small Business Survival plan. Small business owners can find out more by visiting www.prworkzone.com or calling 781-582-1061. 

PR Works offering The Works
For 20 years, PR Works has been providing a wide expanse of public relations services including strategic PR planning, news releases, feature story development, media placement, media coaching, newsletters, case studies, grand opening management, product and service launch management, press tours, and press conference management. In addition to public relations, PR Works provides complete marketing services such as brochure development, advertising campaigns, direct mail, and telemarketing.

For more information, you can visit our new website at http://www.prworkzone.com or become a fan of PR Works at http://www.Facebook.com/PRWorkzone. For FREE brochures entitled “How to Talk to the Press”, “Making Newsletters Noteworthy”, and “Seminars Lead to Motivated Prospects”, please contact Steve Dubin at (781) 582-1061, sdubin@prworkzone.com, 51 Lot Phillips Road, Kingston, MA.

Trick or ‘tweet’…Local South Shore Ad Club survey reveals small business owners on board with social media.Read More

PR Works joins a hair-raising fundraiser for prostate cancer research

Steve Dubin
A cleanly shaven Steve Dubin is ready for Movember

We’ve all heard the expression “put your money where your mouth is”. This November, now to be referred to as Movember, I’m hoping people will put money where my mouth is—or donate money to a very good cause for what’s above my mouth. That’s because as part of the Movember fundraiser for prostate cancer research, I’ll be growing a mustache for the entire month.

My colleague at PR Works, Joe D’Eramo, will be joining me in this effort. Those are our cleanly shaven mugs to the right. We have a friendly wager. Whoever raises the most donations for Movember has to keep his mustache for another month. It’s a wager neither of our spouses has signed off on, but we are both committed to raising funds for this very worthy cause.

Why are we so passionate about this particular men’s health issue? For starters:

  • One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
  • A man is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 2.2 minutes.
  • One in two men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
  • 24 percent of men are less likely to go the doctor compared to women.
Joe D'Eramo
PR Works Account Manager Joe D'Eramo

Would you like to join our mustache growing fundraiser? The Mo the merrier. You can register by going to Movember’s website. And if you’d like to follow our progress, feel free to visit PR Works’ blog or Facebook page. To make a donation under my name, please click here. To donate to Joe, click here.

If you’d like to find out more about the type of work you’d be helping to fund by supporting Movember, take a look at the Programs We Fund section on the Movember website: http://us.movember.com/about. Movember is a Movember is a registered 501 (c)(3) charity; donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Thank you in advance for supporting our efforts to change the face of men’s health.

PR Works joins a hair-raising fundraiser for prostate cancer researchRead More

Competing with the big boys? Have a big boy budget?

Steve Dubin
Steve Dubin, owner of PR Works

The first question we are often asked? What SHOULD I be spending on advertising and marketing? 

Good question.

The truth is marketing budgets vary by industry and business size.

Your budget is also based on how much you want to grow, and how fast. And don’t get caught thinking you are saving money by having a stingy marketing budget. You could also WALK to work to save on gas, but that may not be the most efficient approach.

Both the Counselors to America’s Small Business (SCORE) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) define a proper marketing budget to be between 2% and 10% of gross sales, noting that B2C (business to consumer) retail and pharmaceuticals can exceed 20% during peak brand-building years.

As for size and spending, companies less than $5 million typically allocate 7-8%, less than $10 million firms budget 6-7%, less than 100 million ventures spend 5-6%, $100-300 million behemoths come in at 3-5% and more than $300 million monsters set aside 3-4% for marketing.

This budget covers the full range of marketing tools – from sales materials to online presence to social media to mass advertising to public relations.

Sure you try to grow by “word of mouth”. Direct referrals from customers and friends are “gold”, but you risk losing revenue from business you did not get because a large percentage of very targeted prospects have never heard of you. 

Marketing is a critical ingredient – as are human resources, finance and operations. It is an on-going effort to remain relevant, top of mind and entice new customers.

Having too small of an advertising budget is like planting a seed, but not giving it water or light.  

Budget 45 minutes for a marketing audit and we’ll provide you with both a marketing budget and a comprehensive marketing outline to grow your business.

Competing with the big boys? Have a big boy budget?Read More

Big help for Small Business. Small Business Survival Package offered by PR Works based in Kingston, MA.

Steve Dubin of PR Works
Steve Dubin of PR Works

KINGSTON, MA… 

The new “normal” is higher cost for fuel, health insurance and supplies and less revenue due to a snail’s pace economy. Business owners are already wearing too many hats. What can they do keep their head above water?

Business owners often have good marketing ideas, they just don’t know how to prioritize them or have the capable hands to get things done. In recognition of the critical economic situation and the ever expanding complexity of marketing choices, PR Works, a full service public relations and advertising company based in Kingston, MA, is introducing a Small Business Survival Package to help solve the marketing riddle.

Small Business Survival Package addresses the critical public relations and marketing efforts that should occur on a monthly basis. The service includes:-

  • Free PR/Marketing audit to review current activities and new opportunities.
  • Organize database of customers – especially email and snail mail.
  • Develop campaign to harvest customer/visitor email and snail mail.
  • Constant Contact (E-newsletter) – Review options. Set up account.
  • Facebook – Review options. Set up account.
  •  Twitter – Review options. Set up account.
  • Texting campaign – Review options. Set up account.
  • Update and refresh website copy. Add short video intros, newsroom, E-newsletter opt-in box.
  • Blog – Arrange for addition to website.
  • Monthly news release – Also repurpose for blog, e-newsletter, Twitter, Facebook.
  • Includes 5 hours of consultation per month.

“Small businesses are hurting and need to find new customers and expand sales to existing customers,” said Steve Dubin founder and president of PR Works. He added, “Persuasive, compelling advertising and marketing is even more critical in tough times. The challenge has gotten more difficult. There are even more complex choices and fewer dollars to go around. Although there is no silver bullet, a consistent message delivered to a consistent, targeted audience on a consistent basis will yield strong, positive results.

Prudent choices must be made and implemented.”

PR Works offering The Works

For 20 years, PR Works has been providing a wide expanse of public relations and advertising services including strategic PR planning, news releases, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, newsletters, E-newsletters, website makeovers, case studies, grand opening management, product and service launch management, brochure/collateral materials, advertising campaigns, direct mail, and telemarketing.

For more information, visit the PR Works website at www.prworkzone.com or become a fan of PR Works at http://www.Facebook.com/PRWorkzone. For FREE brochures entitled “Making E-Newsletters Effective”, “Social Media Myths Removed”, and “Video to Web is a Blockbuster”, please contact Steve Dubin at

(781) 582-1061, sdubin@prworkzone.com, 51 Lot Phillips Road, Kingston, MA.

Big help for Small Business. Small Business Survival Package offered by PR Works based in Kingston, MA.Read More

Don’t Let Your Marketing Message Sink!

Death becomes us.  It certainly becomes New England Burials at Sea.Last week the unique South Shore company was on WATD 95.9 FM in an exclusive interview and on the FRONT PAGE of the Boston Globe.

It was also featured on WCVB’s Chronicle that very same evening . A feature in the Boston Business Journal followed and was the icing on the cake.

Not bad for a subject that some are reluctant to discuss.

PR Works helped broaden the discussion and build the media frenzy momentum. The abovementioned media extravaganza has generated approximately one booking every 10 minutes since the coverage appeared.

Captain Brad White, founder and president of the company, noted, “We knew we had a unique and appealing service. Many New Englanders love the ocean and appreciate its embrace, but we needed help in getting our marketing message out on a grander scale. A call to PR Works is all it took and three hours later presto, PR Works delivered beyond our wildest anticipation!”

Consider some of the many reasons that burial at sea is an attractive alternative.  Full body traditional funerals, where the average cost is significantly more than cremation $8,500 – $10,000, are decreasing at 35% per year due o the Green Movement  Cremations are increasing at 35% per year, with average amount spent being $3,250.
Burials at sea are roughly 1/3 the cost of a traditional funeral or
cremation and church service.

New England Burial At Sea is the largest formalized organization in the USA doing sea burials for human cremated remains scatterings and full body burials at sea. Now a days people prefer to not leave a carbon footprint and a sea burial is more natural than most alternatives.

New England Burial At Sea is the ONLY company in the USA to be properly insured and licensed with USCG captains using clean, up to date vessels from Maine to Miami and now in San Francisco.  Vessels vary from vintage to down  east, to sport style and luxury accommodating up to 400 people.  

There is a little bit of ocean in all of us. Don’t let your marketing message sink. Let us know how we can help you spread the word.

Don’t Let Your Marketing Message Sink!Read More

New day. New year. New resolutions.

I could show you my two page list of failed self-improvement resolutions from last year.  Or I could start fresh and challenge you to join me.

No, Martha, there is NO silver bullet for marketing solutions.  Slow, steady and consistent wins the race.

So, as you look out onto the horizon of 2011, join me in committing to consistent messaging on a consistent basis.

  • Blog – Weekly from your own site.
  • Vlog (Video blog) – Do it without snickering.
  • E-Newsletter – At least monthly.  Vigilantly adding email addresses of everyone you meet along the way.
  • Website – Redesign yearly. Add a video greeting. Add a newsroom. Add a blog.
  • Direct mail – Commit to a 3-part series to a highly target audience.
  • Network – Choose at least 4 groups and organizations to participate in them with reckless abandon.
  • News releases – Find a shred of news and issue two per month.
  • Discussion Groups – Participate and monitor groups related to create a leadership position and a greater understanding of the niche.
  • Trade Shows – Identify two and fully support exhibiting with a pre-event mailer, a proactive show strategy and aggressive follow up.
  • Speaking Engagements – Review opportunities and develop a wow presentation.
  • Out of the Box PR Campaign – Partner with others to reach beyond your grasp.

Quote for this issue – Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.
Abraham Lincoln

New day. New year. New resolutions.Read More

Lights. Camera. Great private screening event.

Popcorn and playing hooky on a Friday afternoon can only lead to great things.

Charter schools, private/independent schools and their strategic partners came together for a private screening of “Waiting for Superman” a timely, documentary film that analyzes the challenges facing public education.

But perhaps we should take a step back and start with the “previews”.

HR Knowledge – providing benefits, compliance consulting and payroll services – has a special niche in helping charter schools and private/independent schools.  They were looking for a way to put themselves in the center of that tightly woven community.

Thus, PR Works recommended connecting all parties to the “Waiting for Superman” event.

The guest list expanded to over 75. In addition to a complimentary film, attendees also received a buffet lunch, open access to the concession stand and movie themed goody bags to go (which included treats and two tickets to a future film).  As the film gets pressed to DVD, every charter school in Massachusetts will receive a copy courtesy of HR Knowledge.

The event was supported by an e-vite, post card mailer, news release and follow up phone calls to personal contacts.  Great conversations and reconnections abounded.

HR Knowledge steps into the spotlight!

Great events are NOT an accident. The contributions of everyone involved made it a memorable success.  Other sponsors who should take a bow are Guardian, Hannify & King, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Lincoln Investment.

At PR Works we delight in clients who are willing to take a risk and fully support a campaign. HR Knowledge is fully invested.  And the Oscar goes to…

Great effort. Great results.

Lights. Camera. Great private screening event.Read More

20-20 vision…PR Works celebrates 20 years in business

Steve Dubin
Steve Dub9in, owner of PR Works

KINGSTON, MA…

A lot has changed in the 20 years since Steve Dubin launched PR Works, a public relations agency based in Kingston, Massachusetts. Snail mail was just mail, the fax machine was the new kid on the block, and New Kids on the Block was the hottest group around. Twenty years later, PR Works is still going strong while the Internet has changed how everybody does business and the New Kids on the Block do reunion tours.

“You can make a case that the Internet affected PR perhaps more than any other industry, from how we research and distribute releases to the news organizations where we send those releases,” said Dubin. “What hasn’t changed about the business is it’s still about the stories. If your client has one to tell and you’re doing your job, coverage typically follows.”

Beyond the advances in technology and media by which to get your client’s message out—e-mail, social media, online newsrooms, etc.–there’s another area where Dubin has seen growth: cause-related marketing. Some of the causes PR Works clients have embraced include The Boys & Girls Club, The Arbor Day Foundation, The Home for Little Wanderers, Cape Cod Cares for Our Troops, local food pantries and Toys for Tots to name a few.

“Consumers want to patronize and do business with companies they feel good about. By actively encouraging your clients to give back to the community and not be shy about it with your PR and marketing, you can create considerable goodwill for your firm. It really is a situation where everybody wins and nowadays, those are the situations you want to be in,” said Dubin.

PR Works offering The Works
For 20 years, PR Works has been providing a wide expanse of public relations services including strategic PR planning, news releases, feature story development, media placement, media coaching, newsletters, case studies, grand opening management, product and service launch management, press tours, and press conference management. In addition to public relations, PR Works provides complete marketing services such as brochure development, advertising campaigns, direct mail, and telemarketing.

For more information, you can visit our new website at http://www.prworkzone.com or become a fan of PR Works at http://www.Facebook.com/PRWorkzone. For FREE brochures entitled “How to Talk to the Press”, “Making Newsletters Noteworthy”, and “Seminars Lead to Motivated Prospects”, please contact Steve Dubin at (781) 582-1061, sdubin@prworkzone.com, 51 Lot Phillips Road, Kingston, MA.

20-20 vision…PR Works celebrates 20 years in businessRead More