Parness & Associates

Parness & Associates offers a full range of public relations and marketing communications services for corporations, professional or consulting firms, municipalities, trade associations and other entities:

Press Releases. Prepare and disseminate news stories to all relevant national, international, regional and local media, using PR Newswire and other proven distribution methods designed to target the most appropriate print, broadcast and web-based outlets.
Media Placement. Work with editors, reporters and program directors to arrange interviews, features and other coverage of clients. As subscribers to PR Newswire’s ProfNet system, we are also kept abreast throughout the day of interview opportunities for our clients with print, broadcast and web-based media seeking experts to provide commentary or background information. Through these efforts, we have placed our clients in everything from The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times and Los Angeles Times, to CNN, CNBC and local TV and radio outlets, national wire services, local business publications like Crain’s NY Business and Los Angeles Business Journal, trade and professional journals, and web-based publications.
Financial P.R./Investor Relations. Write and distribute press releases on quarterly financial reports and all other corporate developments, working with clients and their legal counsel to ensure compliance with fair disclosure requirements. Write, edit and design annual shareholder reports. Coordinate and script investor conference calls. Serve as company’s liaison to media, analysts and other members of the financial community, as well as individual investors.
Newsletters, Brochures. Write, design and produce newsletters, brochures and other sales-support materials. Offer total turnkey service, all the way through coordination of printing and mailing.
Ghostwriting. Research and write bylined ‘expert advice’ or opinion pieces for clients for daily newspapers, trade or professional journals, or other publications.
Crisis Communications. Work with client and legal counsel to develop and execute a thoughtful and timely plan designed to communicate appropriately with all necessary constituents—general public, employees, investors, etc.—and present company in the best possible light.
Press Conferences. Plan, schedule and administer events.
Speechwriting. Write/edit executive speeches.
Community Affairs. Develop and publicize programs aimed at bolstering client’s image.
Community Outreach. Develop specific strategies that turn local supporters into vocal proponents. The process includes the study of the local political landscape, formulating an understanding of the major stakeholders and how their opinions and biases could affect client’s project.
Grassroots Outreach. Build a diverse network of vocal advocates to create support for client’s project. Establish strong ties with the local community, foster a continuing channel of communication with municipal officials, and turn around — or at least minimize — any negative attention.
Polling. Solicit community input to position client as a concerned, conscientious community partner. Create pointed questions that help client sidestep a potential problem before it emerges. Services include surveys and focus groups.
Third-Party Mobilization. Assess the local support and opposition factions and establish a campaign strategy that can be deployed at the local, state, and national levels.

     Of all the marketing communications disciplines available to corporations, perhaps none is as misused as public relations. Where a simple press release and company background sheet would have done the job to introduce a new program, your agency instead recommended an elaborate press kit that involved heavy costs for printing and mailing—not to mention the hours the agency put in to produce the material.

     Where a simple “pitch letter” and fact sheet would have been enough to convince an editor that the system you installed for a client is worthy of a case-study feature article, your agency felt it was necessary to provide the editor with an unsolicited, 12-page manuscript.

     Examples of such overkill in the public relations field are not uncommon, resulting in higher-than-necessary charges for time and material. While public relations has proven its worth as a marketing tool, many small and medium sized companies with limited budgets have grown to question its cost-effectiveness.

     As business journalists who’ve been on the receiving end of such materials, the professionals at Parness & Associates can design and execute programs that will get the media attention you need while respecting your bottom line. Having “been there,” we know what editors want. If you’ve got a story that’s worth telling, we’ll do our best to get it in the media. If your story does not warrant media coverage, we won’t waste your time and money.

     This no-nonsense approach gets results, as measured by our stacks of press clippings and, equally important, our longstanding relationships with numerous clients. Indeed, as you’ll see from our “Clients Served” page, we’ve maintained continuous relationships with some clients that date back to the early 1980s.

     Simply stated, our objective is to produce quality materials that get the job done within a reasonable budget.

     Established in May 1979, Parness & Associates services a diverse group of clients extending from the metropolitan New York area to California. We offer particularly strong experience in promoting companies engaged in the real estate, shopping center, retailing and franchising fields, along with concerns providing services to those industries. By design, we have remained a small agency, allowing our experienced team to provide responsive, personalized service to a limited number of clients.

     Our principal, Bill Parness, brings over 28 years of experience in business journalism and public relations, including more than five years as an editor on Chain Store Age Executive and Frozen Food Age. He holds a BA in journalism from New York University and also attended the NYU Graduate School of Business.

     He is supported by a seasoned team of employees and freelance associates who bring specialized skills in media placement, general and business writing, and design. Our employees and associates all have a minimum of 17 years of journalism or PR experience with daily newspapers, regional business publications, national trade magazines, major PR agencies, and corporate PR departments. On the agency side, their backgrounds include senior management or account executive positions with such firms as Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, The Financial Relations Board/BSMG Worldwide, Howard Rubenstein & Associates, MWW Strategic Communications, and Richard Weiner, Inc. On the corporate side, they have worked in PR departments at such companies as Lever Brothers, CIT Financial, McGraw-Hill and Volkswagen of America.

Parness & Associates
Public Relations
P.O. Box 956
Matawan, NJ 07747
Phone: (732) 290-0121
Fax: (732) 290-0360
parnespr@optonline.net