Marketing That Works: How Entrepreneurial Marketing Can Add Sustainable Value to Any Sized Company, Second Edition

4. Leverage Public Relations for Maximum Value

PayMyBills.com—Battling Competition with Public Relations

PayMyBills.com began as a project at the Wharton School and was entered into the annual Wharton Business Plan Competition. As the judging proceeded, and the plan made it into the final eight, a leading Internet firm decided to fund it as a full-fledged business. The cofounders were brought out to Idealab’s Pasadena headquarters and told that they had 60 days in which to launch the company and the business. The business plan competition provided the opportunity to get some buzz about the company. Because it was covered by major media, articles appeared in the New York Times, Philadelphia Magazine, and other publications. This helped the company ...