E GREAT YEAR END CLEARANCE WORDSMITHS page 53 1996 Sedan DeVille $38,345 $7,448 Total List Price Total Savings $30,897 DEMO PRICE 1996 Eldorado $43,360 $9,589 Total List Price Total Savings $33,771 DEMO PRICE NEW 1996 Fleetwood Brougham $40,662 $6,664 Total List Price Total Savings $33,998 DEMO PRICE NON1996 Seville STS $49,553 $11,225 Total List Price $38,328 DEMO PRICE NEW 1996 Concours Total List Price Total Savings 543,545 $7,697 $35,848 DEMO PRICE Ntw1996 Seville SLS TH E DE TROI T J E WIS H NE WS Total List Price Total Savings 50 546,670 $9,713 DEMO PRICE RINKE CADILLAC 1-696 AT VAN DYKE A Gyt i enri ti 4 1 tm 11 758-1800 If traveling west on 1-696, exit Hoover, follow Service Drive to RI NKE. If traveling east on 1-696, exit Van Dyke; take to second bridge past Van Dyke over expressway to RINKE. $36,957 . • . . • 717-7 fr MASTER DEALER DEDICATED TO EXCELLENCE Fred Marx's business has grown substantially. uation of the world and the qual- ity of debate about important so- cial issues." Most of the smaller public re- lations firms steer clear of con- troversy or complex subjects. Wendy. Rose, a sole practitioner, is an exception. Her firm, Rose Communications of Bloomfield Hills, represents two abortion ser- vices clinics. She holds up a rig- orous criterion before working for a client, she said. "I wouldn't work for a client that I didn't believe in, or didn't feel good about." That type of principled position is com- mon in the profession, said Jeff Caponigro, president of Caponi- gro Public Relations in Southfield. His firm, established in July of 1995, specializes in public affairs, investor relations and law firm marketing. "To be credible, you have to be honest," he said. "We focus on the positives and are forthright about the negatives." Like any growing profession, there are many niches among p.r. firms. Some firms specialize in event planning and publicity, while other firms work within an industry with trade associations, conducting business-to-business communications. In general, the more sophisti- cated public relations firms pro- vide advice on how to effectively communicate to a specific "pub- lic," assess the feelings of an au- dience through focus group and market studies, tailor corporate messages, and instruct compa- ny officials how to respond to a question from the media. And of course, when their client is doing anything newsworthy, a successful firm will work to get the story favorable publicity. "Public relations is a way to en- hance relationships with your publics," said Mr. Caponigro, for- mer president of Casey Commu- nications, owned by Shandwick, a worldwide public relations firm. These publics, according to Mr. Caponigro, include consumers, employees, vendors, the commu- nity at large and the news media. "All public relations is local," he said. "It's a relatively inexpensive way to reach out to many of your publics." Fees at MarxLayne Co., one of the fastest growing local public re- lations companies, range from $50 to $200 an hour, said Fred Marx, president of the Farmington Hills -firm. Ten years ago, they start- ed with four clients and today they have more than 100. "Our primary thrust is concep- tualizing and developing planning strategies, which doesn't have to do with media relations," said Mr. Marx, who said the bulk of their work comes from developing brochures, booklets, seminars and other collateral materials for clients. Yet when it comes to promoting a client to the media, MarxLayne cranks up a publicity machine that spits out press releases and background information that pre- sents their clients as experts and compelling personalities. "Repe- tition becomes reputation," he said. One of their clients, Arthur Liss, an attorney from Bloomfield Hills, is touted for his positions on legal reform. Indeed, promoting attorneys, law firms and their causes is one of the fastest grow- ing areas in public relations. "Look at what [Dr. Jack] Ker- vorkian did for [Geoferey] Feiger," said Mark Nolan, manager at PR Newswire in Southfield. "Law firms recognize the value of press coverage as a marketing tool." Primarily a public relations wire service that circulates the latest earning statements of pub- lic corporations, PR Newswire is accessible to all major media out- lets in the region. Mr. Nolan not- ed that law firm press releases is one of the fasting-growing areas on the wire. Since the emergence of the In- ternet, the PR Newswire press release archives has been linked to company home pages. In ad- dition, press releases are circu- lated through Nexus/Lexus database, America Online and Compuserve. ❑