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.Each thin, square cardboard box contains a PR training manual, sample press releases and pitch letters, media lists, a glossary of PR terms and other information. ''This is certainly entry level. It's just the basics,'' she said.
But the Shocks say it is just enough for start-up companies wanting to step into the public eye on a shoestring budget. After using the materials, a company can return to the Shocks for other services,
including mentoring and assistance with projects.
''If they like it and do well with it, they will probably call us for services in the future,'' she said. ''It could lead to some other potential business
for us.''
Richard Shock, with 25 years of sales and marketing experience working for Rockwell International, said today's economy is spawning small start-ups formed by people laid off from large
corporations.
''So there is a market out there. There is a need,'' he said. ''We're trying to take our core competence and help people.''
The Shocks get help themselves, in the form of client
referrals, from other PR professionals. This ''virtual team,'' a select group of six people, regularly takes on subcontracts for Shock PR clients.
''When you get down to a small company that nobody knows,
you have to have a lot of creativity and the ability to help that company promote itself,'' Christine Shock said.
Shock PR has a wide mix of clients. Devens-based Axonet Inc. sells automation software.
Fitplay of Waltham is an Internet start-up that links sports and fitness enthusiasts. The Sasuga Japanese Book Store operates in Cambridge.
Another client, The Complete Website, a Framingham based Web site designer, signed on as a Shock PR client and then turned around to design the Web site (www.startuppr.com) for Shock PR's division, which started last year.
The Shocks believe name recognition, among other things, is
a vital part of any public relations campaign. Three-letter titles that reveal nothing about what a company actually does are not effective.
The couple can use their own name as an
example: ''Shock'' is solid, memorable and, when combined with ''PR,'' revealing.
''I really didn't make it up for the business, but it's worked out quite well,'' Christine Shock said. ''It just gets
attention all on its own.''
The Shocks are adamant about staying small and continuing to serve small businesses, guiding them on PR campaigns that typically last three to six months. They assist the
little guys, the companies that cannot even get in the door of a large PR firm.
''That's what we're trying to do, to serve a different market from the agencies,'' Christine Shock said. ''We're teaching
them to fish, to do it themselves and not have someone fish for them.''
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