Global IT PR Agency Stands Apart

Interview with Lou Hoffman, president of The Hoffman Agency

The Hoffman Agency, a Silicon Valley-based PR firm specialized in the IT industry, has established a presence in the local market. The Agency’s president, Lou Hoffman, is known for writing a column in Marketing Computers [now Technology Marketing]. In his September 2000 article, “Just Say ‘No’ to Hype,” he wrote that PR professionals must be able to differentiate real news from the hype and act as consultants to clients, so the information these companies publish is newsworthy. This means occasionally having to say, “no” to these clients. eWEEK met with Hoffman, who expressed, in detail, his opinion on the role of specialized PR agencies and the trend of the IT market.

Q) As a journalist turned businessman, you founded a PR agency and have made a considerable achievement. I understand there is stiff competition among PR agencies in the Silicon Valley. What are your keys to success?

A) I can proudly say that I have a good sense of the market direction. I predicted the growth of the IT market and established a PR agency at exactly the right time. I used to work as a journalist in Arizona, but I realized that I have limitations in my faculties as a journalist. I moved to the Silicon Valley to explore the PR scene. I am very satisfied with my job. When I founded the PR agency in 1987, I had to take a risk. I decided to launch the business, because I had nothing to lose at that time.

Q) I agree with your opinion that we need a PR agency that can say, “no” to clients. It is a very impressive remark, but it still could be hard for working-level PR officials to say, I think.

A) They should be able to say, “no.” I always stress the role of the PR agency in front of employees. PR agencies are growing with startups and required to deliver messages in the right way on these companies’ behalves. Though venture companies are generally aggressive and quick to make decisions, there is a gap between their ideal and reality. PR agencies are required to narrow the gap and target the right audience in the right direction. If you, as a PR practioner, find any unreasonable request or a wrong direction during the process, you are needed to give advice. Although it may not be agreed upon in Asia, our basic concept will not be changed.

Q) Do you mean that changes are needed for target audiences?

A) Yes. It should be moveable depending on the target. Now we need interactive marketing. The Internet is crucial to our connection with customers. Expansion of Internet-based interoperable service base is required. The IT market is broad and various. Think of technology data and audience streaming from the market. Our strength is that we can transform technical data into communication information and messages. We will take full advantage of the strength.

Q) It seems to be unavoidable to expand your business scope in order to enhance competitiveness, considering current fierce competition among Web agencies and local PR agencies. Your company has persisted in the PR business. Do you have any special reason?

A) A PR agency’s mission is to help IT and Internet businesses. We have been satisfied with our presence as an IT PR specialist. Now we are diversifying our business lines, though not pursuing Web agencies. There are great numbers of IT PR companies in the Silicon Valley. But we are the only Silicon Valley-based PR agency that has branch offices across the world. Our activities will vary on a country-by-country basis. We will pursue event and DB marketing as well.

Q) How is Hoffman’s global Asia business operating?

A) We have five offices in the Asia Pacific region - Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea. After a two-year-preparation, we launched the Korean office last September. All customers in every market segment are important to us. But we are especially focused on the telecommunications and Internet infrastructure segment. I think the balanced combination of headquarters and local cultures is very important. I believe Korean branch manager Sue Kim would do a good job, considering her vast experience at a local agency and her two-year work at our headquarters. The success of each branch should be measured in terms of how its PR culture is deeply rooted in the nation as well as the revenue from each branch. I will help the Korean branch root deeply into the local culture.

Q) I think IT PR agencies are needed to sense the direction of the IT market faster than anybody else. What do you think of the current IT market trends?

A) Plunge in dot-com and Nasdaq … Many figures indicate a very unfavorable condition. But the IT market is getting bigger with a variety of dissolution. It is evidenced by the fact that the venture firms’ investment scale is larger than ever. What is different is that more spending is poured on infrastructure and software, rather than on e-commerce. The market always experiences ups and downs. Capital flow of Silicon Valley may tell you something. Of the total capital this year, Internet service, telecommunications, software and e-commerce accounted for 28 percent, 24 percent, 18 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

Q) What portion of your headquarters’ contracts is leading to local contracts? How will you manage the business?

A) Many of our businesses are conducted through regional and global headquarters. We will continue to increase support for local companies. Among our clients, the headquarters’ signed contracts are with 3Com, SiliconWave (Bluetooth chip), Novalux, Tessera, MIPS Technologies (microprocessors), HP and Quantum. Considering people’s rapidly changing recognition of IT PR agencies, I don’t think we are pursuing the impossible. We asked 269 CEOs of IT companies based in Silicon Valley about the importance of PR, and 85 percent of them replied, “important.” In Korea, technology venture firms are prospering, riding on a new economy mood. This is a tremendous opportunity for us. We will focus on securing more local companies from now on. We will help local IT clients increase their brand recognition.

Back to top