Products, issues, brands, events all take on a different sense of importance when they make news. And we love to make news.

Maybe it's launching a new LEGO product with national print stories and demos on talk shows across the country. Or pairing truck drivers with the Governor to introduce EMCOR's missing children program. Or getting print and online product reviewers to beat up on DRS ARMOR's new rugged computer and write about it. Often, it's finding new ways to tell an old story.

The basics: target the right media and make your story easy, timely and worthwhile to cover. But the key is creativity.

Whether your goal is local, regional or national coverage, the path to publicity is crowded with press releases and publicity pitches. From the receiving end, it can all start to look the same. That's where the right idea, served up with creativity and tenacity, comes into play. And wins the day.