manufacturing, business management, logistics - everything that makes the complete product offering provided by the PR specialists' employer or client.

This is an important activity for every company because it informs the potential customers, builds desire and ads value to the brand and the business. However, most PR practitioners struggle to understand technical products and can not clearly communicate the benefits or explain the innovative design features of engineering innovations.

Imagine the demand, then, for engineers who are also talented PR practitioners. At Market Engineering, one of Europe's leading PR agencies for technology businesses, we have five engineers and the fact that we have outstanding client loyalty suggests it is a solution they really appreciate. Our people work with many remarkable innovators, business leaders and many bench-mark companies. Whatever you do later in your career, time in technical PR will broaden your experience considerably and allow you to work with, and learn from, some of the industry's most fascinating and most senior people.

 There are three areas of ability that make a top technical PR specialist:

•  a broad understanding of technologies and the processes that bring them to market, from design and manufacture to distribution
• the ability to write concise news stories in the style required by magazines, newspapers and online media, explaining the benefits of each innovation and how they have been achieved
• marketing and commercial skills, allowing all activities to be focussed on strengthening the business

To be effective in PR, you will also have to have a good understanding of classical marketing principles. Press coverage is only  worthwhile if it changes the perceptions of your target audiences in a way that builds value for your business. That means understanding audience segmentation, developing appropriate key messages for each segment and associating these messages with the technology and business strengths. A well thought-out one page article in the right journal can transform a business. Or it can be no more than a nice cutting for the wall. The difference is good marketing.

Marketing defines company success
Marketing is at the heart of every successful business: do not confuse it with sales or with the small department that creates brochures. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), which accredits  chartered marketers, defines marketing as 'the identification and profitable satisfaction of customer needs'. This requires a detailed understanding of the market in which your company operates so that you can build an accurate picture of the products they would like to purchase. This is followed by the definition and development of products to satisfy that need at an attractive margin and, finally, by stimulating demand and making the products available through an efficient distribution channel.

It was once said that great marketing could sell even a poor product where as even the best product would not sell with poor marketing. With really great marketing, the company will never have a poor product because it directs its development activities to meet thoroughly understood customer needs. Great marketing can transform a company. No where is this transformation more desperately needed than in the engineering technology sector.

 As a discipline, marketing is not so far removed from engineering. An engineer's structured approach and ability to analyse and resolve problems provides skills that will be invaluable to marketing. There is also a direct benefit from the knowledge of product development and 'speaking the same language' as the engineering team, leading to more innovative solutions that more accurately address customer needs. But to be a true marketing professional, enthusiasm and a fine