Hiring a professional public relations and advertising firm can be cost-prohibitive for small operators. That’s why Liza Looser, CEO of Mississippi-based public relations firm Cirlot Agency, developed Your Ad Department, a new software program that provides what amounts to a marketing expert in compact-disc form.

The two-disc bundle includes guidelines for marketing and public relations operations, regional demographic information and media contact information, among other features. Small-time quick-serve franchisees, Looser says, can better identify what the customer wants with her software and then deliver that product and image.

“Any owner-operator can use this program to do their own marketing,” Looser says. “In a local market you have to be community-based. Within the public relations module you can identify different things you can do. You can help coordinate public relations strategies to brand yourself as community leader.”

The $395 package breaks down into four components: a marketing and advertising guide, a public relations guide, a market research module, and a resource guide. Together the four guides cover all of the bases for small companies that cannot afford to pay the fees of a professional firm. Each guide resembles a b-school crash course in marketing. Operators seeking to establish an image, brand, and reputation in their community can get expert tips.

In the marketing and advertising guide, for example, users can find help on what media best suits the business’s advertising needs. When should they buy a newspaper ad instead of a television spot? Do they need a web site? From there, the software guide and sample advertisements help franchisees figure out how to produce effective, accurate advertisements in-house.

“It takes the mystery out of media placement,” Looser says. New ad buyers can be easily confused by the industry, she says. To illustrate her point, she offers the example of a television station that claims to be number one in its market—number one at 3 a.m.

Your Ad Department’s public-relations section works in connection with components of the marketing and advertising section, advising the user on how speeches, press releases, and networking can make a difference in a franchise’s success. The market research module explains how to gather information on customers, the competition, and employees.