Book excerpt: The 1990s will mark an era of intense competition, both domestically and globally; businesses must win a share of the consumer's mind and heart and build strong consumer awareness and preference. However, in today's ``overcommunicated'' society, mass and even target advertising lose some of their cost-effectiveness. That's where ``marketing public relations'' (MPR) comes in, making the most of the strength of news, events, community programs, and other powerful communication modalities. Covers this emerging trend in public relations, showing not only why MPR helped companies gain a competitive edge, but also how it is used by its most sophisticated practitioners to get maximum mileage from product introductions, special events marketing, brand name associations and company reputation, how to extend a product's life cycle, defend products at risk, and more. Features examples and actual cases illustrating the success of MPR.