Three Keys for Media Success from Pitching to Placement – Insider’s Advice
Our friends at The Brainzooming Group helped shape an intriguing project featuring two graduate level marketing communications classes at the University of Kansas. Students in Max Utsler’s “Innovations in Marketing Communications” class and Barrett Sydnor’s “Integrated Marketing Communications and Sales Strategy” class are writing blog posts during the semester on topics related to the classes, including branding, marketing, media relations, social media, experience marketing, and innovation.
Today’s author is Dave Dunn. Dave is a Broadcast Journalist & Communications Professional in Kansas City studying for his MS, Journalism, Marketing Communications at the University of Kansas.
Today he offers some fantastic tips for better media pitches. You can take this advice to the bank, as Dave is a TV news reporter who has seen the gamut of media pitches–good and bad.
Working as a reporter in TV News for more than seven years—from small markets to large—I’ve come across countless press news releases and story pitches. My colleagues and I strive to give everyone a “fair shake” and seek out the stories that deserve coverage. Sadly, some of the best and most worthy stories may not get coverage because of things that can set apart news releases (and I say “news” release and not “press” release because some TV and radio folks may turn their nose up at the latter newspaper-related term). Here are three important tips for better success working with news media.
1. Formatting.
It starts before typing the first word. While the release needs to be clear, concise and easy on the eyes, don’t get fancy with formatting. Many news software systems are highly advanced in many aspects, but not when it comes to transferring text. Avoid tabs, boxes, graphic design or anything other than text that may not transfer properly. When news “gatekeepers” receive releases, they simply copy and paste them into the appropriate day or place where stories are filed. When reporters, producers or directors eventually view the release, those with “fancy formatting” are jumbled with encrypted code. It can cause news decision-makers to sift through half a page or more of hieroglyphics before getting to, or between, the important information. It can turn a one-page release into three. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen with this problem. You may know exactly what I’m talking about if you’ve applied for a job lately through a company’s website. It’s similar to what can happen when you upload or paste your resume in the requested area.
As far as pictures with news releases, I’m not at all discouraging you to include them. Visuals are often very beneficial, but keep pictures separate or make sure they are easily transferable/viewable. Include as attachments or provide a link for a media person to copy and paste into a web browser. You want to make sure pictures are viewed the way you intended.
2. Don’t Bury or Muddy the Lead.
Help reporters and news people do their job. It’s not about laziness, it’s just another strategy to help media people visualize the story. Obviously, you’re pitching a story that involves or promotes a company, organization or person. But don’t confuse that with the lead. The story is about what’s happening. News people don’t want to hear a company’s name 10 times before getting to what it’s actually doing and why it matters. Organize releases with the key facts in the lead. Get to specifics later. Also, look to provide something “juicy”, a “wow” factor or a story angle. And think “big tent” or large impact—the more the better in most cases. Attach a story motivator upfront in the pitch/release or make it clear. Here are some motivators to engage media (and media audiences).
Money – ways to save money or avoid waste
Family – ways of life
Safety – threats, ways to be safer or avoid danger
Health – threats, ways to live better or avoid harm
Community – how the country, region or city is changing, or a way of life
Innate Curiosity – something so cool or unusual that you want to see it
Moral Outrage – something that’s just plain wrong
3. Think Sundays.
Sundays are undervalued and present a lot of potential impact because it’s one of the highest viewership/ratings nights of the week (Fridays & Saturdays are lowest viewership). Yes, news staffs are smaller on weekends, but far fewer stories to choose from means much better coverage odds. Also, if you pitch a Sunday story, don’t leave an office phone number that’s only answered Monday through Friday. Provide a cell number.
The Film Strip That Started It All
I owe a huge part of my love for Halloween to a simple filmstrip (look it up, kids). This elegantly-modest film strip featured Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macabre” married with the ghostly watercolors of Harold Dexter Hoopes. The images are truly haunting and gloriously fun.
I must have watched it every year from first grade through sixth and loved it–just loved it. So, here it is again…from YouTube. All that’s missing is the BEEP! sound between frames. So, if you were born before the 90s I’d say you probably saw this at least once in elementary school, too–if you were lucky.
Enjoy all, and until the garish sun breaks through the morning dew…Happy Halloween.
Mouse in the Salad=PR Disaster. Or does it?
Healthy eating?
A diner’s horror story is a company’s PR crucible:
“…a woman on New York’s Upper West Side walks into Le Pain Quotidien, a high-end café chain. She sits down, orders a salad. The salad arrives. The contents: leafy greens and an entire dead mouse. Two nearby customers, one of whom happened to be Stephen Dubner, saw the scene unfold.
It got us thinking: in restaurants and in life, bad things happen. But what happens next is perhaps more important. So what does a restaurant do to recover from an incident like that?”
via What to Do After a Dining Disaster? | Freakonomics Radio.
Click on the link above and have a listen to this episode of Freakonomics Radio if you want a mixed-bag perspective on what to do–and what not to do–after a PR nightmare.
After that, come back and see if you agree with our take:
- The “run and hide” attitude of the Le Pain Quotidien PR team is reprehensible. A company this large should have better PR talent. We don’t mean spinmeisters who will make it all go away, but competent professionals who by their actions will not raise more questions than answers during a time of crisis.
- Was the company so paralyzed by fear of bad press–or their own lawyers–that they took weeks to respond to a national radio show?
- When the CEO finally deigns to appear on the show, he luckily gets a pass from the interviewer. This is rare.
- The CEO nearly breaks his arm patting himself on the back for being “brutally honest.” Yes, he was honest…and only weeks after being asked to be honest and sit for an interview.
- The CEO claims he doesn’t know if the victimized diner received any sort of remuneration for her pain and suffering. Really? Really?
- This seems to have blown over in the company’s favor, though from where we sit it seems they got lucky. Very lucky.
What’s your take on the mouse in the salad and the company’s initial PR failure?
Extra Credit? Student designs New J.C. Penney Logo
Talk about extra credit…
Imagine creating something that will be seen by millions of people. Something that will personify a more than 100-year-old company. Something that is crucial to the success of the business. Now, imagine making this design before you graduate from college.
That’s exactly what happened to Luke Langhus, a third-year graphic design student at the University of Cincinnati. He created the new logo used by the 19th-largest retailer in the U.S. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. was looking for a new logo after launching new merchandise offerings and brand partnerships, including Sephora inside its stores and the exclusive launch of Liz Claiborne and Claiborne apparel and home merchandise.
via University of Cincinnati student designs new J.C. Penney logo | Business Courier.
New logos for venerable brands are tricky…
…just ask The Gap or the Democratic Party.
But if you have the guts to open up your creative process to people who aren’t the usual suspects, you can reap great rewards.
What do you think of the new J.C. Penney logo?
Take It Under Advisement
Am I an Advisor or an Adviser? Well, usually I say consultant. As for the ‘A’ word, well, my clients don’t seem to care, but I prefer Advisor. Just seems to look better on the page.
However, we should be certain. I did a little digging and really like this answer from Bart Eden on Yahoo Answers:
Merriam Webster says the words are synonymous, as does the American Heritage Dictionary, the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Roget’s Thesaurus, and Princeton’s WordNet. [...] The Columbia Guide to Standard American English states that “both spellings are standard”. It does not appear that the agentive ending –er or –or has any semantic meaning in the case of either term.
He also did a Google search and found advisor had about a 4-to-1 majority in mentions over adviser. Thanks Bart.
So there you have it. If you have any doubt at this point, I suggest you take it under advisement.
Could You Care Less?
"Frankly, my dear, I couldn't care less."
Expressing one’s lack of interest in something while adding just a hint of contempt is a skill all should master. That very thing brings us to today’s quick writing/speaking tip.
Whether you’re talking about your lack of interest in Charlie Sheen’s circus act, some wag’s snarky review of your new book or that weird guy with the chalkboard on cable; you say “I couldn’t care less.”
This is the more polite and less pretentious version of “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
Many people mistakenly write or say “I could care less.” That’s not correct.
Saying “I could care less” signifies that you actually have the capacity to care even less, therefore defeating the whole point of your rejoinder.
So remember, when you comment on this blog post, say “I couldn’t care less, Alex.” That is, unless you actually can care a little less, then you say “I could care less, Alex.”
Though if you do I will think you are merely being careless.
Back in a Few
I’m enjoying some quality time with family and friends, but the blog will be back up and running in a couple of days. If you can take a little time to enjoy the relatively relaxed pace of the final week of the year I recommend it. Peace on Earth!
