| Do you know what the media would consider | | | | fatigue, restoring energy and safeguarding your |
| newsworthy about you or your company? | | | | immune system. Now, earlier this month, Reuters |
| Many new clients come to us with a strong opinion | | | | reported that doctors who performed an 11-year study |
| about what their "pitch" should be, but often miss the | | | | of British civil servants discovered a direct link |
| mark, in terms of knowing what will get the media to | | | | between heart disease and working 11 hours or more |
| sit up and pay attention to their message. But it's very | | | | each day. Another story quoted U.S. Department of |
| understandable that this could occur, if you're not | | | | Labor statistics that more than 7 million Americans |
| working with the media the way we do, day in and | | | | work at least two jobs. We combined those two |
| day out, developing story angles intended to grab their | | | | pieces to demonstrate that millions of Americans are |
| interest. | | | | working way more than 11 hours, and are at risk for |
| For those who are new to PR, my message is this - | | | | everything from chronic fatigue to heart disease. From |
| think outside of the box! As normal as it is to be | | | | there, it wasn't too difficult to beat a path back to the |
| focused on your own company and industry or field of | | | | client's physician spokesperson who recommended a |
| interest, there is a lot going on in the world, and your | | | | series of tips to prevent those outcomes, including a |
| expertise might be news in ways that you've not | | | | short tip about how some natural supplements can be |
| previously envisioned. | | | | helpful. At first blush, you wouldn't imagine that labor |
| I always recommend to my clients that they try to | | | | stats and a medical study in Great Britain would have |
| view their companies from the outside looking in, | | | | any relationship with a natural health supplement, but by |
| particularly, from the perspective of the media. The | | | | thinking creatively, we were able to make the |
| best way for you to garner the media's interest is to | | | | connection and develop a strong radio pitch for that |
| understand what it is about you and your company | | | | client. |
| that might be interesting to them. The process is | | | | 3. Be Opportunistic - The news happens fast, so be |
| actually quite simple. | | | | prepared to think just as fast. Recently we took on a |
| | | | client named Jane Heimlich, who has a dual claim to |
| 1. Read the News - If you want to be featured in the | | | | fame. She is the daughter of dance hall king Arthur |
| news, you should read the news. Be general in your | | | | Murray, who established the largest chain of dance |
| approach. Read the top headlines in all the categories, | | | | instruction centers in the country. She is also the wife |
| even if your company is in a niche industry, because | | | | of chest surgeon Dr. Hank Heimlich, the creator of the |
| you never know what is going to happen. For instance, | | | | life-saving, anti-choking first aid technique called the |
| the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has focused a | | | | Heimlich Maneuver. She had just written her memoir, |
| spotlight on oil rigs and the people who work on them. | | | | and was looking to promote it via media interviews. |
| Journalists are looking at the companies who own oil | | | | When we brought her on board, the new season for |
| rigs, drilling rights, and other oil company service firms. | | | | the network TV show Dancing with the Stars was |
| Analysts in that small business niche are being quoted | | | | about to begin. In reading her book, we discovered that |
| in top tier media outlets, after existing for decades | | | | her father's TV show, The Arthur Murray Party, was |
| completely outside the reach of the media's radar. So, | | | | the first network TV dance contest - and it involved |
| go broad with the topics that you track, and don't be | | | | the big stars of the day. So, we put together a radio |
| afraid to become a little bit of a news geek. Being | | | | pitch with the headline "Remembering the Original |
| better informed about the world around you isn't a bad | | | | Dancing with the Stars." We booked 15 radio |
| thing, and the by-product is that you'll be far more | | | | interviews and a full print campaign with that angle, and |
| media savvy. | | | | we just refreshed the angle with the CBS |
| 2. Track it Back - Now, as you absorb the headlines | | | | announcement that they are giving Paula Abdul her |
| and the stories of the day, think about how one or | | | | own TV dance competition. |
| more of them could track back to you, your company | | | | At the end of the day, recognize that your expertise |
| and your key messages. A good example comes | | | | can be stretched beyond what you have in your |
| from one of our clients, a maker of natural health | | | | marketing plan, and you'll be able to make you and |
| supplements. Their primary product line uses a natural | | | | your company more relevant to the press in a lot of |
| ingredient called Resveratrol. Clinical research has | | | | creative ways. |
| uncovered that Resveratrol can be helpful in reducing | | | | |
