Broaden Your PR Bull's-eye: From the Smallest Newspaper to Oprah

                                                                                         

A few years back, we worked with a jewelry designer that understood the power of developing compelling stories and media pitches that met the needs of various media outlets. We worked with him to develop stories and pitches that would fit most any media outlet, from small regional newspapers that reached a few hundred people, to national TV outlets that reached millions. The regional pitches focused on the local aspects of the story. If we were pitching newspapers in his hometown, we'd focus on the local-kid-makes-good aspect of the story, if we pitched the national media, we focused on the jewelry, it's quality and value, or we'd pick a seasonal pitch such as Valentine's Day, or Christmas and accentuate what a perfect holiday gift it made, or we'd pitch the client as an expert in the field who could discuss jewelry and style in general.

The result was that we ended up with an extremely successful public relations campaign, placing stories in a wide range of media outlets from local radio and regional newspapers to MSNBC and Oprah. Again, what made the campaign effective was that we were able to develop a number of story ideas and pitches that fit the needs of the various media outlets. By not only pitching the client's product, but also pitching the client as an expert in the field, we were able to broaden our media bull's-eye.

Using this approach we have been able to place clients on such media outlets as CNN, the Today Show, the Wall Street Journal, People, InStyle, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and several other media outlets. Keep this approach in mind when working with your PR Company. Let them know that you not only want them to pitch your product or service to the small media, but also to the big guns and that you not only want your product or service promoted, but you want to be positioned as an expert in your field. Don't be shy about going the expert route. Why not you? If not you, the media's going to look for someone else and most likely the only reason that other person will become the expert is because he or she had the moxy to present themselves that way. So, beat them to it. Let your competition be the ones wondering why you're the expert they're watching interviewed on national TV


Copyright © Anthony Mora 2009
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