The Gift List has just posted 75 new “short leads” for Publicity Hounds who want to promote products that would make great gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduation. Several of those have deadlines this week. Getting your product mentioned in these guides is often far easier than convincing an editor to feature it in any other… Read More
Holidays
TV Weatherpersons Day is February 5
You can score a great publicity hit if you tie into TV Weatherpersons Day on February 5, which this year also happens to be Super Bowl Sunday. I’ve been preaching about this for years because so many Publicity Hounds have told me it works. A few days before February 5, send your local TV weatherperson… Read More
Pitch ‘best of’ and ‘worst of’ year-end lists
This is the time of year to be pitching year-end lists. Thanks to Publicity Hound Scott Hansen of Carnation, Washington, for alerting us to the “2005 Most Unbelievable Workplace Events” issued by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, Inc. They’re designed to make you ask, “What in the world was that company thinking?” The list… Read More
The best time to pitch is before and after Christmas
I can hear the engines revving right now. It’s the sound of Publicity Hounds starting a pitch-fest that lasts from now through the new year. Savvy Hounds know that this week and next are the very best times to pitch newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, bloggers, ezine publishers and other media that have short deadlines.… Read More
Pitch these story ideas in December
Thanks to Publicity Hound Shawne Duperon, a TV reporter, for reminding us that December is the very best month to pitch TV stations. “Newsrooms are no longer in a busy Sweeps month, so many employees are taking time off,” she says. Fewer employees means they need your story in a big way. She suggests: —Any… Read More
Pitch your gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduates
If you have a product that would be a perfect gift for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or graduation day, now is the time to start thinking about pitching ideas to national magazines. You might even get in under the wire for Valentine’s Day. Here are some leads to get you started: —Vegetarian Times magazine is… Read More
Story ideas for the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping
Brick-and-mortar retailers refer to the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday, the official start of the Christmas shopping season. Whatever you call it, you’ve got opportunities galore to tie your product or service to it. Think trends. Here are some ideas to get you started: —Credit counselors should remind us about how credit card companies… Read More
Pitch Christmas story ideas early
I heard a news report yesterday that many retailers already had stocked their shelves with Christmas decorations and gift items a week before Halloween. Why? Because they’re hoping to get your money before the utility companies do. Skyrocketing natural gas prices this winter might force consumers to spend less on holiday gifts once they see… Read More
Pitch these Halloween ideas for publicity
From now until October 31, the media will be reporting an anything even remotely connected to Halloween. So start thinking about ways you can piggyback off this holiday—the second biggest retail holiday of the year. Here are some ideas to get you started: —Roadside markets, nurseries and agricultural associations can offer tips on how to… Read More
Carve a pumpkin for TV publicity
Here’s an idea almost guaranteed to bring the TV cameras into your company in October. Sponsor a pumpkin-carving contest for employees. Invite an on-air personality at your local TV station to be the judge. The challenge? To carve the TV station’s logo in the pumpkin, of course. TV reporter Shawne Duperson loves those kinds of… Read More