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
Holidays
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
Deadlines approaching for holiday gift guides
You have less than two months to pitch editors of holiday gift guides—those special sections in magazines and newspapers that feature products and services that would make great holiday gifts. Getting your product mentioned in these guides is often far easier than convincing an editor to feature it in any other story or section. The… Read More
Use the independence theme
Right now, in newsrooms and at TV and radio stations all over the U.S., assignment editors are groaning about having to come up with local stories for the Fourth of July. Even worse, July 4 falls on Monday. That means that in addition to a big Sunday paper, editors have the holiday edition to worry… Read More
Pitch your products for holiday gift guides
If your product or service would make the perfect Christmas gift, now is the time to pitch many of the major magazines that have special holiday gift sections and work several months ahead. But how do you know which publications are doing gift guides? Or which are doing feature stories on products that make great… Read More
Memorial Day weekend ideal time to pitch
Reporters already are knocking off work for a long holiday weekend. TV assignment editors are searching everywhere for a good local angle to Memorial Day. News staffs are lean and will continue to be, straight through until Tuesday. But the print and broadcast media still need enough stories to fill all that airtime and all… Read More
End-of-summer story ideas
The calendar says spring is here, but if you’re pitching to national magazines, particularly those that work several months out, you should be thinking of end-of-summer stories. They include: –Anything that can tie into Labor Day which we celebrate on September 5 this year. –Back-to-School stories, particulary trends in things such as fashions –Tips from… Read More
Holiday stories
‘Tis the season to tie your story ideas to the holidays. Here are some ideas to get you started. –Media everywhere are looking for inexpensive, unusual gift ideas. If your product or service would make a good gift, suggest it as part of a “round-up” story focusing on several products. (Use the word “round-up” because… Read More