When Bulldog Reporter invited me to be a guest panelist on the July 24 teleseminar designed to help Publicity Hounds create news when there is no news, I jumped at the chance. I wrote three pages of notes for the session titled “Evergreen Magic for PR: Media Masters Show How to Make News When There’s… Read More
Pitching
Story idea for this week: Freedom from (fill in the blank)
My friend, TV producer Shawne Duperon, has a terrific idea for tying publicity into the July 4 Independence Day theme. Think of a “freedom from…” and use that in your pitch. Examples: —A health department in the Midwest might pitch tips to give people “freedom from mosquitoes” after the recent floods. —Credit counselors can pitch a story… Read More
If a journalist uses humor in a query, use it in your pitch
If you subscribe to a service that gives you leads from journalists who are looking for certain types of sources, pay attention to the way the reporter has written the query. Peter Shankman, whose free leads service called “Help a Reporter Out,” flags this terrific pitch from Jenny Schmitt, who works for the Georgia State… Read More
Unusual weather a perfect chance to pitch weather stories
Flooding in the Midwest. Wild fires in California. Snow in the Northwest. Scorching heat on the East Coast. And it’s still only spring. This is the time to pitch weather stories. If you sell or give away a product or service to help people cope with the weather, let the media know. They’re hungry for… Read More
Dairy Queen joins Girl Scouts to create Thin Mint Blizzard
Here’s a perfect example of how a nonprofit can team up with a popular nationwide chain, and piggyback onto a “Week of the Year” to promote a good cause. Dairy Queen is creating the Girl Scout Thin Mint Blizzard for the month of July to promote Girl Scout Appreciation Week July 7-13. What a wonderful idea! No more… Read More
Use spam checkers for ezine copy and pitches
Your ezine might be packed with free content and do excellent job promoting your expertise. But it’s worthless if it ends up in the recipient’s spam folder, or in one of several other spam traps that have been set by Internet service providers. That’s why it’s worth the extra time to run your ezine or important email you’re sending, like pitches to… Read More
Help promote ‘Say Something Nice Sunday’
Mitch Carnell of Charleston, South Carolina writes: “Last year, we celebrated the first Say Something Nice Sunday on the first Sunday in June. This is now an annual event. “We want churches and denominations of all faiths to join in. This is a Sunday when Christian will say nothing negative about any other Christian or… Read More
How can Michigan promote itself to Hollywood producers?
Milan Stevanovich of Detroit, Michigan writes: “Michigan just passed a 40 percent rebate to companies filming movies and TV programs in the state. If you use Michigan companies and labor, you get a 40 percent instant rebate after production—big savings for number-crunching entertainment financiers. “For the last three weeks, my associates and I have schmoozed a dozen… Read More
What else should American have done after canceling flights?
Here’s the list of public relations tactics American Airlines adopted after canceling more than 3,000 flights this month: According to PRWeek, it: —Enlisted its seven-person PR team, other staffers and Weber Shandwick, its PR firm, to inform the public about the reasons for the delay. —Handed out press releases to customers at some of its largest hubs. —Sent… Read More
American Airlines’ canceled flights a publicity op
American Airlines’ more than 1,000 canceled flights this week offer a chance for business travelers and others to piggyback off this news story. The airlines canceled more than 930 flights today, stranding tens of thousands of travelers in airports throughout the U.S. More than 570 flightsw are expected to be canceled on Friday, with the schedule back… Read More