Promise me that after you read this item, you won’t pester Jay Leno’s staff with a boring idea that could put his late-night audience to sleep. If you watch Leno, like I do, you know his “correspondents” travel far and wide to fun events where they can film whacky segments, from John Melendez going belly-to-belly… Read More
Pitching
Pitch a stand-alone photo for quick publicity
Liz Morgan, my Jazzercise instructor, has been beaming all week because the local weekly newspaper printed a photo of her new Junior Jazzercise class for little girls. So which do you think has more credibility? That photograph? Or a quarter page ad that Liz could have bought if she had the budget to advertise? When… Read More
Publicity Ideas for October
The month of October provides opportunities galore for pitching. —October is Consumer Information Month. Your company or nonprofit can offer tips and free advice on product safety, how to avoid rip-offs, and how not to abuse credit cards. —Sponsor a pumpkin-carving contest among your employees or customers. Invite people to carve the logo of certain… 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
Wall Street Journal section lists Boomer trends
If you market to Baby Boomers, get your hands on a copy of the Monday, September 26, issue of The Wall Street Journal. It included a special section called “Encore: a Guide to Retirement Planning and Living.” It’s packed with trends, statistics and other helpful facts that you can use when pitching story ideas that… Read More
Tips for pitching TV after a disaster
If you don’t subscribe to Bulldog Reporter’s excellent ezine “Journalists Speak Out,” you’re missing some terrific pitching tips. Brian Pittman passed along several tips last week after interviewing Penelope Dunham, producer for ABC-TV’s Channel 7 in San Francisco, on how PR people can pitch in the wake of a disaster. He gave me permission to… Read More
Pitch “how to” segments for TV talk shows, news
This time of year is perfect for pitching a “how to” segment for a local or national TV talk show or a newscast. For example: —Demonstrate how to carve a pumpkin. If you’re pitching to a local talk show, carve the local TV station’s call letters into the pumpkin. How in the world could a… Read More
Lots of Hurricane Katrina pitches off base
Almost 20 Publicity Hounds took me up on last week’s offer to critique their news releases and story pitches that piggyback onto Hurricane Katrina. In all but a few cases, I gave thumbs-down to what I saw. Several Hounds came up with “Buy from me and I’ll donate a portion” offers which sounded tacky. Another… Read More
Don’t make these mistakes with follow-up calls to the media
Big PR agencies seem to be the worst offenders when it comes to following up on news releases. They usually assign a woman who sounds like an 18-year-old twinkie to call reporters and editors after the agency has mailed a release. The twinkie, usually using an annoying sing-songy voice, says: “Hi. This is Brittany. I’m… Read More
Use history as a hook for publicity
The next time you’re searching for an angle for your story pitch, consider using history. For example: —If you’re sponsoring an event that’s been held for 50 years, offer the media a sidebar that highlights the most significant aspects of your event during the last five decades. —Pitching a profile story of your new CEO?… Read More