The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

When you write a news release, do you write different versions of the same release—emphasizing different things in the first paragraph—depending on what media outlet you’re sending it to?

Smart Publicity Hounds do. They want every media person to read their releases and say, “Aha! This is perfect for our audience!” Yet too few people bother with different versions. They send the same old one-size-fits-all vanilla release to everyone on their media list, even though those media may be very different.

What a mistake.

I was reminded of this last week when my friend Don Crowther, who sells corporate gift baskets online, told me he was subscribing to The Gift List, a service that provides names and contact information for more than 250 publications and broadcast outlets that are planning special holiday gift sections or features. Don thinks his gift baskets would be a perfect fit in these sections. I agree.

But he was in quandary about how to write the news release. His baskets include top-quality gourmet chocolate, candy and coffees packed in a variety of containers.

Shoppers who visit his website will find a Whitewashed Birdhouse for gardeners. Or the red Radio Flyer Wagon for a favorite kid, or a kid at heart. The antique lover on your gift list might love the antique-looking sea trunk made of solid wood with leather trimmed straps that snap closed. There’s even The Hidden Clock, an accent piece that serves a practical purpose: as a clock and as an attractive storage container. The embossed metal container sits on curved legs. When you lift the lid, the clock appears to hold the lid open.

I told Don he can take the easy way out with one news release for everyone. “But don’t expect much response from the media,” I said. “Editors don’t want to wade through a long list of gifts to see if there’s one that will fit the needs of their audience, then rewrite the release.”

If he really wants to impress editors, he should send a release about the Whitewashed Birdhouse gift basket, along with a photo, to gardening and bird magazines. Send a news release highlighting the Radio Flyer wagon, and a photo, to kids’ publications and parenting magazines. A release describing the antique looking sea trunk can be sent to magazines devoted to boats, travel, the outdoors, and so on.

The next time you’re tempted to write one news release for everyone, ask yourself if there are certain elements of your product, service, cause, issue or event that should be highlighted for certain publications. The extra time it takes to write one more release, or several more, will be well worth it.

I’m starting to see lots of queries online from editors and reporters who are writing articles for holiday gift guides, so this is the ideal time to pitch. 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 Gift List, a subscription-based service, has done more than 600 hours of research to find the national magazines, regional magazines, top 250 newspapers, top radio stations, major wire and news services and even national TV shows that feature products and services especially for the holidays.

Check out their pitching tips and demo at The Gift List website.

Posted In: Business Promotion, Magazine Publicity, Pitching the Media, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity for Niche Markets
posted On: 9/20/2005: 1:23 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

When PR and marketing firms become giddy over their own creativity, look out.

A new 44-second commercial called “BANG” created by Maloney & Fox to announce the launch of its Quality Products Division, spoofs a commercial for a male enhancement pill.

M&F calls it an “advermation” and is sending the video to new business targets and others. I call it sophomoric. And if I were a CEO looking for a creative firm to promote my own quality products and I saw this, I’d run.

The commercial stars Laura Kightlinger (Saturday Night Live, Will and Grace) and Hugh Davidson (Reno 911, Bewitched, Groundlings). It opens with Kightlinger lying on a bed in her leopard nighty, and Davidson in his leopard briefs.

“It’s OK slugger. I’ve seen this happen to hundreds of guys, ” Kightlinger says reassurgingly.

Then…well, watch it yourself to get the full effect. Stay with it right up to the end, when the mattress they’re on starts bouncing up and down.

M&F, a Waggener Edstrom company, won a PRSA Big Apple Award for Godiva Liquer’s “Chocolate for Charity” campaign. It has created and executed programs for Microsoft, Odor-Eaters, T-Mobile and Wonderbra.

Sorry, but this campaign gets the, uh, booby prize.

Posted In: Business Promotion, Publicity on the Internet
posted On: 9/15/2005: 9:26 pm: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

Robbie Hickman of Virginia Beach, Virginia writes:

“After having been involved in the ski travel industry, I’m starting my own group ski travel business called Snow Adventures.

“So far, business is good, but I’m looking for inventive ideas for marketing. My business focuses on but isn’t limited to school groups, church youth groups, corporate outings and the military. Our groups primarily visit the ski resorts in the mid-Atlantic, however I just booked a group for Vail, Colorado. I have relied on direct mailings and cold call selling but would like to expand my marketing approach. Can your Hounds help with marketing and publicity ideas?”

Posted In: Business Promotion
posted On: 9/13/2005: 11:10 pm: By Joan
Comments: 8 Comments

OverTime Magazine, the business and lifestyle guide for professional athletes, needs sources to write or contribute to a story tentatively titled “Thirteen Ways to Simplify Your Life in 2007.” Think of this as a “Don’t Stress the Small Stuff” for athletes. “We’re looking for writers, authors, experts in mental health, and especially people who work with professional athletes and understand their struggles, etc.” If you have written on the subject and we can run an excerpt from your book, or, if you are a writer or a publicist with a database full of these types of contacts, email your pitches by October 6 to Mark.

Publicists whose clients are targeting the wealthy should add this magazine to their media database. But take a tip from Raleigh Pinskey, who was my guest last year during a teleseminar called “How to Create the Perfect 30-second Pitch.” Make sure you target like a laser beam and that your story speaks directly to athletes, not wealthy people in general.

Posted In: Magazine Publicity, Pitching the Media
posted On: : 1:13 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

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 Hound whose expertise is leadership wanted to post a message on her website insinuating that President Bush, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin are the Bosses from Hell. I told her to remove it.

Another wanted my opinion on a fund-raiser his business is sponsoring. It has a humorous twist that’s so inappropriate that I’m even embarrassed to explain it here.

Enough said.

Thanks to Publicity Hound Ana-Marie Jones, executive director of Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters and a former staff member of the American Red Cross, for suggesting several ideas that she says can “help without the hurt, and make some great success stories.” They include:

—Donate money or disaster supplies to an agency serving people with special needs & give a donation to a sister organization in the impact zone. If it relates to your niche market, so much the better. Good examples are women’s shelters, eldercare/hospice providers, community dialysis clinics, and anything related to helping children heal. “You’ll be helping on many levels, and long after the disaster fades from the news, agencies will be sharing their efforts with donors, staff, volunteers, adding info to websites, sending mailings, creating annual reports, and otherwise promoting the successes you made possible,” she says.

—Find a local agency and flex your Publicity Hound skills to promote their Hurricane Katrina efforts. National organizations like the Red Cross have sophisticated marketing and PR support and can pull resources from all over the world. Most small, local nonprofit agencies have limited ability to get the word out. The leverage potential of this is great. See above.

—Protect your local residents, businesses and nonprofits from getting taken by the many Hurricane Katrina scam artists. It’s a great public service and it gets your name out to everyone. See her group’s rumors page.

—If you have disaster related support or services you offer to your clients, if you have pricing policies related to emergencies, or if you have business continuity plans and emergency protocols in place to help ensure your services will remain available, share it. Being a strong, resilient, prepared business AND being ready to serve your clients’ critical needs is a powerful selling point.

If in doubt, get a second opinion.

Posted In: Pitching the Media, Press Releases/News Releases
posted On: : 12:59 am: By Joan
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