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 stories and says lots of TV stations do, too. It was one of many ideas we suggested during a teleseminar I conducted with her called “103 Sizzling Story Ideas from July through December.”

One of my favorites, playing off the same theme, is to sponsor a chili cook-off at your company in the fall. Invite employees to bring their chili pots and favorite recipes, and stage the contest in the company cafeteria. Invite the food columnist from the local newspaper, or an on-air anchor from the local TV station to be the judge.