The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Most of us may forget the “lipstick on a pig” controversy by next week.

But I’m betting the word lipstick will be front and center on the stump, straight through to the election and possibly beyond. As soon as the news about Barack Obama’s lipstick comment broke yesterday, the media went nuts.

Race Taylor, a deejay for WPLJ-FM 95.5 in New York City during afternoon drive time, turned it into a contest. He challenged listeners with three words and asked them to guess what he was referring to—words like raisin, petal and wine.  

They’re lipstick colors, of course, and Taylor gave credit to Revlon ColorStay. I suspect Revlon called the station and suggested the contest. That’s a great example of piggybacking onto a sizzling hot topic. Morning and afternoon drive-time shows LOVE fun stuff like this. (See “How to Get Onto Drive-time Radio Shows.”)

Thanks to Pamela J. Principe-Golgolab of PNA Associates Inc.,  a PR and marketing firm in Chester, N.J. for tipping us off to this one.

Posted In: Business Promotion, Contests, General, Radio Publicity
posted On: 9/10/2008: 8:48 pm: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

Are you a business or organization celebrating a big anniversary soon?

Or how about just a Publicity Hound who wouldn’t mind being a celebrity in your own town? This idea is great for both.

This year, the Nashville Opera is sponsoring a “Put Me on a Billboard Contest” to raise funds and awareness for a new opera house. Earlier this year, it launched a promotional campaign in which it photographed local celebrities holding their fancy opera glasses, and put the photos on billboards throughout Nashville.

The opera then opened the contest to anyone and asked local opera-lovers to write about why they raise their glasses to opera. They even built a special website for the promotion.

Winners, including Publicity Hound Beverly Wichman, shown here on the right, were photographed with their opera glasses, and the series of photos started appearing over the weekend on digital billboards throughout the city.

If Beverly’s name sounds familiar, you might know her better as one-half of “The Saucy Sisters.” She and her sister, Barbara Nowak, review wine, write books and entertain at corporate events.

Beverly’s winning essay explains how her parents treated her to her first opera at age 10. She loved it so much that she calls opera her “soul music.”

During her many travels throughout the U.S., she would faithfully listen to radio performances by The New York Metropolitan Opera on Saturday nights. So would her parents. After each program, they would call each other to discuss the shows.

“It was like attending the opera together,” she said. “We would wait for the final applause and the curtain would come down. Then we’d call each other and say,’Bravo!’ ”

I love this billboard idea, too, to promote fund-raisers and special events even though you might have to have a big budget to pull it off.  Here’s why it’s so effective:

—It encourages people to become involved in your cause.

—It brings them to your website.

—It does a great job of turning local people into celebrities.

—It helps raise money for a worthwhile cause or issue.

Your next special event can include elaborate promotions like this one, or much simpler, less expensive ways to capture people’s attention, draw crowds, and attract the media.

“How to Plan & Promote Sizzling Special Events,” a series of six interviews I conducted with Debra J. Schmidt, explains how to inject fun and profit into even routine events like the standard business golf outing. For example, Deb tells the story of a Wisconsin group that hosted a women’s golf tournament and created a huge buzz for the event by featuring something as simple a port-a-potties with candles, scented soaps and pretty hand towels.

At the golf banquet that night, the port-a-potties were the topic of conversation, and the participants raved about that that nice, unexpected touch really made the event special.  

Posted In: Contests, Nonprofits, Photos & Graphics, Publicity for Niche Markets, Special Events
posted On: 4/22/2008: 10:11 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Thanks to those of you who nominated The Publicity Hound website for this year’s Writer’s Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers.”

My website made the list again this year, and I’m thrilled.

“Consultant Joan Stewart shares tips on self-promotion and how to get free publicity—a key for any writer living on a tight budget.”

When I plucked the magazine from my mailbox today and saw that I was on the list, I immediately wrote a letter to the editor, hoping for additional free publicity. To increase the chances that the letter will be published, I didn’t just thank the magazine for the designation. I offered tips on how others who made the list can promote the honor.

Here’s the letter:

I’m thrilled that you’ve chosen my website, PublicityHound.com, for your 10th annual “101 Best Websites for Writers” list.

Your endorsement has pulled traffic to my website, encouraged sales, and helped position me as a valuable resource for writers.

Here’s a publicity tip for writers or anyone else who make these prestigious “best of” lists.  Let your blog and ezine readers know about the honor.  Write a press release and distribute it through one of the paid distribution services.  Send press releases to your local newspapers.  Add the information to your MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.  And display the logo by the organization that has honored you on the homepage at your website.

I’ve been searching for the “101 Best Websites for Writers” logo from Writer’s Digest and can’t seem to find it anywhere on your website.  It appears that the logo or a photo was once on your “Best 101 Websites” page, but it has disappeared.  If you tell me where I can find the logo, I’ll be happy to give Writer’s Digest some publicity by placing the logo on my homepage.  I’ll bet many of the other 99 website owners would too.    

I Googled “Best 101 websites,” and clicked on “images” and eventually found the logo, so I’ll be adding it to my website.  By the way, displaying logos of your trade associations, or groups like the Business Business Bureau if you’re a member, or any “best of” listings adds credibility to your website and makes visitors more inclined to hang around—and maybe even buy. 

What logos can you add to your homepage today to boost your credibility?

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Contests, Magazine Publicity, Photos & Graphics, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity on the Internet, Social networking
posted On: 4/11/2008: 10:32 am: By Joan
Comments: 5 Comments

USA Weekend magazine is looking for the best high school musicals.

Students, parents and schools are invited to enter the second annual HSM Showstopper event. Any musical performed during the 2007-2008 school year is eligible. The winning show will be announced and featured in a late spring issue of USA Weekend magazine.

In a separate contest, the magazine is also partnering with Disney Theatrical to recognize a winning school that is performing the smash Disney hit High School Musical. For more information on both contests, visit http://www.usaweekend.com/hsm/ 

Posted In: Contests, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity
posted On: 3/25/2008: 9:07 am: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments

In today’s newsletter, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” I wrote about the “10 Dirtiest Hotels” contest sponsored by TripAdvisor.com. 

The annual contest draws attention to TripAdvisor’s “Travelers’ Choice Award Winners” in 10 categories, from the Best Luxury Hotels to the Best Inns and B&Bs. 

Each year, consumers nominate the filthiest hotels, then weigh in with their comments, photos and videos. They report on things like mold, broken windows, and crumbling ceilings and walls. They complain about peeling paint and broken locks on the doors.

Some hotel visitors have even found lurching elevators, air conditioning units that don’t work in the middle of summer, heaters that don’t work properly in the winter, and broken windows that haven’t been repaired. And, of course, there are comments about critters like cockroaches and bed bugs. 

One visitor took a photo of his room that shows where the headboard had fallen off the bed at the Hotel Carter in New York City. At the website, you can even send the list to a friend.

The contest draws lots of attention by the bloggers and in online forums. Here’s a complaint from one hotel visitor:

“The grossest thing…was the drain clogged with years worth of hair.  It literally came out in a solid mass.  I gagged.”

Publicity Hounds can learn dozens of lessons from this contest:

—Know what consumers are saying about you online.  Create Google Alerts for your own name, your URL and the name of your company. 

—Respond to bad reviews and explain what you’re doing to solve the problem.  If you hide in the shadows when the news is bad, the conversation will continue without you. (See “How to Pitch the Best Bloggers & Create a Publicity Explosion.”)

—The best way to avoid being nominated for these “10 Worst” lists is to clean up your act and provide outstanding customer service and a great product.

What do you think? What else can Publicity Hounds learn from this contest?

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Contests, Crisis Communications, Publicity on the Internet
posted On: 3/4/2008: 8:49 am: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments