The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Kevin Gardiner of Tolland, Connecticut writes:

“I am the president of Tune Rooms, a social network for musicians that lets users collaborate in virtual song-writing sessions.

“Since we launched our site, we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback. But the main gripe that we don’t have enough users. I need to figure out how to grow the community base.

“Can your Hounds suggest some ways that we can raise awareness of our site to musicians ages 13 and up, at all skill levels, so they visit the site and collaborate? I believe in our product, but the size of the community is what will make Tune Rooms most useful for musicians.”

Posted In: General
posted On: 8/5/2008: 2:35 pm: By Joan
Comments: 8 Comments

Here’s another example of how the line between news and advertising is more blurred than ever.

The next time you’re watching the news on your local FOX station, or on a station owned by the Meredith Corporation, look on the desk in front of the anchors. You might spot a cup of iced coffee from McDonald’s, like the photo here that shows anchors—and a McDonald’s iced coffee—at Fox station KVVU-TV in Las Vegas.

The six-month product placement is meant to boost advertising revenue.

“There was a healthy dose of skepticism, and I’m pleased there was — it means they’re being journalists,” said Adam P. Bradshaw, news director of KVVU, in a story in the New York Times.

Product placement typically has been left to movies and TV shows. (See “How to Get Your Consumer Product on the Sets of Movies and TV Shows.”) But this is perhaps the first time a brand name product has appeared on the set of a TV news show. The anchors, however, are never seen actually drinking the coffee because the cups contain a fake fluid and fake ice to prevent the cubes melting.

What happens if there’s an outbreak of food illness at McDonald’s, or a nother bad news story?

Brent Williams, an account supervisor with Karsh/Hagan, says “I would expect the station would absolutely give us the opportunity to pull our proudct off the set.”

I’d say that’s a good prediction.

Posted In: General
posted On: 7/31/2008: 8:28 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Of all the possible mistakes you can make when interviewing with the media, the worst one in my book is lying.

Bend the truth, even just a little, and that little white lie can suddenly become the story and have far more traction than the original story you were being interviewed for. Remember Watergate? And Monica Lewinsky’s blue dress?

Being caught in a lie is far more likely today than it was 20 years ago, thanks to the ability to research quickly on the Internet. PR guy Jerry Brown reminds us about the Eight Common Interview Mistakes:

1. Being unprepared

2. Overselling the story

3. Saying too much

4. Saying too little (I wrote about this Friday here.)

5. Speaking hypothetically

6. No line in the sand (flip-flopping)

7. Being combative

8. Being dishonest

If you’re prepared for the types of questions reporters might ask, you’ll be in a better position to answer their questions honestly. See “Special Report #2: Questions You Can Expect Reporters to Ask During an Interview.”

Publicists, what lengths do you go to to make sure your clients are honest with the media? Do you incorporate mock interviews with clients into your publicity projects?

Media trainers, what tips do you have to offer?

Posted In: General
posted On: 7/29/2008: 9:29 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment

This is for the doubting Thomases who aren’t convinced that social networking can be profitable.

I promoted last week’s teleseminar series “How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Anything–Ethically & Powerfully” by creating an event on my Facebook page.  My assistant then invited my 1,028 friends.  At $77, I wasn’t sure how many Facebook friends would attend, but it was definitely worth it.

Fifty-four people RSVP’d to tell me that they were attending, or had already signed up.  That’s $4,158 in registration fees just from Facebook!  Something else started to happen.  I started to build the buzz about these teleseminars.  Warren Whitlock, one of my Facebook friends, wrote on my wall:

Kim Beasley, The Blog Queen, who Warren referred to, has more than 400 followers on Twitter, and I have no idea how many of those people signed up after reading her tweet.

If I still haven’t convinced you, you can listen to social media success stories galore at The Social Media Summit Sept. 10-12 in Chicago, sponsored by Ragan Communications.  I attended Ragan’s “Unconference” on social media last year in Chicago.  I made great contacts, came back with hundreds of tips to share with you, and learned about how to incorporate social media into my own marketing campaigns.

At this year’s summit, you’ll learn about Web 2.0 strategies such as podcasts, message boards, video and wikis.  The conference includes one track for internal communications and a separate track for external and marketing communications. Curious about what Web 3.0 might look like? You’ll get a sneek preview.

I hope to see you there.  This conference is so important that I worked out a special arrangement with Ragan.  Publicity Hounds save $100 on the $1,195 registration, plus an additional $100 if you take advantage of the early-bird registration, which has been extended to this Friday.  To get $200 off and pay only $995, you must use this link.

Let me know if you’re going to the conference.  Maybe we can have coffee between sessions.

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, General, LinkedIn, PR Consultants/Publicists, Publicity on the Internet, Social media marketing, Social networking, Video
posted On: 7/22/2008: 10:12 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

If Oprah called tomorrow, or Larry King, or the “Today” Show, and wanted to book you for an appearance later this week, would you be scurrying around at the last minute trying to find a media trainer?

What about that New York Times reporter you’ve been pitching for two years?  If he called to interview you, would you be ready?

If Oprah called, would you be practicing your sound bites between making travel arrangements to Chicago and shopping for something to wear on the big day?

Here’s a quick tip from Jess Todtfeld, president of Media Training Worldwide, who worked as a producer on “FOX & Friends” for seven years:

One way to craft great sound bites is to use rehetorical questions. Reporters like rhetorical questions because they break up the structure of their stories. And during broadcast interviews, they make viewers really think.

Examples:

“Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

“Are we going to face a possible bankruptcy next year?”

“Why has the governor betrayed the faith of the voters?”

The one thing all of these questions have in common, Jess says, is that they aren’t real questions. They aren’t expressions uttered by someone seeking new information. They’re rhetorical questions, meaning they’re simply a way of making a point in the form of asking a question. The question doesn’t have to be answered in order for the point to be made.

Jess knows at least a dozen other ways to create compelling sound bites. He’ll arm you with all of them and give you valuable on-camera experience and a critique during PR Leads’ daylong media training on Friday, Aug. 1, in New York City. This session is perfect for speakers attending the National Speakers Association convention that weekend in New York and for anybody else who will be in the area.

I spoke at an event with Jess two years ago and I watched him work his on-stage magic with members of the audience. This promises to be a fun, information-packed session with practical experience in front of a camera.  But only 20 people can attend.

Sign up for “Media Training for Experts and Authorities Workshop–From Sound Bites to Messages That Make The Media Take Notice.”

By the way, Dan Janal, president of PR Leads, the sponsoring company, is attending the media training as a student.  He’s publishing a book soon on how to negotiate, and he says he needs to learn sound bites for his many upcoming media interviews.

Posted In: General
posted On: 7/16/2008: 9:53 pm: By Joan
Comments: No Comments