The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

Looking for a cool publicity stunt?

Here’s one for schools, nonprofits and companies that need a little more publicity.

It goes like this. The boss issues a challenge, then agrees to do something outrageous if the challenge is met.

A coach, for example, tells his football team that if they win the first four games this year, he’ll run 10 laps around the football field in front of the entire student body. 

Are you a sales manager trying to motivate your sales team? Tell them that if they surpass this month’s goals by at least 20 percent, you’ll cook each person on your team a gourmet dinner at their homes. I’m sure you can come up with far better examples.

I got the idea when I saw the photo of the Punk Principal in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Scroll about halfway down the page and check out the photo on the right side.

It shows Boca Raton High School Principal Geoff McKee getting a Mohawk after he had made a promise to students for their achievement in beating another school district in a Florida state assessment test.

When I worked as a newspaper editor, we’d often print photos like this one. But we’d use just a caption if there wasn’t enough other information to warrant an article.

What kind of challenge can your CEO, coach, president, executive director or other Big Cheese issue? If the media won’t cover the publicity stunt, take your own photos and submit them to newspapers and magazines and post them on the Internet. The ebook “How to Use Photos & Graphics in Your Publicity Campaign” shows you how to take your own photos that are media-ready.

It will save you hours of time and aggravation researching what kind of photo equipment to buy, and it will give you creative ideas for adding visuals to your publicity campaign. A recent study I saw by a PR firm showed that more than 90 percent of the journalists surveyed said a photo or graphic significantly improves your chances for coverage.

Posted In: Photos & Graphics, Nonprofits, Business Promotion, Special Events, Newspaper Publicity
posted On: 8/30/2006: 6:55 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Jennifer Perry of Atlanta, Georgia writes:

“My client, Pam Weeks, wrote and produced the Pam & Buffy television shows for children for years. The show is now distributed nationally by NIMCO, an education products company.  Buffy is a 6-foot sheepdog costumed character and performed a live interactive show with Pam for 15 years at the American Adventures, a family entertainment park.

“Pam is in negotiations to create a new season of shows at a station in Tennessee and does special live shows around Atlanta at schools and churches. They do a lot of charity work, such as getting emergency dental work for children of very poor families.

“I can’t seem to get Pam & Buffy in any of the local media in Atlanta. They aren’t edgy and hip but just too wholesome.  Sometimes I think if Buffy smoked crack and Pam made rude body sounds, I could get them the cover of anynewspaper or magazine in Atlanta. But shows that teach responsibility, courtesy and kindness are, to use a movie term, box office poison. I’ve tried the local papers, magazines, even Atlanta Parent—zip, zero, zilch, nada!

“Can your Hounds help a fellow Hound in need?”

Posted In: Business Promotion, TV Publicity
posted On: 8/29/2006: 11:16 pm: By Joan
Comments: 12 Comments

David Meerman Scott, who recorded an interview with me a few weeks ago called “The New Rules of Press Releases: How to Write Them for Buyers, Not Only for Journalists,” says that when he used to work as a reporter, he never read a press release, then wrote a story directly from the release.

If he liked what he read, he’d pick up the phone and call the person for an interview. Come to think of it, when I worked as a reporter, I never wrote a story directly from a press release either.

David also says that he never once lifted a quote directly from a press release and used it for his article. If he wanted a quote, he’d call the source so that the quote he got was different.

Ditto for me. I’d never lift a quote directly from a press release because I didn’t want it to look like the same quote all the other reporters used.

Why, then, are many of you wasting valuable real estate on your press releases with what I call B.S. quotes, usually from the CEO? I can almost predict what most of those quotes look like:

“The ABC Widget Company is proud and delighted to be able to provide our customers with an important new widget that will dramatically increase the capabilities of our clients’ manufacturing processes so that blah-blah-blah-blah-blah….”

Your CEO doesn’t talk like that, so why do you quote him like that? Besides, that quote adds nothing to the press release.

David, an author and an expert in online marketing, says smart Publicity Hounds should be concentrating instead on press releases that are rich with keywords and keywords phrases that people would use if they were doing a Google search for the kinds of products and services you sell. That way, when you post the press releases online, you can snag potential customers who can buy from you directly, even if no journalists ever cover your company.

Your releases should also have a specific goal in mind—whether it’s leading buyers directly to the product catalog at your website or encouraging them to sign up for your electronic newsletter.

If you’ve signed up for my free tutorial called “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases” and you don’t have 89 days to spend to learn the new rules, the interview I did with David will get you up to speed very quickly. It’s the perfect complement to my course.

Posted In: Business Promotion, Publicity on the Internet, Press Releases/News Releases
posted On: : 2:00 pm: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

I love interactive marketing campaigns that engage people online.

The ”Let’s Say Thanks” campaign, created by Xerox as a way for people to send postcards of thanks to the troops overseas, is brilliant, regardless of what you think of the war in Iraq.

Here’s how it works.

Visit their website and choose your favorite postcard design. All the designs, created by kids, scroll across the screen. Click on your favorite and write a personal message to a soldier. Xerox prints the postcard and mails it in care packages sent by the military support organization Give2theTroops to troops in Iraq, Egypt, Kosovo and elsewhere.

The postcard designs, submitted by youths 6 to 14, will continue to rotate with new artwork. So kids, teachers, children’s organizations and volunteers can all get into the act by turning this into a class project. Read the rules at the “Submit a Design” page.  

The website even has a long list of media hits about the project. If your student or school submits a design that’s chosen, count on some fabulous publicity. Thanks to Publicity Hound Lori Lisi for tipping me off to this great idea.

This is the time of year when the PR machines at schools, colleges and universities are cranking on all cylinders. For more information, see “Special Report #15: Publicity Tips for Schools, Colleges and Universities.”

Posted In: Nonprofits, Business Promotion, Publicity on the Internet
posted On: : 7:06 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

If you’re trying to get into Newsday, the New York daily paper with almost a half-million circulation, pay attention to these pitching tips from associate editor A.J. Carter, courtesy of Bulldog Reporter’s excellent Journalists Speak Out newsletter:

—Make your online newsrooms easier to navigate. (Listen to the hour-long interview I did with Drew Gerber of Presskit 24/7.)

—Pitch beyond “hard news” if you’re a small company.

—Don’t overlook face-to-face meetings with editors, but be patient if they don’t accept your invitation immediately. (See my free article “18 Ways to Schmooze with Reporters”)

Posted In: Business Promotion, Newspaper Publicity, Pitching the Media
posted On: 8/28/2006: 8:38 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments