What makes producers, assignment reporters and reporters ‘bite’ on a story?
The chief executive of Institute of Communication Agencies Gillian Graham once argued that weak economic times are the worst time to cut advertising spending:
“It has been proven that those who cut spending in these times will exacerbate their revenue challenges and ultimately, lose share.”
As with any statistics and most research, results are interpreted.
What the studies referred to above don’t do is compare revenue results if time and money is invested in advertising, versus less money invested and energy put toward getting free editorial.
In tough economic times, I’d argue, some of the advertising budget can be much better invested in publicity efforts. For far less money, clients can get more column inches, more airtime, more online presence and more visibility.
To get massive publicity coverage, you need:
- someone who’s a huge media consumer, across all media
- a kickass, current media database
- a ‘hook’ – why this story now? why should readers/viewers/listeners care?
- a high-level (ideally, top) person who:
- will make significant time available to do media interviews, and will be willing to prioritize last-minute media requests for the length of the campaign push
- is a ‘good talker’ – articulate, energetic, can speak concisely, uses anecdotes/storytelling, and can translate more complex topics to layperson language
- someone other than your interviewee, to be the ‘pitch’ person
- great-quality visuals, minimum 300 dpi for most newspapers
- most of the publicity effort going to crafting individual media pitches
- a media relations professional who:
- has created and executed many campaigns
- genuinely believes in the cause, the event or the product that they are pitching
- ideally has worked as a journalist or producer themselves
In tough economic times, directing money to free editorial via publicity is the route to go.
photo by Altemark
Post to follow…
Bridge to a Cool Planet
Call out for strong action to reduce the pollution that causes global warming by coming out to Bridge to a Cool Planet (Vancouver’s contribution to the International Day of Climate Action) on Saturday, October 24. The event kicks off in the northbound lanes of the Cambie Bridge at noon with Vancouver’s mayor, Oxfam ambassador Christina Ora and others. At 12:30 pm, a parade will go from the bridge to Science World for more celebration from 1 to 4 pm. There, there will be an eco/green business fair, two performance stages with bands, bhangra and other acts through the day, and 350 salsa dancers for three hours in the gazebo. From 7pm, there will be public discussions and and speaker events downtown.
In this video, Vancouver’s mayor summons citizens to come out and add to the strength of the message.
One excerpt:
“Vancouver shows again we are serious about climate change and turning the corner. [...] We want to have the biggest and loudest demonstration here in Vancouver to make our voices heard for the whole planet — and make sure that national governments step up and do their part for climate change.”
