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The how-to-do-it e-newsletter for PR and marketing
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How to find good news in a recession
During the past couple of weeks, I’ve been trawling eagerly through dozens of press releases. (Not something you’ll find many journalists readily admitting to!) The reason for my interest has been to discover how firms are finding good news to write about during the recession.
It’s been interesting and, as a result, I kick off this issue with a report on the top 10 press release themes which PR people are using during the recession which, if the economists are to be believed, still has months to run.
Trevor Gehlcken is an editor who receives more than his fair share of releases. Not surprising, since he edits four magazines. He tells us what he’s looking for from helpful PRs in our Five Minutes With… slot.
Still on the theme of press releases, most of them have a “note to editors”. Usually the note is little more than a piece of corporate-speak. It could do a useful job in making the release more helpful to journalists. Find out how in Press Release Clinic.
And, finally, why did singer Cheryl Cole’s snack bars help a PR campaign? Lee Bloor, a senior account executive at Tangerine PR, answers the question and describes how a campaign for the bars proved to be a winner.
One of the popular features of PR Success Monthly is the “Sponsored Weblink” section, which you’ll find in the right-hand column. You can link easily to a range of organisations that have useful services for PR. If you’d like to have a sponsored weblink in the next issue, you’ll find details of how to go about it there.
Peter Bartram
Editor
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10 press release ideas that work in a recession
Peter Bartram looks at press release stories that can strike a chord with editors during the economic downturn
During the past three months, I’ve been trawling through dozens of press releases about the recession. Apart from the fact that there’s obviously a lot to say about the worst downturn in our lifetimes, it’s convinced me that the recession offers PR professionals an opportunity to develop new story ideas in press releases. My analysis suggests that these are the 10 most effective themes to focus on:
1. Back-to-basics lifestyles. When cash is short, everybody’s got to cut back. So releases on how to do so – whether for individuals or companies – often grab coverage. Some examples from releases I’ve seen: Some consumers will be better off in the recession, (says research report). Recession blues could be making you ill, (preview for a TV documentary). A natural way to detox in a recession (promoting a diet regime). Recession Romeos writing their own love poems (to coincide with Valentine’s day).
2. Low-cost products. Part of the back-to-basics lifestyle is using lower-cost products and services. So if your firm’s (or client’s) products have a value-for-money angle, now’s the time to press release it. But, remember, the release must have a real news angle and be more than a thinly disguised advertisement. Examples: New affordable treatments at a health spa (says the spa). Cost-effective display equipment for the business that wants to promote itself in the recession (says the supplier).
3. Trends and forecasts. When the world moves into unknown territory – as it’s done with the credit crunch – people are avid for news of what’s happening and what’s coming next. So survey and trend releases work well. Examples: Companies can manage their way out of recession (reporting views of blue chip companies). Case for outsourcing grows in the recession (says a consultancy). Green business travel at risk in the recession (says a poll of travel executives).
4. An expert speaks. Just as people want to know what’s going to happen next, they’re also hungry for people with specialist knowledge to throw light on confusing situations. So if you have an expert in your organisation, his or her views on key issues could become topical releases. Examples: Budget doesn’t restore health of public finances (says CBI chief). Changes to teaching of maths and English welcome (says head of teachers’ union).
5. Recession advice. Firms that offer professional services can often score by providing advice on how to get through the recession. But the advice needs an edge – something that marks it out from what everyone else is saying. Examples: New book shows how to survive recession (says management consultancy which published it). Small businesses can get better value from advertising, (say the publishers of a new guide).
6. Saving money. When cash is tight, releases about how to cut costs – in the workplace or the home – could make ink. But they have to have some original insight and provide some solid evidence they work. Examples: Small companies cut their hardware spend rather than their internet connection (says - surprise, surprise - an internet service provider). Eco-websites provide low-cost way to recycle and find second-hand goods (says a network of them).
7. Making money. And, in a recession, everybody wants to make a bit more money. So releases with solid stories about how to do so (legally) can catch the eye of both lifestyle and personal finance section editors. Examples: Sell the clothes you no longer wear (says a website specialising in it). Take out a home-selling franchise (says a company offering one). Accept £500 free advertising if you start a business with us (says a company).
8. Success against the odds. Because news is “what’s different”, companies that do badly in good times get headlines but companies that do well in bad times can, more positively, score. Now is the time to shout real achievements from the rooftops (or preferably from a well-crafted press release). Examples: Value whisky brand doubles sales in a year (say the makers). Supermarket racks up record profits despite recession (announces the retailer).
9. Hiring not firing. In a recession many of the business stories are about laying off workers. If your organisation (or client) is hiring, you’re sitting on a good news story which could win coverage, depending on the scale of the hirings. Examples: Tour operators encourage new graduates to apply as holiday advisors overseas (says one of the holiday firms). UK holiday camp chain plans to hire 2,000 more people, (according to the chain).
10. Swimming against the tide. Stories of organisations swimming against the tide – defying trends – often get media coverage because (as mentioned) what’s different is news. So companies that are doing anything that shows they’re overcoming the downturn could make a good release. Examples: More firms want serviced offices than their own premises (says serviced office provider). Door-to-door selling company boosts sales by 11 per cent (it reports). UK wine drinkers will imbibe more during the recession, (says wine exhibition organiser).
Not every organisation is going to find examples under all of these headings. But what struck me during my research was that a very wide range of organisations do have a recession story (or two) to tell – if only they realise it. BUSINESS-FOCUSED PR: If you handle your PR in-house (rather than through an agency) the Perfect Public Relations Masterclass in London on Tuesday 2nd June will give you new insights into how to get more PR coverage from limited resources. That will include how to grab positive coverage from recession PR. More details and online booking at www.howtodoyourownpr.co.uk.
Five minutes with... Trevor Gehlcken
Busy Trevor Gehlcken edits four magazines – business titles Surrey Director, Kent Director and Eastern Director and trade and tech mag Fleet Van
What I want from PR people is ...
…accurate information written in a format that doesn’t hide facts in among too many words. On too many occasions, I’m sent words and pictures with no captions, press releases that have no relevance to my magazines or that are written in such techno-gobbledegook that they may as well have been sent to me in Mandarin Chinese! Most of the releases like this go straight in the bin. I’m a busy editor of four different magazines and I just don’t have time to waste making phone calls to check facts that should have been checked before they reach me.
The best way to get my attention ...
…is by calling me half an hour after you’ve sent me the press release just to check that everything is OK and to ask if there's anything else I need. People who do this are much more likely to get their releases used as I appreciate the time they have taken to “go the extra mile”.
But please don’t ...
…keep on pestering me and asking me whether or not I'm going to use the release, if so in which issue, etc, etc. It rapidly starts getting on my nerves!
When pitching a story to me ...
…use plain language that isn’t full of silly “ad speak”, which will all get cut out anyway. Also don’t ask me to see copy before it goes in the mag - and don’t expect us to use every press release you send.
If you’re sending a press release, I want...
…accuracy, simplicity and hi-res pictures attached, along with a Word document. Too many times we get weird document formats we can’t open, pictures that are 2cms wide at 300dpi or a note at the bottom of the e-mail saying: “pics on request”. If you can’t be bothered to attach a hi-res pic, I can’t be bothered to pick up the phone and ask you for one!
The most successful PR people ...
…are the ones who get to know the journalists personally and strike a rapport with them. I’ve known some PR people professionally now for upwards of 20 years and we are friends as well as oppos. Those people invariably get more coverage than the ones who just send stuff in on spec as they know exactly what gets me fired up journalistically.
Press release clinic: noteworthy
Peter Bartram argues that the “note to editors” at the end of some press releases can be used to generate more coverage
A press release trend of the past decade has been the growth in number and length of “notes to editors” at the end of press releases. I find that press release writers often refer to these as “boilerplates” and therein lies a problem.
Too many notes to editors consist of little more than a thinly disguised marketing statement on behalf of the organisation. Often, especially in companies providing business and technical services, the note to editors is written in “management speak” or thickly encrusted with impenetrable jargon. Here’s one example:
“…clients are assured of a transparent business partner…”
Who were they thinking of? The Invisible Man? What they meant is that they are a company that shares information openly with its clients. So why not say so in plain English?
There is a simple principle to apply in a “note to editors”. It is that the note will only be useful to editors if it provides information that is helpful to them. Obvious, but too often over-looked.
The note can be helpful by providing useful background information that it wasn’t possible to include in the main body of the release. Sometimes, this could be information which provides more context to the main story – to help journalists who are not expert in the subject matter understand the story’s significance.
At other times, the note might be tailored to provide information for key target audiences. For example it you’re an organisation that operates in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, you might want to tailor the note to reflect the special interests of the press in those four places.
The secret of a good “note to editors” is to get away from boilerplate thinking. Dishing up the same indigestible corporate-speak every time is not the way to engage the attention of people who make their livings by seeking something new.
BETTER PRESS RELEASES: The Perfect Press Release Masterclass in London on Wednesday 22 July is an intensive half-day tutorial which will put you well on the road to writing the kind of releases editors want to receive. Details and online booking at www.prmasterclass.co.uk.
How Cheryl Cole's snack fed a media frenzy
Lee Bloor, senior account executive at Tangerine PR, reveals how the singer’s endorsement aided a successful campaign to promote Atkins snack bars
When we were asked last autumn to run a campaign to launch Atkins snack bars in Britain, we faced two problems. First, Robert Atkins – founder of the famous Atkins diet - had died five years earlier of a heart-related disease. Although this had nothing to do with his diet, the memory of the bad publicity lingered.
The second problem was that a new Atkins diet book was due to be launched before our campaign started. We were in danger of being “scooped”. Journalists who’d covered the book might not want to write about Atkins again so soon after. We were also hampered because the snack bars weren’t new.
Besides launching the bars, our campaign also had to boost awareness of Atkins Nutritional Approach, a new improved diet. We wanted the campaign to show the weight loss benefits of replacing other snacks with Atkins bars. And, of course, there were the practical aims of increasing stockists, boosting website hits and so on.
To do this, we used US research in The Journal of the American Medical Association, which ranked the new Atkins plan as number one for overall weight loss in a 2007 National Institutes of Health-funded study. This proved Atkins to be the most effective in achieving weight loss and a healthy heart with lower cholesterol.
To avoid being scooped by the book, we brought forward our campaign from December to October and focused on 20 key media to avoid the launch being leaked. We created a bespoke diet plan and guide for each publication, which met the exclusivity need each title requested.
The main campaign focus was on improvements in the diet, health benefits and scientific backing. Working closely with journalists, we provided feature themes, nutritional information and expert comments. We recruited people, aged 20 – 45, to trial the diet and products for four weeks. They logged a daily food diary and had weekly weigh-ins to record progress. We took before and after pictures.
We sent a hamper of snack bars to Cheryl Cole. She later revealed in Vogue that she was a loyal follower of the Atkins diet. That furthered the media frenzy and excitement surrounding the campaign.
The campaign ticked all the boxes - celebrities, science and real-life case studies. The celebrities made the campaign newsworthy; the science added credibility; the case studies provided physical evidence. All three worked together to eliminate any potential “fad diet” backlash.
Before the campaign started, we agreed media targets for the launch -· three national newspaper hits, seven national glossy magazines, five regional titles, and five trade press. In the three months from October to December, we achieved 19 national newspapers (including News of the World, Daily Mirror and a front cover and double-page spread in the Daily Mail over four consecutive days), 14 glossy magazines (including Hello, Grazia, Look and Now), eight regional and five trade.
The £17,500 campaign delivered a return on investment of £331 for every pound spent and a total circulation of 34,054,064. Boots increased shelf space for the bars and Tesco came on board as a retailer. Website hits more than doubled to 15,250 at the campaign’s peak.
Coverage was positive and most newspapers contained mentions and images of the bars, with website details, a meal planner and quotes. Magazine coverage ran over double-page spreads, some with front-page mentions, including case studies, meal planners and mentions and images of the bars.
Our campaign plan is now being used by Atkins as a template in other parts of the world. And we’ve signed Atkins as a retained client.
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Contents
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Diary dates:
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Training events for PR and marketing professionals:
Tuesday 2nd June: Perfect Public Relations Masterclass, London.
A practical workshop for organisations that want to win more of their own media coverage
More: www.howtodoyourownpr.co.uk
Thursday 18th June: Perfect Proposals & Presentations Masterclass. London.
How PR and marketing consultancies can improve pitches to win more business
More: www.perfectproposals.co.uk
Wednesday 1st July: Writing for Publication Masterclass, London.
How to write news stories and feature articles that editors want to publish
More: www.writingforpublication.co.uk
Wednesday 22nd July: Perfect Press Release Masterclass, London.
A journalist’s eye view on how to write releases that make it into print
More: www.prmasterclass.co.uk
Thursday 1st October: Perfect Press Release Masterclass, London.
A journalist’s eye view on how to write releases that make it into print
More: www.prmasterclass.co.uk
Wednesday 7th October: Writing for Publication Masterclass, Manchester Business School.
How to write news stories and feature articles that editors want to publish
More: www.writingforpublication.co.uk
Wednesday 7th October: Perfect Proposals & Presentations Masterclass. Manchester Business School.
How PR and marketing consultancies can improve pitches to win more business
More: www.perfectproposals.co.uk
Thursday 8th October: Perfect Pitch Masterclass, Manchester Business School.
How to devise article and interview pitches that journalists really want to hear
More: www.perfectpitchmasterclass.co.uk
Tuesday 27th October: Perfect Proposals & Presentations Masterclass. London.
How PR and marketing consultancies can improve pitches to win more business
More: www.perfectproposals.co.uk
Wednesday 28th October: Perfect Public Relations Masterclass, London.
A practical workshop for organisations that want to win more of their own media coverage
More: www.howtodoyourownpr.co.uk
Wednesday 2nd December: Perfect Pitch Masterclass, London.
How to devise article and interview pitches that journalists really want to hear
More: www.perfectpitchmasterclass.co.uk
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PR metrics must tie to company objectives. Here are 10 tips for translating PR results into demonstrable business success. Tangerine
Tangerine is the only agency outside London shortlisted in the outstanding consultancy category at the national CIPR Excellence Awards 2009.
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Worldwide Webdesign is an advanced web design company, which has designed websites for many clients in the UK, and abroad.
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Worth knowing:
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Win that biz!
If you’re a PR agency, it doesn’t get any easier winning new clients in a recession. If you’re making a new business presentation here are 10 key points to bear in mind.
1. If it’s to be a team presentation, select your team members carefully to provide a good mix of talent and individuality, so that each person can contribute something fresh to hold audience interest. The quality of the team, not just the team leader, is often the deciding factor.
2. If a team is to give the presentation, rehearse it together so that it runs smoothly without hesitation or confusion over individual roles. The audience will note how the team members work together and respond to each other, how well they are organised.
3. Check out your prospect's team: how many will be there, what are their roles, what will they expect, how big is the room? This information enables you to tailor your pitch more effectively.
4. Speak from notes or cue cards, never from a script. The client already has the details of your pitch: you are complementing it, not repeating it. Each team member should contribute a key message.
5. Highlight the benefits of each part of your proposal as soon as you can. It's known by some experts as "putting the headline upfront" - people are more interested in the outcome than in the process.
6. Don't overdo visual aids or have complicated slides that are hard to read. They confuse both audience and speaker. Work out what you want to say, then decide which aids best support it.
7. Overcome nerves by understanding your material thoroughly. Planning and practice will provide confidence that you can give a competent presentation.
8. Don't waffle, keep to the point and don't overrun your speaking time. If you know one of your client's team is the managing director, don't give all your eye contact to him (or her) - spread your attention around.
9. Ask yourself what your questions would be if you were on the other side, including those you would least like to hear. Don't be too quick to answer - a pause indicates you are thinking about the question.
10. Don't get defensive at challenging or unfriendly questions - stay cool and courteous. Manipulate questions to your advantage - use even a negative question as a way into a positive point.
Win more business: The Perfect Proposals & Presentations Masterclass in London on Thursday 18 June is a half-day event designed to help PR agencies win new accounts. More details and online booking at www.perfectproposals.co.uk
Case studies
If you have to write a case study about your company or a client, here’s some useful advice taken from the Article Briefing Book, published by New Venture Publishing.
Find out who will be reading the case study and what aspects of the story will most interest them. Find out the length of the case study (which will determine the amount of detail you can include). Identify the key players in the case study who will supply you with information about what happened.
Conduct an interview(s) with the key player(s) and ask a series of logical questions designed to uncover what happened chronologically:
When did you start on this project/activity? Why did you start on it – what were the drivers behind wanting to do it? What were the key tasks you had to tackle to make it happen? What did you have to do in each of those tasks? Who else was involved and what was their role? What techniques did you use to make the project/activity easier to manage? What were the biggest problems you had to tackle to make the project/activity happen? What benefits have you found since the project/activity was completed? What advice would you offer to other people embarking on a similar project/activity?
Consider structuring the case study in one of two ways: (1) Chronologically: describe events in the order they happened.(2) Problem-solution: state the problem and describe how the solution was reached.
Avoid beginning the case study with background information about the organisation or person involved. Instead, begin the case study with: (1) A key benefit the project/activity has delivered. (2) A striking example of the problems faced. (3) An unusual anecdote from the project/activity.
Use the intro to move into a brief summary of what the project/activity was all about. Then move into either the chronological or problem-solution approach for the rest of the case study. Avoid providing background information in large chunks, especially close to the start of the case study.
Instead, weave background into the story at points where it is natural to provide it. If there is a lot of background information to provide, consider including it in a box-out. Use the pay-off to highlight a key benefit from the project or a lesson which others undertaking similar projects could find useful.
How to write articles: Come to the Writing for Publication Masterclass in London on Wednesday 1 July if you want to learn more about writing PR articles for newspapers, magazines and websites. More details and online booking at: www.writingforpublication.co.uk
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Contact details
We hope you find this newsletter of interest. If you have any queries or would like to make a suggestion about future content, please contact New Venture Publishing using the contact details below.
New Venture Publishing Ltd, 29 Tivoli Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 5BG, UK.
Tel: +44 1273 565505. E-mail: info@newventurepublishing.co.uk
© New Venture Publishing Ltd 2010. All rights reserved.
New Venture Publishing Ltd is registered in England & Wales, number 5606789
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