ComBlu has recently been working on a number of thought leadership engagements for clients in a variety of industries, including financial services, healthcare, insurance and banking. This is right up my alley as the chief media relations person at ComBlu, and it has been fun working with new media outlets and reconnecting with reporters and editors I had not had reason to contact recently.
As I reported in a recent post, social media has transformed the media relations discipline forever. However, getting back to basics – in the form of the original word of mouth or a good old fashioned conversation – remains crucial to success. With my two most recent campaigns, every single email and electronic message I sent went unanswered. Picking up the phone and having an actual conversation with a reporter was the key to breaking though and getting some placements.
What else is crucial to success? A well thought out and succinct pitch package to support the story you want the reporter to tell. As I described in a blog a while back, press releases are still valuable communications tools – when not overused. Legitimate news announcements still serve as tools for market education, and they still contribute to online discoverability via social networks and other channels. But, they should be newsworthy, succinct and free of clichés and other buzzwords.
Despite the press release as an industry mainstay, the pitch package has definitely changed in today’s environment. Most important is the shift away from all text materials. A stat we cite regularly in explaining this to clients reads: “people remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, and 80% of what they see and do.” Visuals and hands-on interactions (if possible) really help bring a story to life and help reporters easily understand the issue at hand and find new angles to explore and tidbits to share.
Given this my standard pitch package includes:
A full developed story package is a key element of success in media relations. What else have you added to your story package that made a difference? I’d love to hear.