Peak Communicators
May 9, 2014

10 Tips on How to Avoid Pitching the Saddest Press Release

When a well-respected newspaper reporter at a major paper says he received “the saddest press release I’ve ever seen,” it’s definitely worth looking into.

The short email pitch in question promoted the latest book predicting the end of the world, from an author who had incorrectly predicted the end of the world in 2012. Vancouver Sun reporter Douglas Todd, who received the pitch in his inbox, wrote, “I am speechless. The things that publicity companies will do for their paying {delusional} clients.”

Reporters get a lot of releases. On a single day as assignment editor at CTV in Vancouver in 2001, I got over 2,000 pages of faxes, all claiming to be news. Today the internet has made it even worse, because delivery is easy and free.

So here is my top-10 list for getting noticed and avoiding becoming “the saddest press release I’ve ever seen.”

A news release needs to be actual news. That’s why we call them newsreleases. They need to be a news story that meets the standards of the particular outlet, including bloggers.

Link it to a current issue. The media don’t really care that you are opening up another restaurant in a city full of them. But these days, if you are training local workers and providing opportunities for the unemployed, that is news.

Solve a problem. Too often news stories present problems without solutions. The public craves solutions. I was a TV consumer reporter for almost 10 years and many of my stories showed viewers how they could solve issues themselves in the real world. In news-speak it’s “news you can use.”

Focus on those affected, not on yourself. The more people affected, the bigger the story. If your news release is all about you, the newsroom won’t care. Show the individuals who are positively affected, what assignment editors call “real people,” and give reporters access to them as part of your pitch.

It’s not an ad. If your news release reads like an advertisement, the assignment editor is going to say “go buy an ad.” Replace your company name with your competitor and then see if your family would watch or read that story. If not, it isn’t news.

Give it context. I worked with an assignment editor who would ask the same short questions every time you went out on a story and when you returned: “Biggest ever? Worst ever? Best ever?” He was really asking reporters to give the story some context so the public understood its importance.

Facts are good. You don’t need to overwhelm reporters with facts but key facts that support a story are welcome. If you don’t provide facts, reporters will go looking for them on the internet and as we know many internet “facts” aren’t true. So do some of that research for a reporter and provide them with the facts they need.

Timing may be everything. If you have the greatest school backpack ever made, that ensures children don’t get sore backs, it makes sense to tell the world when parents are out buying for back-to-school, not at Christmas.

Be the good example. Many businesses large and small give to charity and they hope to get a mention in a charitable foundation’s thank-you news release. Next time, take a leadership role by encouraging others in the community to join the cause and show how giving impacts real people. You see the difference? It’s not about you and the big cheque, and getting thanks for it. It’s about the real people that benefit as a result. They represent the larger picture.

Pick the right media targets. Not all news releases are suitable for all outlets. So being more selective can improve your results. Customizing the release and its style can improve pick-up as well.

If I were choosing the saddest news release, it would be the one that follows all the 10 points, gets the media all excited, after which the client says they are too busy for interviews. Getting media pickup is not easy and you don’t get second chances.

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February 19, 2014

Science and Tech PR: How to Find Your Story

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Science can be difficult to understand — at least that’s what people often think.

Though many of the world’s most groundbreaking changes come from the fields of science and technology, these stories can be the most challenging to tell. If you’re trying to generate media coverage for your science or tech company, you’re going to have to get over that hurdle.

Make sure you can answer these questions about your company’s news:

Will your product/discovery save lives or make a difference in the way people live? Is it funny or moving? Find the right hook, and you’re in.

Case in point: the recent “twerking spider” news. Papers about animal behaviour are published every day, but the savvy folks behind this one made a hilarious connection with a current trend, and got tons of coverage as a result.

The essence of your story is NOT a list of the technical details of your product/discovery. Those are merely your supporting points.

Journalists will want to talk to an expert or two who can speak with scientific authority about the significance of the product/discovery. Offer media the chance to talk to a member of your team, e.g. the COO or lead researcher, who can talk about the essence of the story and their role in it, and answer questions on the technical details, if asked.

Bonus points if your expert can give personal anecdotes around the product/discovery. Who are the makers/designers/discoverers and why are they passionate about what they do? Was the product/discovery an accident? Or the result of many years of trial and error? Where did the idea come from? Does the product/discovery have a fun social backstory? A friendship? A romance? These are the stories journalists want to tell.

Journalists will want to support their stories with hard facts and numbers that are derived from reliable sources. Be able to offer a brief summary of one to three of the most salient, including references.

A cool photo or video of your team/product/discovery in action might just cinch the deal for media. Groups of people doing things, cool microscope images, your team racing their robot, one of your successful patients playing with her kids. IBM got everyone’s attention with their recent short film, A Boy and His Atom, a visual that’s equal-parts adorable and stunning that was made using the company’s cutting-edge technologies.

If at all possible, offer visuals of something more than your expert in a lab coat beside a machine. Please.

A little later on in your pitch you’ll need to give some background on how the product was developed or how the research was done. Distill this technical information into less than five sentences. That’s plenty for most journalists. If they need more, they can talk to your expert spokesperson, take a look at your fact sheet, see your website or Google it. If you give too much detail off the bat, you risk losing the story in it.

If you don’t give journalists context, they may not understand just how important your product/discovery is. Give them background information as necessary, again referencing reliable and accessible sources. Make sure you give a short, factual overview that will be equally useful for generalist reporters and journalists that specialize in your field.

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Once you’ve answered these questions for yourself, lead your pitch with the essence of your story, and support it with human stories, your expert, stats, visuals and background information. Twerking reference optional.

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January 16, 2014

Avoid the Cringe-worthy Quote

It’s the goal of every PR professional to get a good headline. In the case of bad news, the goal is to avoid the cringe-worthy one. The cringe-worthy headline is even worse when it’s a self-inflicted wound, based on an actual quotation.

Take this headline from the Globe and Mail last month, “Canada Post CEO defends delivery cuts, says seniors will get more exercise.” Trying to find the silver lining in a dark cloud of negative news is not a good strategy. The “positive spin” of forcing seniors out of their homes to collect mail from a community box rates an eight out of 10 on the cringe-worthy scale. Canada Post CEO Deepak Chopra lost the good headline where the rationale for the decision could have been explained. Instead he was mocked by MP’s at an emergency session of a House of Commons committee for his “mail Participaction”.

It is unlikely you or I will ever be called before a Commons committee, emergency or otherwise, to be grilled by partisan MP’s, but a news conference bears all the same characteristics, especially when you are there to deliver bad news. Reporters can be just as tough as opposition politicians.

Here are my top 10 tips for avoiding the cringe-worthy quote.

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1. KISS – Keep it Short and Simple.Because your announcement is “big news,” you feel that you need to hold an hour long news conference so the media gets the full story. Wrong. You need to hold a news conference which is just long enough to give the media what they need for a story, without giving them what they want, which is the negative comment headline. News conference success is measured in messages and not minutes. You don’t have to sit there and take an endless string of questions. In fact, reporters don’t like long news conferences, so you aren’t doing them any favours. Make your opening statement, answer a few questions make a wrap up comment and get out. If you find questions are becoming repetitive, you’ve already stayed too long.

2. Have the news conference professionally moderated. A CEO is at the top for a reason. Unfortunately turning to others for help often isn’t one of them. The stronger the CEO’s personality, the more they usually think they can “handle the media” by themselves. There is a reason politicians have someone run their news conferences. It’s so they can concentrate on providing the best responses to the questions. It is too much to expect one person to answer questions, keep track of who is up next, and not let one reporter dominate the news conference while at the same time judge the mood of the room and decide when it is a good time to wrap up. A moderated news conference stays on track and on topic. Professionals hire professionals to help them.

3. Don’t try to defend the indefensible, express regret instead. When you are delivering bad news, nobody thinks it’s funny. A glib response makes headlines (see above) and shows disrespect to those adversely affected. Present the facts and the reasons you are being forced to take the actions you are taking and the consequences of doing nothing. Don’t try to find the good news spin. It’ll just make you look ridiculous at best, insensitive, elitist and uncaring at the worst and your message will get lost.

4. Make a plan and stick to it. Every news conference needs a plan. It should be laid out minute by minute from when to give media the information (always before you start) through to how long you will speak and how long you set aside for questions. You should know which media members are coming, how they are likely to view the announcement and what questions they will ask.

5. Get media training on your specific announcement with real former reporters. Simulating a rough ride from veteran reporters will pay off. There is no substitute for being prepared and having specific training for your news conference with professionals putting you through your paces. You need to train until you are comfortable with whatever might happen. You should never be surprised by what is asked or how it is asked. But if there is something way off base, being trained how to deal with that scenario will ensure you don’t make the cringe-worthy comment. Again having a moderator there, managing the news conference, is crucial.

6. Practice. Media training is not one time only. There is no substitute for actually practicing it. You should have the team put you through your paces until you are comfortable. And don’t forget a refresher just before you go out to face the media.

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7. Run your key messages and Q&A by a real former reporter. It’s like getting a second opinion. You get the fresh set of eyes and a fresh perspective. Remember that reporters are outsiders, so when you bring someone in for another look, they are simulating the reporter experience and are more likely to ask what a reporter will. No matter how thorough you are, I’ll guarantee they’ll find something that could trip you up. It doesn’t mean your communications team has done a bad job. It simply a matter of perspective.

8. Give the media the facts and rationale before you start. To tell your story, the media needs to have your story. The most common mistake that ensures a bad news conference experience and bad news coverage is giving the media the information when it is over. To ask intelligent questions, to understand your point of view, they need the information before you start and in time to digest it all. Then they will concentrate on the highlights you give them during the news conference.

9. Give the media what they need not what they want. What reporters want is enough time to ask questions that will get you to say or do something stupid, which for a reporter is a golden moment. What reporters need is enough information to do a story. That means they need to get only enough time to ask questions that supplement the information you have given them. It’s a lot less time than you think, particularly if you have already given them a clear set of facts. Give them the story you want by giving them only what they need.

10. Stay on script and on message. This is often the hardest step, avoiding message drift. I put it last because everything above leads to this. Doing the other nine steps will naturally help you to stay on script and on message. If you get the urge to go rogue, don’t do it, or you can guarantee what the headline will be. And I’ll have more ammunition for a blog post.

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July 19, 2013

Peak Consultant Discusses Rolling Stone Controversy on Global News

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Global News recently approached Chris Olsen, Peak’s Kelowna-based senior consultant, for his take on the Rolling Stone cover controversy.

According to Chris, people react with emotion to what they see and not what they read and this is a prime example. Read the full article here.

Read Chris’ blog post on the controversy;  “A picture is worth several hundred thousand tweets”

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July 11, 2013

Calgary Flood Puts Emergency Communications Plan to the Test

calgary flood #2It will take years to recover from the devastating flood that hit Calgary and Southern Alberta in late June.  Many communities will never be the same. Others suffered so much damage they may never be rebuilt.  Yet despite all the destruction, now estimated at over $5 billion, only four people died.  It could have been a lot worse if not for a well-executed emergency communications plan keeping residents informed.  Social media and traditional media played a vital role in that plan.

During the worst of it, as the rain poured down and rising rivers flooded one community after another along with the downtown, the zoo and Stampede Park, Twitter became an essential information lifeline for thousands of people.  With no electricity, residents in affected communities used Twitter for real time information.  Mayor Naheed Nenshi was constantly Tweeting to his tens of thousands of followers and the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA), Calgary Police Service, Calgary Fire

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Department and other essential services used Twitter extensively to update flood conditions, coordinate evacuations, provide road closure status and even direct people to emergency shelters.  Facebook sites were used to draft volunteers and muster resources and supplies.  The flood clearly demonstrated how effective and efficient social media is at disseminating information during an emergency.

Calgary’s news media and in particular the TV stations really came through when it counted.  As the flood situation worsened, Global, CTV and CBC affiliates broke into programming and provided wall-to-wall flood coverage for almost 48 hours.  As part of its communications strategy, CEMA held frequent media updates and used the media as an information conduit.  Mayor Nenshi and officials from CEMA, police and fire were readily available for media interviews.  The coverage was critical in keeping the community informed, especially the hundreds of evacuees crowded around TV sets at the emergency relief centres trying to find out if they still had a home to go back to.

Now that the clean-up is underway and thousands of people work to put their lives back in order they can at least be assured that  Calgary has an excellent emergency communication plan in place.

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