PIGGYBACKING ON THE
NEWS:
A SMART WAY TO GET MEDIA ATTENTION
By B.L. Ochman
As the recent Southern California wildfires raged, I got an email from Daniela
Cendron, an alert Los-Angeles-based publishing house publicist, who was piggybacking
on the news.
Cendron offered reporters an interview with insurance risk expert David T.
Russell and a copy of his book, "IT’S A DISASTER: The Money and Politics
that Follow Earthquakes, Hurricanes and Other Catastrophic Losses."
She reports that her pitches generated more than 15 impressions in a week,
with Russell doing six interviews including Reader's Digest, Marketplace, Newsweek
on Air (MSNBC) KPCC, The Sacramento Bee, and The Orange County Register.
While jumping onto the back of this tragic news story may seem a bit ghoulish
to some, Cendron was using solid Reality PR tactics. Her low-key approach was
a relevant way to help reporters and to solidify her client's reputation as an
expert.
Unfortunately, the press release was attached to the e-mail instead of posted
on a Web site or pasted into the body of the email. Reporters complain bitterly
about unsolicited attachments, so don't send them!
Follow Up With More Ideas
Cendron followed up a few days later with another idea that was
equally pertinent. Could it have been shorter? Yeah, a little. But in this case
the length worked. She turned me into a fan with her tone and her timeliness.
Here's some of what she said in the second e-mail, subject line: "As the
Smoke Clears, Californians Face Bureaucracy and Paperwork."
It's Daniela from Silver Lake Publishing... again!
[she certainly could have combined the first two sentences.]
I have yet another Press Release for you today,
again related to the deadly wildfires that are racing across Southern California.
This time, though, I want to tackle another angle of the story. [This
is smart because of course looking for new angles about the story is exactly
what reporters were doing.]
One of Silver Lake Publishing's most popular releases
is "GET YOUR CLAIM PAID: A Pro-Active Guide for Handling the Most Difficult
Part of Insurance." In the book, our senior editor, James Walsh, gives
consumers tips and tools for making insurance claims effectively.
People whose homes have been incinerated need more
than deep concern. Federal disaster money can help—but the real battles
to re-build are based on insurance. And Silver Lake Publishing’s book
gives readers useful tools for winning those battles.
Overall, I'm sure you'll find "Get Your Claim
Paid" a very useful resource. Therefore, I'll be more than happy to send
you a copy of the book, or to set up an interview with our Senior Editor, James
Walsh.
Thank you for your time... "
Daniela Cendron
Publicity Department
Silver Lake Publishing
dcendron,silverlakepub.com
Think about it: if you were covering the story for weeks on end, a new expert
or a new angle would be more than welcome. Any time you have a chance to piggyback
your story on a news event, jump on it. The opportunity is fleeting, but the
payoff can be huge.
We spoke with her about her campaign:
What's Next: Where did
you get the media list?
Cendron: It's our personal Media List,
which we created through the years based on the Bacon's Directories. I constantly
update the list through contacts with the journos and on the web.
What's Next: Have you
piggybacked on news before?
Cendron: Actually, we do it quite
often. Since most of our books deal with insurance, personal finance and consumer-related
issues, we often put together press releases piggybacking on major news.
What's Next: Do you send
out a lot of books to journalists?
Cendron: Yes, when they request
them. We work a lot through Profnets, and the journalists I pitch often request
review copies of our books.
What's Next: Did you also
do a release?
Cendron: That's actually how it all started. I
emailed to all the contacts in my list a press release that I wrote together
with the Senior Editor here at Silver Lake, Jim Walsh. We usually write the PRs
together, and we don't use any outside service.
What's Next: Do you follow
up the emails with phone calls?
Cendron: Yes, I did follow up
with some emails and/or phone calls, though in most cases the journos contacted
me to get a review copy or set up an interview.
What's Next: Did anyone
get upset about you sending unsolicited email?
Cendron: My list
is quite extensive, and I sometimes get annoyed replies about my unsolicited
publicity. Yet, more often than not most journos simply ignore my emails if they
are not interested.
Occasionally some journalists write to let me know that even though they are
not interested in whatever I just pitched them, they'd still like to receive
our press releases, and to be kept on our mailing list.
I must admit that this one time I did get an angry email about how sad it is
that we try and capitalize on such a tragedy. As I wrote him, our book is devised
to help consumers get the best protection for their homes, cars, possessions
and lives.
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SECRET MEMO PUSHED LIMBAUGH
PR BLITZ
Corky Siemaszko of the NY Daily News reports that Rush Limbaugh's
spin team had a secret PR plan to save his image after his admission of addiction
to prescription painkillers.
It's a perfect example of why PR is so often used as a synonym
for BS.
Keven Bellows, who handles PR for the Clear Channel Communications
unit of Premiere Radio Networks, wrote a letter to Kraig Kitchen, PRN president
recommending a survey of Limbaugh's listeners to gauge their reaction to Limbaugh's
admission of drug addiction.
"If the results are positive, we can use PR with stations,
advertisers and the media," the memo states. "If not, we don't have
to publicize," she wrote.
Bellows also suggested that they "Post a call to action
on Rush's site telling his audience that the best way they can support him is
to stay tuned to his local station. Let the station know they are listening to
the program …. Assuming an outpouring of protest," the memo says,
"We will alert the [Wall Street] Journal."
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Please feel free to contact me, B.L. Ochman,
212.369.8312, BLOchman@whatsnextonline.com
any time with feedback or an idea for the newsletter. And of course your articles
will be welcome and graciously credited.
All material on this site is copyrighted by B.L. Ochman of whatsnextonline.com,
Inc. and may not be reproduced by any means without express written permission.
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