Fewer Outlets = Better Pitches?

By now, it’s common knowledge traditional media outlets are suffering. Advertising sales are way down, which means print publications are closing their doors at an alarming rate, from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to the Ann Arbor News. This ever-shifting media landscape means it’s even more important for PR pros to stay on top of who’s still out there and what they’re looking to cover. In light of this, here are some tips on pitching both local and national media - everyone can use a refresher every now and then.

Know the publication or online outlet. Understand its format, target audience, frequency and reporting style, and what beat a reporter covers. Read articles previously written by the reporter you are contacting.

Target the pitch specifically for that media outlet. For example, we’re pitching a rheumatoid arthritis (RA) communication kit to national media on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation. For publications like Good Housekeeping and Cosmo, we’ll focus our pitches on how RA affects women and offer interviews with women who have RA. For the Associated Press and the evening TV news programs, we’ll focus on breaking RA news (like new study results) and offer the toolkit as a free resource for those with the disease.

Be cognizant of breaking news and whether your pitch is relevant at that moment in time.  For example, don’t pitch to local media in a city just hit by tornadoes unless your story is about helping with the clean-up, housing the victims or donating supplies. The same goes for national daily news.

Keep these tips in mind, and check out HARO (Help a Reporter Out) - beneficial for journalists and PR pros alike. You’ll receive three e-mails a day with queries from reporters who are looking for something specific. For example – one of my clients, Kevin Rej of Raise Studio, has an amazing vintage lunchbox collection. A few weeks ago, a writer for a magazine in San Francisco was looking to speak with a lunchbox collector. I pitched Kevin, they did the interview, and the article is scheduled for the magazine’s July issue. It’s like having a constantly updated editorial calendar delivered to your inbox! It’s important to note that Peter Shankman, the HARO facilitator, is serious about on-target pitches. He’s been known to blacklist PR people if reporters/journalists report off topic submissions.

The bottom line - the competition for editorial coverage has gotten tighter, so we have to work smarter by taking time to do our research before picking up the phone or sending an e-mail. The pitch has to be succinct and relevant in order for the news to turn into a story. Use news sites and social media to stay on top of the changing media landscape and constantly update your list with media on the way out, and new outlets appearing on the scene.

Vote for HandsOn Network

Nonprofits - those organizations whose sole focus is to improve people's lives - are struggling in this economy. However, innovative partnerships can help nonprofits to raise the money they need to continue their good work. Target, which gives five percent of its income to communities — over $3 million every week, is putting the power of the people to work. From May 10 - 25, you can go online to Facebook and vote for the charity you would like to see receive $3 million (or a portion of that).

As a friend and longtime supporter of HandsOn Network, all of us at communications 21 hope you will vote for them. The money raised through your vote will go to HandsOn's work in schools across the country. You can vote once a day until May 25 - so click here.

Moore Scoop on Going Green!

Yesterday, we helped the Atlanta Botanical Garden reach a major milestone—they introduced media to Moore in America and the $55 million Green Expansion, highlighted by the Garden’s new green-built Hardin Visitor Center. So what’s all the fuss about?

Well, when you see it for yourself, you’ll understand moore (yes-pun intended) than the words can ever portray on a blog, but suffice it to say that the Garden’s Visitor Center is a hallmark of modern technology, ecologic design and beauty. Gardeners, hold your shovels and get ready for my description. From rooftops that showcase growing expanses of sedum juxtaposed against the backdrop of Atlanta’s downtown skyline, the view just couldn’t get any better than this. Frothy lamb’s ear dance against the lawn perpendicular to osmanthus trees that look 50 years old, but have recently been planted. Elated for the Garden over its eco-friendly efforts, I resolved to make some changes in my own “green plan.” What could c21 or I do differently to help sustain the planet?

Then, I read this inspiring article by Paul Hoffman that offers 10 tips for a greener business that provide immediate results for this new resolve. These are ideas we all can implement today. Check back with us in the future and see how we have put these tips into action to make our “gardens” greener.

Highlighting Atlanta's Green Efforts

Happy Earth Day!

Our team recently had the pleasure of working with Atlanta Recycles and the Green Foodservice Alliance to promote the first Zero Waste Zone in southeast. Zero Waste Zones are designed to reduce the environmental impact of waste in homes, workplaces and in the community. Phase One of the Zero Waste Zone focuses on the convention and dining district downtown, where more than 12 Downtown Atlanta restaurants, hotels and even the Georgia World Congress Center have pledged to recycle, reuse spent grease for the local production of biofuel and compost or donate food residuals to drastically decrease the amount of waste going to landfills. We're proud to be a part of such an inspiring effort.

Want to know more? Check out CNN's recent coverage of the story.

Henry is Coming!

Henry is finally coming – that’s right, Henry Moore and his famous bronze sculptures are coming to the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s fifth major art exhibition (I’m talkin’ MAJOR as in GIGANTIC) since 2004. These bronze sculptures will begin to take their place in the Garden’s 15 magnificently manicured acres in the heart of our city starting today. c21 is partnering with the Garden to tell Moore’s story—helping provide more news, more scoop, more events, more hoopla through a donation of our time for marketing PR support.

Here’s the deal—these 20 sculptures weigh anywhere from 300 lbs. to 12 tons (that’s about the size of Ralph, Atlanta’s whale shark at the Aquarium). Henry created each piece by hand from natural, green products like bronze and granite, in the serenity of the English landscape outside Hampstead. These massive structures, which have previously been on exhibit at only London's Kew Gardens and The New York Botanical Garden, are arriving on trucks where gargantuan cranes will lift them up into the sky and place them on custom stone slabs architecturally designed to manage their weight and display their beauty against the backdrop of one of America’s top 10 gardens.

While Henry is gone, his work lives on. When the Garden opens on May 5, I’ll be there to welcome Henry for his last dance in the United States. It's America's last chance to see Henry's 20 sculptures together in one exhibition before his gifts return to London and are dispersed to various owners forever. You’ve got 158 days to climb into his “Hill Arches” arms and photograph your child against Henry’s 10-foot bronze “Oval with Two Points.” While at the Garden, tour the new LEED-certified Hardin Visitor Center, learn about their award-winning conservation efforts and more (or Moore as Henry would prefer…).

Let's explore more, see more, do more. See you in the Garden!

Dos and Don'ts for Spokespeople

A great post from the team at Bad Pitch Blog about the dos and don'ts of spokespeople. My favorite? Number 8: Don’t make one group look good at the expense of another. What a great tip to keep in mind whenever you're speaking! All of the tips in this post can be used whether you're speaking to reporters or presenting to a group, making it all the more valuable.

Three Questions to Ask Before Launching a Social Marketing Campaign

I have a confession to make. I’m a slacker blogger. That’s right, c21’s VP of Interactive Services has a three-year-old personal blog about a topic I’m quite passionate about, yet I can go for months at a time without uploading a single post. This fact was formerly my shameful secret, but when I work with clients who want to launch innovate social media marketing initiatives that impact the bottom line, it’s my very public example of the importance of proper planning before diving into the deep end of social media marketing. Yes, anybody can start a blog or Twitter feed, but without a strategic approach, a schedule and measurable goals, the effort and expense are unlikely to achieve the desired results.

Below are what I consider the top three key questions to ask on the front-end of any social media marketing effort:
1. What’s the primary objective?
Sometimes our clients don’t know what their objective is for social media marketing –and that’s ok. We figure that as the marketing experts, it’s our job to help them uncover those objectives and determine the best course of action to meet and exceed them. Your needs will impact the mix of social media tools best suited for you – whether you need to drive sales, build brand awareness or change public perceptions.

2. How will effectiveness be measured?
This can’t be over-stated: measurement in social media is KEY. Of course, what you measure may run the gamut from engagement, to site traffic to direct sales, but the point is the marketing team must establish the key metrics on the front-end. Check out Jeremiah Owyang’s article about measuring ROI.

3. What are your available staff and budget resources?
Ok, here’s the deal: Social media is not 100% free. Sure, there are tons of awesome free tools available that allow you to participate and monitor the social media space, but there are time costs associated with that participation and monitoring. You must have an estimate of the people and hours can you devote. Comcast and Zappos are prime examples of the human capital required for true social media interaction.

And the list goes on. Actually, there are at least 10 more questions we work through with our clients looking for social media marketing solutions. Click here if you’d like a copy of the complete list. And leave a comment here to let us know what you think are the top three questions.