The Art of a Press Release

It's all in the pitch and timing... While it does help to develop a personal relationship with your press contacts, the angle of the pitch and its timing are key elements to getting your story published.

1. For television, don't contact the reporter, contact the particular producer for either the morning, noon, evening, or late night news. Be prepared to stay up late or get up early if you need to talk to them on the phone!

2. For print, it's all about the angle and fitting it into what the reporter needs. If he/she needs to fill space with a pretty photo, make sure you have a digital photo ready. Make sure the topic of the press release is part of his/her beat.

3. For radio (depending on the size of the market), find out when the on air talent has time they need to fill. The likelihood of a radio remote (for free) or on air editorial is fairly unlikely unless they are off script a great deal.

Keep in mind that all members of the media (except print that is monthly, quarterly, etc) are on a perpetual deadline. Always be prepared for that 4:30 follow up phone call for the 5:00 news. And the line "Mr. White had not returned our calls by the time of production" means that you were probably on the other line or in the bathroom. Don't get defensive--it's the nature of the beast of an industry that is quickly being reformatted by Twitter, Facebook, and the internet in general.

Search Engine Optimization

Be wary of self-professed internet gurus who claim to be able to propel your website to higher organic rankings. We all know that google is the only search engine that matters and google changes the algorithms by which their bots rank sites about every 23 seconds. Google pay-per-click is a revenue generator for them, so what's the incentive to make organic optimization easy?

Some basic tips to enhance your organic optimization:

- Link, link, link to other websites and ensure they link back to you
- Write simple main page text and meta tags
- Don't load your homepage down with video and flash
- Consider a Facebook or twitter account to update special events, news, etc. And work on a following...and stream from your website. Make your website an information hub that is updated at least daily.
- Eblast, Eblast, Eblast and direct people back to your website for more information

Just a few simple tips to help your organic SE placement!

Rebranding a Special Event

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Most any special event that has had a modicum of success enjoys some elements that can perpetuate. What works with the event? What does not work? What are the easier and less costly elements that can live on--especially the name! Many times it is easier to "massage" the elements and identity of an event, rather than simply starting from scratch.

Shout Out to EastLake Business Association

Here's a high-five to EastLake Business Association (www.eastlake-sml.com) for having the foresight to agree to become a "Virtual DMO." Virtual DMO, or Virtual Destination Marketing Organization, is an entity that serves as a marketing entity for a region, while being almost 100% online. EastLake Business Association consumes little to no natural resources (other than the power of several computers and the Diet Cokes consumed by its Executive Director), but is beginning the process of becoming a marketing powerhouse for the Smith Mountain Lake region... Virtually. A new tourism and economic development website will soon be launched at www.destinationsml.org... Rack cards will be produced to promote the organization and the new Destination SML website, but the use of paper products and printing will decrease and the marketing capacity of the website and a social networking campaign increase. Go Green and Go SML!

The Susan Boyle Phenomenon

Even today, everyone likes a pleasant surprise. And if the content is markedly different from the packaging, the reaction is even more profound. Think about it the next time you are launching a product or an idea. The Shakespearean philosophy of appearance deviating from reality has held true for over 400 years.

A Resurrection of Academic and Athletics?

You know the old saying: "Once you go Greek, you're good for a week!" And while that really is a adage I just made up, it seems to hold true. Our Greek forefathers promoted both mental and physical fitness and I see this personified in the third annual Great Richmond Region Adventure. Solve a clue. Haul ass (on foot mind you) to the Richmond attraction referenced in the clue. It's an athletic geek's dream! And of course I plan to copy the event at Smith Mountain Lake in a slightly modified fashion...Smart Cars, Hybrids, and Segways will be allowed to account for our slightly more mature demographic...

As I have said in previous posts, there is no such thing as an original event concept. But I can sure as heck tweek it to fit my purposes.

A Tribute To Horton Foote

Playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote passed away yesterday at 92. Foote's brilliance was in his simplicity. He took the likes of "ordinary" people and gave them a wider audience through both the theater and film. He is most widely known for bringing "To Kill a Mockingbird", "A Trip To Bountiful", and "Tender Mercies" to the screen. All films won their leading men Academy Awards. A true actors' writer...

As we all brainstorm on how to build a better mousetrap, keep in mind the power of simplicity and the ability of the human mind to interpret.

Mucinex Equals Inspiration?

It appears that a combination of Mucinex, Benadryl, and Advil (well, really the generic versions of all three) might just be the key to jump starting the creative process. I would like to say, for the record, that I am a fairly creative person to begin with. However, there are certain quiet gloomy days when the buzz of the heat pump and the sporadic rumbling of a car driving by do not perpetuate those brain bursts of ideas and the energy to follow up on said ideas. Or the humility to accept a client's less-than-enthusiastic response to another fundraiser or concert series.

The simple fact is that not many folks in my line of work are looking to create a new event, especially one that requires the initial expenditure of reserve funds. I really think the level of seratonin released is directly proportional to the amount of money in their bank accounts (relate back to the generic reference in the first sentence). HOWEVER...

It is my argument that right now is exactly the time to create a new funding or marketing initiative that is based on the concept of a "special" event. People want an affordable distraction from the news. They want a distraction from the cold weather. People want to feel like they can pull together to have a positive impact...SOMEWHERE...and not simply be at the mercy of a nebulous pain in the ass called "The Economy."

Therefore, I vote for Dr. Richard Florida's "Creative Class" to pop a Mucinex, Benadryl, and Advil and focus on an initiative in the Historic Richmond Region that deserves attention. Ideally, when the pills wear off, enough people will be behind the initiative to perpetuate the motivation.

Word. Marketing's Secret Alliance w/ Style Weekly

Is it just a coincidence that my blog of yesterday evening featured the same topic as the just-released Style Weekly? Is anything EVER a coincidence? Is it a coincidence that Roop spelled backward is Poor and that I just spent my last dollar on fast food from Bullets and a car wash?! The parallels are almost celestial...

Resurrect Easy To Love!

Not that it ever really went away, but seriously...why the hell didn't "Easy To Love" really catch on in Richmond? My former organization of employment (I fondly recall as my last "cool" job) was but a minor partner in the entire branding process (because we only added $3000 to get our place at the table of the fancy breakfast meeting). However, I consider the "Easy To Love" soups to nuts brandificatoin process my foray into the world of intercept studies, identifying points of differentiation, top of mind awareness, etc, etc, etc.

And it was COOL!

And the Carboon Leaf/Regan collaborative theme song was kick ass... Probably the only time you can witness me driving down Monument Avenue with all the windows and sunroof open on the Tahoe trying to harmonize with a gospel choir...Eeeaaaasssssyyy Toooo Loooove...HALLELUJAH!!

Great brand...great song... So what's the problem?!

My personal opinion based on 12 years of living in the Historic Richmond Region has to do with identity. Everyone in Richmond identifies with something. South of the River, North of the River, East End, West End, Kroger's, Ukrop's, Near West End, FFV, prep schools, church...if you can find a moniker, you can find a group to identify with it. It is within these groups of identification that people build up walls. Wall keep out new ideas and keep in a defensive reaction to change... New ideas are immediately suspect. Better yet, within the walls of defense (which I believe are still erect in Windsor Faaaahms) smoulder a sense of posture. And that posturing becomes to stiff that all new ideas BOUNCE are deflected and dismissed.

And that, Marjorie, just so you know and SOME day your children will know, is the reason the Easy To Love tag line, logo, and theme song remain relatively undiscovered.

Fad = Information Overload

If Facebook is the new myspace, then what is going to be the new Facebook? I don't think twitter is the answer. The novelty of Facebook has to do with reading as MUCH or as LITTLE about your friends as you like. Twitter errs to the "LITTLE." So what is the next addictive internet incarnation? And just how many more applications can we download to our Blackberrys????

Inquiring minds want to know.

This new intervention (internet + invention) must be discrete. One must secretly be able to give the appearance of feverish research on the WWW or at least texting some HYT. Yes, Facebook does count a viral marketing...at least that is how it must show up in a daily report. But let's return to the issue at hand. Facebook's new intervention...

It must remain as far ahead of the curve as possible. Which means in less than a year, it will be used solely for cyber sex or internet dating (RIP myspace). And if society continues its downward spiral of WTF's, IDK's, BFF's, and ROFLMAO's, the new Facebook must be succinct.

This is what I envision. Something on order of a lipstick or chapstick. It buzzes once for coffee, twice for dinner, and thrice for BC. The consumer may then discretely apply the product and check out the miniature screen for name, time, and location.

Watch Apple launch this by the end of the week...

Exercise = Creativity

I am a firm believer in exercise and its direct contribution to creativity. Do I exercise as much as I should? No. I do, however, ALWAYS come home from the gym with a new idea or a fresh perspective on an old idea. It may be the influence of pretty people. It may be the endorphins. It may be that, after paying a $1 to rent a towel, I feel absolutely motivated to generate ideas and income to earn that dollar back for such a silly expense. It may be a combination of all. With all that said, I can say that something brilliantly interesting and worth exploring will be manifest by EOB today.

Everyone...go take a pep step!

Cause Related Marketing and Income Development

I think one of the most noble occupations one can pursue is anything "cause" related. These days numerous worthy charities are suffering because of a dip in funding sources. My professional advice is commonsensical and something I espoused even before the economy went into the pooper.

Collaborate. Collaborate. Collaborate.

Charitable causes with strong leaders and advocates vying for the same dollar abound. Don't reinvent the wheel. Share resources. Share vision. Oftentimes egos or the desire for "my cause to be better than your cause" get in the way of the true objective. "Do Good." I truly believe that if people spent more time sitting around a table (that is circular rather than rectangular) and planning how to share expenses, more money could be spent on the cause itself.

Coming from both sides of the "ASK" table, I can tell you without fear of contradiction that the audience (whether a benefactor or someone to whom you are marketing) has very little attention span for duplication of effort. Our consumers are savvy, skeptical, and sick to death of being asked for money.

The bottom line is to show how your cause is worthy AND your organization is efficiently operated.

Welcome to the Creative Corner

Has it been that kind of a week, month, or 2009? The stress of "marketing on a dime" is creating a tense climate in our industry. We all know that we have a passion for product promotion (or we would have been in Law School or majored in economics twenty years ago). However, we are where we are and this blog is simply an attempt to share industry ideas, experiences, and best practices so we may all complement each other's efforts. I am not a fan of being covetous of information and ideas. Therefore, if work that I have done or projects that I have completed can serve as a source of inspiration, I am happy to SHARE!

If you would like to share thoughts, please don't hesitate to send to jay@wordmarketingva.com!