pitching | Communiqué PR
08Jun
Reaching Hyper-local Audiences: Crafting a Compelling Pitch
Proactive pitch campaigns often target national or even global audiences. However, when you’re working with organizations that have products or services that appeal to audiences in specific regions or locations, it’s important to capture the attention of those local audiences. How do you reach these audiences? With pitches tailored designed to resonate with their specific interests. Consider what’s relevant to [...]
Filed under: Email, Planning, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Sources, Strategy, Writing
11May
Crafting a Compelling Proactive Pitch: Tips to Consider
Proactive pitching is a powerful way to win media coverage for a client, even when there’s no major news to announce. It also allows PR pros more control over their work. However, proactive pitching can be tricky. It’s a craft that PR pros should constantly hone. Creating a compelling proactive pitch takes time and practice. There are several elements to [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Email, Execution, Experience, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Sources, Strategy, Writing
07Dec
Year in Review: Snapshot of Bylines and Blogs Developed on Behalf of Intrado
Communiqué PR has had the opportunity to work with Flowroute, now part of Intrado, for nearly seven years. Throughout this time, we have worked with the company's team to support various communications projects, including announcing company news, developing blog content, and conducting media outreach around industry trade shows. In 2021, we began working with Intrado's UCaaS group to develop blog content [...]
Filed under: Business to Business, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Execution, INDUSTRY, Infrastructure Industry, Our Results, Strategy, Tech Industry
26Oct
5 Tips for Building Relationships with National Journalists and Media
“For forever and a day, I shall chase that white whale." – Captain Ahab, “Moby Dick” Had Captain Ahab worked in public relations instead of whaling, his quote may have referred to securing the elusive, top-tier national coverage that so many clients seek. Everyone wants to see their name in valued news outlets such as The New York Times, The [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Execution, Media, Planning, Positioning, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy, Writing
30Jun
Pitching on Fridays – Does it Actually Work?
Traditionally, the common best practice among PR professionals suggests that Friday is the worst day to pitch media. Journalists have one foot out the door into the weekend and are likely catching up on the remaining deliverables for the work week. However, data released by Propel Media in its Media Engagement Barometer report tells a different story. Surprisingly, Friday is [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Execution, Planning, PR trends, Strategy
28May
The State of the Media in the Time of COVID-19
Each spring Cision releases its State of the Media Report, analyzing trends in the media, uncovering insights into journalists’ view on the state of the industry, and describing preferences on how they prefer to work with PR professionals. I keep an eye out for it each year, knowing that it will provide information that will be highly useful when pitching [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Media, Planning, PR trends, Sources, Strategy
18Oct
The Blackbox of Pitching Media
As PR professionals (PR pros) we are often tasked with trying to maximize exposure for our clients across multiple forms of media, while actively listening to audience feedback and mining for emerging trends and conversations that we can leverage to keep our clients top of mind. While standard reporting is important, how you report on your progress and wins is [...]
Filed under: Execution, INDUSTRY, PUBLIC RELATIONS
06Sep
How to Avoid Being a Journalist’s Worst Nightmare
Public relations experts know how important relationships with journalists are. They (and their editors) are often the deciding vote on whether your client gets coverage or not. If you have a positive relationship with a journalist, you will often be their go-to if they have a story relating to your client. However, one bad pitch can send you straight to [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy
21Aug
Rooting for the Underdogs of PR: Trade Media and Vertical Press
I’ve always rooted for the underdog. I love those unsung heroes that work hard day in and day out, often in the background, keeping things moving while others enjoy their time in the spotlight. This might be one reason why I adore working with trade media and vertical publications. Sure, there are bigger and more well-known publications, with their circulations [...]
Filed under: Business to Business, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, INDUSTRY, News, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy
05Jul
Advice On Concise Writing
I had a feature writing professor at Western Washington University who started every class with a lesson on avoiding hoopdidoodle in our writing. He defines hoopdidoodle as useless, extra wording that doesn’t add any meaning to our writing. It’s surprising how much of that we do, thinking we’re including necessary details when in reality these words, phrases and clichés are [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy
03Jul
Emotional Intelligence: Why it Matters to PR Pros
Our increasingly distracting digital society has created relentless competition for attention, and as a result, the emotional appeal of a pitch can often be the determining factor of who gets coverage and who doesn’t. “With the current state of the media industry (less people doing more jobs), the competition for media attention is tight,” says Markstein’s Nicole Wyatt. “The emotional [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy
Guidelines for Pitching Discover Magazine
Discover magazine consistently has delivered refreshingly understandable reports on complex developments in science, medicine, technology, and the world around us for more than 30 years. It is highly regarded for compelling stories that are thought-provoking and raise important awareness to sometimes obscure topics. One of our clients is conducting some groundbreaking scientific research. Because of the reasons above -- along with [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Consumer, Media, Planning
Stay Smart and Informed With Podcasts – Your PR Career May Depend on It
Whether it’s an hour spent in bumper-to-bumper traffic, a 20-minute walk to class, or sitting on the bus through 37 stops, most people have to endure some form of a daily commute. The way we spend that commute time, however, can vary significantly. Some people listen to music, some read books, and others talk on the phone. Personally, after exhausting [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR
Radio Reincarnated: How PR Professionals Can Leverage the Rise of Podcasting
Video may have killed the radio star, but it has reincarnated as a podcast host. Podcasts are essentially radio that appeals to listeners’ niche interests and enthusiasms and is free from the constraints of a network programming clock. This type of oral storytelling has quickly gained popularity: The percentage of Americans who have listened to a podcast in the past [...]
Filed under: Execution, PR trends
‘Tis the Season: Holiday PR Pitching for B2B Clients
Even though pumpkin spice products and cozy sweaters just hit the shelves, most journalists and PR pros have already moved on to the biggest shopping event of the year: the holiday season. For PR pros with consumer-facing clients, the guidelines around holiday gift guide pitching are often outlined by editors to streamline the selection process. But for those of us [...]
Filed under: Business to Business, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Planning, Strategy
How to Sell Your Story Over the Phone – 5 Best Practices
Have you ever heard the saying a smile can be heard over the phone? The saying rings very true because there’s nothing quite like the sound of a smile. But, when it comes to pitching stories over the phone (call-downs), you’ll need more than just a dashing smile to be heard. Pitching a story, whether that’s in person, via email [...]
Filed under: INDUSTRY, Media, Planning, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy
How to Avoid Breaking PR’s Cardinal Rule
Recently, a writer at Newsweek published a story recounting his week-long experiment to read and to reply within 36 hours to every PR pitch he received. Given the volume of pitches that landed in his inbox, it was a noble effort. Some of the experiences he relayed made me chuckle, but a lot of his story also made me cringe [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy
Did I Get Your Attention?
Journalists’ inboxes are often full of emails pitching a variety of different stories. As a beginner in the PR industry, I am realizing with every pitch I send that getting their attention is anything but easy. So the question becomes, how do you get them to read your pitch? How do I make my email the email worth opening? The [...]
Filed under: Execution, Media, Strategy
The Changing Landscape of Media Relations: My Advice to PR Pros
As PR professionals, we love the adrenaline rush of landing that big interview for a client with the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg or the New York Times, and yet few outside of the industry actually understand the myriad of factors reporters consider when deciding whether or not to open up our emails, respond to our pitches or put pen to [...]
Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Positioning, PR trends
Let’s Connect: Findings From Tech Journalist/PR Pro Survey
Recently, PRSourceCode released some interesting data from a survey they conducted with technology-focused journalists and PR professionals. The goal of the survey was to identify the best practices for building relationships with technology journalists. The survey revealed some significant and useful insight. One area that I found particularly interesting was an examination of the methods PR pros rely on to [...]
Filed under: Media, PR trends