Category: Public Relations
I get over 1,000 e-mails a day – and this is nothing compared to journalists and reporters, whose attention PR professionals (like me) are clamoring to captivate. But as e-mail interaction has replaced the phone as the primary source of communication, it’s become increasingly difficult to get noticed.
Like a plain-Jane trying to get past the velvet rope at the hottest new LA club – overly mundane subject lines often get lost in the shuffle while outrageous ones might make you an outcast, thrusting your carefully quipped, well-written pitch into the realms of SPAM. So always remember that simply hitting “send” on an e-mail is no guarantee that it will actually be read.
So what does it take to be seen and more importantly, get read? Well, as we see it, a subject line needs to be somewhat irreverent, highly intriguing and/or slightly confusing (but in a good way – not in the “that makes no sense” way). In other words, it’s got to catch their attention, get them to open the e-mail and then read it top to bottom.
For Example: “Laps with Led Zeppelin”
Got your attention, didn’t I?
Bet you want to know what that’s all about, huh …
Well, so did the media. That headline generated interest amongst top national consumer publications like Time magazine, U.S. News and World Report, Men’s Journal, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. 
Had we led with something safe like, “Aqua Lung Invents Snorkel with a Radio,” or something more aggrandizing like “Aqua Lung’s New Technology Revolutionizes Swimming,” our pitch may have been passed over as PR hype – or in other words, “just another new product being hocked by overzealous PR peeps promising something out-of-this-world.”
By the way, since you’re dying to know, the aforementioned subject line was used to promote our client Aqua Lung’s launch of the then revolutionary Aqua FM snorkel – the first snorkel with a built in FM receiver so swimmers and snorkelers could tune-in underwater using state-of-the-art Bone Conductivity Technology. (Of course now you can take your Ipod underwater but this was ground-breaking news at one point – we promise.)
Some basic rules to follow:
- DON’T use hyperbole
- DON’T be too technical
- DON’T be boring
- DON’T lead with outrageous claims of excellence or revolutionary concepts (no one will believe you)
- DO be clever and eye-catching
- DO use creative devices such as alliteration (when appropriate and in moderation of course)
- DO keep it short
- DO play on words
As printed in the San Diego Daily Transcript, June 11, 2010
Media Training for Tony – Alas, Too Late!
If you’ve been under a rock for the past few months, as BP’s escaped oil gushes into the Gulf of Mexico and way beyond, trashing business, tourism and not the least, countless birds and fish, you won’t know about Tony Hayward, who, quote-by-quote, deepens the hole in which his company is drowning.
Maybe the New York Times and the Wall St. Journal – among others – are the only entities benefiting from this tragedy; BP’s mega-bucks full-page ads plead their case: they didn’t mean it; didn’t see it coming; feel responsible; will make amends.
That might be sufficient “publicity” for maintaining their sincerity and integrity, but unfortunately, BP’s heartfelt messages have been undermined daily by Tony Hayward, the company’s CEO.
By now, perhaps BP is scrambling to find another spokesperson (even in a time of crises, a company spokesperson need not be the CEO), at the very least, I hope BP has Tony Hayward deep in media training.
Ah, Tony, here’s a start:
Tony: … the spill will not cause big problems because the Gulf…”is a very big ocean” and…”the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to have been very, very modest.”
Crises Communication lesson: never minimize the crises. Express company sympathy for its victims. Apologize for any responsibility the company bears.
Tony: “what is undoubtedly true is that we did not have the tools you would want in your tool kit.”
Crises Communication lesson: However possible, move to the positive. What you DO have, what you CAN do. It is the CEO’s task – and duty – to maintain, inspire or restore confidence in his/her company.
Tony: “I’d like my life back.”
Crises Communication lesson: Besides the fact that it isn’t about you, never, I mean NEVER speak spontaneously in a crises. Anticipate every question, every issue. Compose your comments and rehearse. Refer to them if needed. (Mr. Hayward apologized for this comment in the wake of media and public outrage).
Tony, in response to outcry that he quit: “I’m not quitting despite outcry. It hasn’t crossed my mind. It’s clearly crossed other people’s minds, but not mine.”
Crises Communication lesson: Don’t repeat negatives. Don’t speak for others – whether its clearly crossed their minds or not, it’s not for you to say. Say what you ARE doing, like, you’re totally committed to make things right? (While he eventually did talk about his commitment, recognizing and repeating the negatives weakened the hoped-for strength of his message.)
Tony, re whether he – or the company -will be prosecuted: “I’m not anxious about being arrested … the criminal investigation will proceed and draw whatever conclusion it draws. The only thing I’m losing sleep about is the leak.”
Crises Communication lesson: Listen up: Don’t repeat negatives. (“I am not a crook!” is now Nixon’s most memorable line.) If you stuck to, “The only thing I’m losing sleep over is the leak,” your point and commitment would have been a) far more succinct – and far more powerful.
Tony: “The spill is relatively tiny:”
Crises Communication lesson: Ah, Tony. The CEO MUST have all the facts before he/she opines. You don’t want to have to backtrack or wrest your foot out of your mouth.
Tony: “This won’t stop deep water drilling … We will be at the vanguard because we will know more about it than anyone else.”
Crises Communication lesson: Never speculate – and I say that knowing that you didn’t think you did. But you did. A premature comment to begin with; a sigh if not wry-inducing comment to end with.
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Thanks to Cheryl Bruser, Jewish Family Service’s “Project SARAH,” outreach coordinator, for her help in promoting Urban Solace’s recent Urban Seder dinner and her kind words on Jewish Family Service’s blog:
This just came in from Cheryl Bruser, our Project SARAH Outreach Coordinator:
This Passover was indeed different from all other nights…thanks to Urban Solace Chef Matt Gordon and proprietor Scott Watkins! In early March, I learned that Project SARAH would be the beneficiary of Urban Solace’s second annual Urban Seder. I was so touched—I feel it’s especially poignant that they chose our domestic abuse program, with Passover having such strong themes of liberation from oppression, freedom from slavery, rebirth and renewal. The holiday provides a powerful Jewish context of healing for our domestic violence survivors.
I, along with about 60 other guests, attended the Seder, which was led by Sam the Cooking Guy (Sam Zien) and restaurant critic Steve Silverman. They used the “Haggadah for Urban Solace” compiled by Steve.
Chef Gordon served delicious family-style dishes including chicken liver pâté, charoset and house-made gefilte fish. The four-course dinner included Caramelized Fennel and Roasted Garlic Matzo Ball with Jidori Chicken Consommé; Cold Smoked Char with Asparagus/Lemon/Herb Quinoa; Braised Shortrib, Green Garlic Pistou, Sweet Potato-Parsnip Tzimmes; and a special dessert of Lemon Blackberry Cake with Basil/Mint and Cracked Almonds. It was the most delicious Passover Seder I’ve ever been to!
Not only was the food outstanding, but Chef Gordon was a gracious and generous host…a real mensch. It was fun to sit at the long family-style tables, watching everyone engage in conversation with their neighbors, moving from strangers to new friends. Though the highlight of my evening was definitely when 11-year-old Brennan found the Afikomen, and decided to donate $10 of his $20 prize to Project SARAH.
I can’t thank Urban Solace and everyone involved enough—Chef Matt Gordon, Scott Watkins, Jean Walcher, Steven Silverman and Sam Zien. We are so appreciative of their generosity, which will directly benefit Project SARAH clients in their transition to safety. And we’re extremely grateful for the publicity for Project SARAH in the days leading up to the seder, including Project SARAH’s very own Marni Greenberg on San Diego Living.
View photos from the event on Urban Solace’s Facebook Page by clicking here>>
PRWEEK recently interviewed Jean Walcher and Caroline Counihan of InterContinental Hotels Group about JWalcher’s PR campaign for the launch of Hotel Indigo San Diego.
A quote from the client cites our work as informing the company’s “best practices:”
“…the campaign is informing best practices across IHG’s entire portfolio of hotels, which include Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza. The hotel, which has 1,235 Twitter followers and 727 Facebook fans, received coverage in ABC News, Los Angeles Times, and Travel + Leisure.”
Check out the PRWEEK article here: http://www.prweekus.com/ihg-gets-local-for-san-diego-property-launch/article/166630/
WHEN THE MEDIA CALLS, CALL YOUR PR AGENCY! HERE’S WHY:
(This post is dedicated to all of our wonderful clients)
- Clients pay us for media representation!
- We make clients’ life easier, save their time, save their money and mine their media opportunities
- We lighten the reporter’s life too: facilitate interviews, provide background information, stats, visuals, etc. We understand that the reporter doesn’t want us to be our clients’ gatekeeper – and we don’t, unless necessary. We prepare clients for the subject of the interview, the nature of the reporter and media outlet and deadlines
- In representing clients, we routinely contact reporters in the course of what might be an in-progress pitch or a new pitch, and our effectiveness is weakened if we don’t know they’ve called the client directly
- If we don’t know the reporter well, it gives us the opportunity to forge a relationship and to make future contacts on the client’s behalf more effective
- We can often enhance the story when we know the reporter’s angle. We might offer another source, or a fact about the issue neither the client nor the media knows
