Sarah O'Connell
August 30, 2021 | 09:38:28
PR firms live and die by news. But there are some weeks, especially late in the summer, when the news cycle is slow and companies are in a lull between announcements. Despite this, there are ways for PR teams to get their clients in the news by basically creating it themselves.
Here are five pitch ideas for when there is no news that can work particularly well for B2B PR campaigns.
Meet and greet!
If there was a recent senior leadership hire or promotion at your organization, it can sometimes be leveraged into news, or at least background information for later news. We do this through a meet-and-greet pitch. The executive addition doesn’t even have to be that recent and even if it was covered by the news, a meet-and-greet will often be welcome.
In this type of pitch, we introduce the new officer and explain what their new role is at the organization, highlighting their accomplishments in past roles. The goal of this pitch is to offer executive time to reporters for introductions, background material, and to share a POV on the industry and its future.
It’s so simple, but you’d be surprised how many reporters can be interested. The informal meetups often lead to meaningful relationships where the reporter will reach out to get the exec’s opinion on certain topics down the road.
Data points drive press
Often companies have surveys or case studies that contain great data points. Research, when well packaged and communicated, can be just the thing for a slow period. When pitching case studies, it is important to offer a spokesperson from both the customer organization and the one that offers the product or service. Each must be willing to speak with a journalist, as some journalists will want to hear from the customers directly. We work with our clients to stretch the data into something newsworthy and add their insights to garner interest from the media.
Data points can go a long way. In some cases, it’s suitable for a quick media alert or even a press release. There are many news outlets that have columns focused on numbers and data, like eMarketer and The Drum’s “Week in Numbers.”
Use the news that’s already breaking
PR pros have been “newsjacking” for decades but it wasn’t until 2011 that David Meerman Scott penned the term. The Oxford dictionary defines it as “The practice of taking advantage of current events or news stories in such a way as to promote or advertise one’s product or brand.”
When news breaks, reporters and analysts often look for experts to comment on the story. That’s why we in PR need to stay on top of relevant news. Luckily, there are so many ways to consume news that it’s pretty hard to miss it. You can set up Google alerts on your phones and laptops, listen to daily podcasts and sign up for newsletters in pertinent industries. The keys here are relevance and speed.
Reactive media outreach needs to happen within hours of a breaking story. The best pitches will offer insightful commentary driven by relevant expertise. If you can package it well, you may just grab interest from a reporter.
Our Crenshaw team executed a reactive pitch about a recent data breach which resulted in our client, NCSA, being featured in the coverage about it. The team reacted quickly and garnered information and a quote from NCSA to offer to the media. The work paid off as they secured numerous stories for offering insight on the data breach.
Capitalize on recent trends
Another way to establish relevance for an organization or expert is to take advantage of recent trends that apply to their business. This doesn’t have to be groundbreaking or even a solid announceable piece of news, but it can be a way to offer an opinion on how a company is using trends, or, conversely, how its business is actually bucking a trend in spite of conventional wisdom.
For example, the use of newsletters has ramped up in the last year. We represent ad tech companies and media brands, and the shift to newsletters has real implications for them. There’s not a single, breaking story to react to, but rather a steady stream of developments in the category that makes it a natural trend for commentary and content.
Recently, we sent out a pitch offering our client LiveIntent, to discuss the importance of local newspapers and their email newsletters amid changes due to COVID-19. We were able to secure a Q&A feature opportunity with this pitch as well as inclusions in ad-tech newsletters.
Thought leadership
Most PR pros work with their clients to create plans where they outline pitch angles and content topics they want to execute over the course of a couple months. These plans are helpful when the news cycle is slow.
Having a thought-leadership pitch angle ready, complete with approved quotes from company executives will make it easier to reach out to reporters. Thought-leadership pieces should offer insight for readers from new perspectives and commentary that contributes to a larger conversation that is relevant at the time.
A thought-leadership angle that can garner interest can include commentary on the third-party cookies saga. The phasing out of third-party cookies has shaken up digital advertising and media, and with recent pushback regarding privacy issues, there is much to talk about. Offering an opinion and thoughts on the ongoing cookie delay is going to be relevant in ad-tech for a long time.
When we reach out to journalists with pitches about something other than an announcement, they take notice and particularly appreciate fresh ideas. If the content or commentary is compelling, relevant, and timely, it will grab the attention of reporters.