Creating An Effective Media Relations Plan

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Presented June 24, 2009

Creating an Effective Media Relations Plan

Presenters

Eric BorsumManaging Partner

PainePR

Marta Bortner Assistant Director/External Affairs

CaliforniaVolunteers

Kelly HustonAssistant Secretary

California Emergency Management Agency

Jessica PayneSocial Media Strategist

PainePR

Alexia Allina Media Relations Strategist

PainePR

Mary BorrelliMedia Relations Manager American Cancer Society

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Agenda

• Media Relations Fundamentals– Today’s Media Landscape– Working with Media– Creating Your Story– Telling Your Story– Traditional Approaches– On-Line/Digital Approaches

• Case Studies

• Discussion/Q&A

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Today’s Media Landscape

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Journalism in Transition

• Technology has dramatically changed the way consumers get information – Blogs, podcasts, vlogs, v-mail, PDAs, RSS, etc.

• Broadcast/print media are losing “share of mind”– Only 1/3 get information from TV news– Newspaper readership (printed) has dropped; recent

circulations: down 2.8% daily and 3.4% Sunday • Online editions are adding readers and advertising

revenues are at a healthy pace – More than 32 million people in U.S. read blogs

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Today’s Media Are …

• Under increased pressure and facing uncertain industry economics

• Journalists are producing content for multiple mediums– Print publication and outlet’s online site and/or blog

• Being asked to do more with less• Constantly monitoring their value to their media

companies

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Media +

• We’re evolving from … get me ink … to a combination, including word of mouth “buzz” and influencer marketing

Now we can generate publicity as well as help ignite conversations among our target audiences directly.

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Working with Media

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Media – The Perfect World

• Ready to take our calls

• Have plenty of space or time to fill

• Committed to getting the story right the first time

• Double-check facts and sources

• Believe we have a valuable story

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Media – The Real World

• Traditional media are stretched thin and struggling to keep up with online competitors (i.e., news sites and blogs)

• Editorial space is shrinking• Fighting to be first and pressure to

produce• Believe we have a valuable story

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How Media Work – Print

• Newspapers– Access to spokespeople for detailed interviews – Allows for greater explanation– Work against varying deadlines

• Magazines– More in-depth interviews– Angle relevance to readers– Longer deadlines

• Wire Services– Always want story first and always on deadline– Service all of the above

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How Media Work – Broadcast

• Television– Completely driven by visuals and sound bites – Varying formats– Emotional hooks, personal relevance– Work against hard deadlines for scheduled programs

• Radio– Reliant on sound bites and audio– Varying formats– Work against hard deadlines for scheduled programs

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How Media Work – Online

• Varying formats and focus

• Utilize print, visual and audio elements

• Optimum flexibility

• Allows interactive dialogue

• Anyone can be a reporter

• Huge opportunities, huge risks (can be a spoiler)

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Media Deadlines

• All reporters write stories on a deadline … could be days or minutes!– Always respond before the deadline, even if it is to explain

that you cannot provide them with the needed information

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Creating Your Story

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What’s News?

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News Is…

• Controversy or change

• Rooted in the “new” and each story must contain newsworthy elements

• A strong story idea is a must– Idea must be interesting to viewers, listeners or readers

• The reporter will ask: “Why would my audience care about this story?”– Have an answer

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What Isn’t News?

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News Isn’t …

• Just any event• A personal opinion or interpretation

of something• Only a bunch of facts• Always news

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What Media Are Looking For

Story

Accurate Facts

Credible Experts

3rd Party Validation

Colorful Anecdotes

Audience/Time Relevance

Unique Perspective

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What Makes A Story?

• Angle – The theme of the story; you must provide an angle that will make sense to the reporter’s audience

• Hook – The initial idea that grabs the reporter’s attention – provide facts that support your story

• Timing – Pitch your story at an appropriate time; do not pitch when a major, national news event has occurred (e.g. Hurricane Katrina)

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Decision Process

• Does this fit my beat?

• Is this “breaking” now?

• Is this something people want/need to know about?

• Will this help people make decisions about how to live their lives?

• What else is happening?

• Is this a credible source?

• Does this support/impact another story?

• Is this exclusive?

• Who else has the story?

• Can I tell the whole story right now?

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Where Media Go for Info

• Internet• Industry Trade

Publications• Past Media Coverage• Competitors or

Colleagues• Influencers/Experts

• PR Practitioners• Blogs/Message

Boards/Community Forums

• Other Media • White Papers/Annual

Reports

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The Five W’s

• Good news stories need to answer:

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Story Mining

• What are all the related stories?

• Which can I support? – Information

– Impact

– Immediacy

– Individuals

– Images

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Story Mining Process

National Conference on Volunteering

& Service

Topic

Event

People

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Story Mining Process

PEOPLE

Government

Staff

Speakers

Partners

Community

Participants

Youth

Faith Community

Nonprofit

Experts

Volunteers

Employees

Corporate

First Ladies

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First Ladies Story

• What we know: – Support service and volunteering

– Serve America Act/CaliforniaVolunteers backdrop

– Attending largest gathering of volunteer/service leaders

• Strategies – Remarks frame service and volunteering

– Activities kick off Summer of Service

– Serve as chief motivators to drive volunteering

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Key Messages

• Key messages communicate a vision, position or essential fact in a concise statement

• They should be consistent and incorporated in all communications

• Spokespeople should be trained to deliver messages effectively

• Key messages are the points to your story

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What is a Key Message?

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Developing Key Messages

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Sample Message

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Telling Your Story

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Media Materials

• National Press Release – Communicates your news and includes quote(s) from organization

– Tailor for local markets as needed

• Pitch Letter/E-mail – Offers various angles for covering story for editor/reporter/producer’s audience

• Fact Sheet – Includes more detailed information

• Backgrounder – Provides a history of the organization

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Media Materials

• Media Alert – Promotes specific event, including details about what, why, when, where and PR contact information

• Biography – Offers more detail about campaign spokesperson's background and expertise

• Infographic – Illustrates a statistic or key information graphically

• Photography – Photos that media can use in their stories

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News Strategies

• Broad Pitching – Target all relevant outlets

• Exclusive – Give single media outlet(s) the story before any other outlet receives it

– Used for stories that might be tough to sell

– Can secure bigger story and drive other types of media to cover

– Strategy MUST be used carefully … can really upset other key contacts

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News Strategies

• Embargo – Offer details to media, but asks they do not publish/broadcast info before a specified date

– Can be risky to media relationships, especially since online outlets and bloggers have such a fast news cycle

– “Lead Steer” – Leverage key outlet, such as wire, to ignite more broad coverage

– Heavily focus on USA Today and Today in order to generate interest from local market broadcast and print

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Example Media Strategy

Target Audience

Newspapers inTop-20 Markets

LocalTV

Local RadioBusiness & News

Weeklies

Exclusive Embargo

BlogsOnline

LocalNewspapers

Press Release

Trade Media

First Ladies at the National Conference Story

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Traditional Approaches

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High-Profile Spokesperson

Using a high-profile spokesperson can really help

get media (and consumer) attention for your cause,

event or ongoing initiative

Julianne Moore and Susan

Sarandon for Duracell

Wendy Bellissimo for Pampers & Dreft… Celebrity Nursery

Designer and exclusive product line at Babies R Us (LOVED by moms)

NASCAR’s Tony Stewart for Old Spice

Felicity Huffman

and Tucker for

IH4TH

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Media Event

• Provides setting for news in a high-profile way

• Opportunity for on-site media to capture b-roll, photos and interviews with spokesperson– Images and interviews

captured provide additional content for resulting media coverage

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Consumer Surveys

• Independent research company conducts survey to gauge perceptions

• Data offers statistical info for media materials – Cost: $8M

• Statistics sell story to media• Data offers reporters news nuggets

and provides reason to write the story now– Survey data is best used when it’s new

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Satellite Media Tour

• Producers book time in “windows” with interview live or edited for later use

• Two types of SMTs:– Stand-alone or Co-op

• Broadcast bookings (12-20); 2MM-3MM impressions

• Cost: $40M (stand-alone); $25M (co-op)– Includes spokesperson fees

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Audio News Release (ANR)

• Pre-packaged "news" story distributed to 500+ radio stations and 7M online news sites

• Transmissions sent via popular radio networks– CBS Radio, Westwood One, CNN Radio, NBC Radio and

CNBC Radio

• Reach: 10MM-12MM impressions• Cost: $8M

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Matte Release

• “Controlled” print opportunity consisting of a camera-ready, 350-word print story with photo

• Pre-produced article is mailed to small, localized daily and weekly newspapers

• Reach: 1MM impressions via 250+ outlets

• Cost Estimate: $7M

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Other Examples

• Media/Deskside Tour – Road tour with to meet with editors and talk about an organization, industry news, etc.

• Bylined Article – Written by a non-media person, usually an influencer in a certain field, and submitted for publication

• B-roll Package – Includes footage of an event, real people and soundbites that can be used in resulting TV stories

• Webcast – Use of Web to deliver “tours”

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Online/Digital Approaches

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• Crowd sourcing will drive new business models and innovation

• Leveraging offline contact via social networks• Mobile Web and iPhone application development• “Micro-Segmentation” or niche communities• Slim-down, build-up of news media• Mandate for “doing good” amps volunteering and

service organizations

What’s Going On?

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• Essential social media tools

• Start here for an understanding: ProCommunicator.com

Social Media Tools: Taking A Closer Look

Wikis Bookmarking

Forums

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• 300+ million users; largest social network in the world

• 70+ million American users

• 95 percent of users have used at least one app

• The fastest growing demographic - Boomers

Facebook

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• Official Statshttp://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

• Uncovering Tastemakershttp://facebook.grader.com/

• Popular Facebook Forumshttp://forum.developers.facebook.com/

• Still confused?http://www.commoncraft.com/video-social-networking

Research: Facebook

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• Essentially a photo and video publishing platform – enables users to upload photos, tag them with relevant info

• More than 5 billion images hosted; 24 million monthly unique visitors

Flickr

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• Search Flickr.com for tagged photos

• Don’t forget to search for misspellings or abbreviations

• Looking for research on most popular cameras? Try Flickr’s camera page, based on camera metadata from uploaded images:http://www.flickr.com/cameras/

• Still confused?http://www.commoncraft.com/photosharing

Research: Flickr

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• Video sharing site – users, brands can create “channels” with their own content that others can subscribe to

• Also a social network – account creates ability to comment on photos, join groups

• An expensive Google acquisition – $1.6 billion

• High traffic – 60-80 million users/month, serves 100 million videos daily

• Crackdown on overly promotional videos (and ads) signifies emerging trend of monetization

YouTube

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• Go to YouTube and search for client names or industry terms

• Helpful FAQ page: http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/

• Take a look at Blendtec “channel” to grasp how YouTube can be customized: http://www.youtube.com/user/Blendtec

Research: YouTube

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• Answers the question: “What are you doing?”

• Micro-blog = express publishing of the here and now

• 3rd most trafficked social network – 17+ million unique visitors

• Reports of wild growth – 2700 percent, 900 percent … whatever, it is a force of nature

• Oprah and Ashton “stamp” helped it go mainstream

Twitter

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• Twitter search is straightforward, searchable by date via advanced http://Search.twitter.com

• Twitter Grader is useful for searching out top Twitter influencers by keyword, location and more; also has interface for Facebook http://twitter.grader.com/

• Still confused? http://www.commoncraft.com/Twitter

Research: Twitter

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• Private-label social networks platform

• Lets you host a content-specific social network without building the infrastructure

• Commonly used for specialty groups, nonprofits

• Requires some HTML/coding but is very straightforward

Ning

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• Ning has a search interface on its home page:http://www.ning.com

• For now, search is pretty limited – no ability to sort by number of members or relevance

Research: Ning

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• There are two kinds of Wikis:

– Internal Wiki (Razorfish) designed for real-time collaboration within an organization and streamlining/simplification of file-sharing over multiple sources

– External Wiki (Wikipedia) augmented and policed by consumers and viewed by the general public

WikisWikis

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Still confused?http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

Research: WikisWikis

Main Wiki Page

Discussion about Page

Content

View Page Source (edits)

See Change History

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• Blog – “a type of Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video” (Wikipedia.org)

• 77.7 million unique visitors in the U.S. (ComScore, August 2008)

• Moms (aka “Chief Household Officers”) heavily use blogs as source of information; according to the 2009 Women in Social Media Study by BlogHER:– 64 percent of women are twice as likely to use blogs than social

networks as source of information

– 55 percent of women are in the blogosphere each week

Blogs

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• Technorati: Helps identify blogger influencers by topic http://technorati.com/

• Google Blog Search: Provides a good second layer for uncovering blog content. Use advanced search page to dig a bit deeper on date and other delimiters http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch/advanced_blog_search

• Build lists of top blog influencers for your topic http://www.blogs.com/topten/ and http://alltop.com/

• Still confused? http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

Research: Blogs

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• Top 10 social bookmarks garner more than 30 Million monthly visitors

• These include (in order): Digg (news), Y!Buzz (news), Technorati (blogs), StumbleUpon (news), del.ici.ous (news), kaboodle (shopping), reddit (news), mixx (media sharing), Propeller (news) and Fark (media-sharing)

• “Slashdot Effect” aka “Slashdotting”

Social Bookmarking Bookmarking

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• Junoba (http://www.junoba.com/) currently offers one of the more robust social bookmarking search engines

• Still confused?http://www.commoncraft.com/bookmarking-plain-english

Research: Social BookmarkingBookmarki

ng

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• Thread-based conversation sites for users to pose, answer questions and engage in dialogue

• Structured much like e-mail; forum might be based on a large topic (airline travel) with sub-forums for specific categories (airlines, destinations)

• Often used for technical content on consumer electronics sites

Discussion Forums

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• Researching and monitoring posts within forums: http://boardreader.com/

Research: Discussion Forums

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• 162 million smartphones sold globally in 2008

• 34 million smartphones were sold in the United States in 2008 (20 percent of the nation's overall mobile phone market of some 173 million units)

• Apple's App Store offers 27,000 iPhone applications

• As of March 2009, 800 million downloads from the App Store (500 million as of mid-January 2009)

• According to marketers: mobile apps – trillion dollar industry; mobile gaming apps – billion dollar industry

Mobile/iPhone Apps

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• Google remains the easiest way to find mobile applications

• iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows all offer very popular mobile applications, some of which are platform-specific, however many are cross-platform

• Popular aggregators like Google and Yahoo! also offer branded apps

Research: Mobile/iPhone Apps

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Web-/Pod-/VOD-casts

• What is it?– Distribution of edited video or audio clips to media outlets– Helps support programs with online or buzz-driven coverage

• Expected Results– Postings on variety of Web sites/blogs– Potential traffic increase to brand Web site

• Best used for– Supporting larger PR initiatives and tactics– Generating broader awareness for campaign, event, etc.

with media – Repurposing b-roll, sound bites, etc.

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Asset Page for Online Influencers

• Develop brand asset page and populate with content that bloggers and target sites can drag and drop

• Includes multiple categories for information

• Facts, stats, pics, video, media coverage and more

• Link to content is given to target sites when we’re dialoguing with them; so content is exclusive to our online influencers

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Research, Education & Empowerment

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For more information, please contact

Eric BorsumPainePR

(213) 430-0480Eborsum@painepr.com