Publicity Hound Sharon Dotson of Houston, Texas writes:
“I am working with two other publicists to promote identical twins Anabel Stenzel and Isabel Stenzel Byrnes, 35, of Redwood City, CA, who between them have survived three lung transplants.
“Half Japanese and half-German, the sisters were born with cystic fibrosis and were not expected to live to adulthood, yet they have defied the odds. Cystic fibrosis is rare in people of Asian descent, and as daughters of a Japanese mother, their risk was supposed to be minuscule. Their father, a German physicist who loved statistics, calculated the odds when the twins were diagnosed with CF as infants: he and his wife had a 1 in 200 chance having identical twins, and the odds of having half-Japanese twins with CF were roughly 1 in 1.8 billion.
“Their recently-published autobiography, ‘The Power of Two: A Twin Triumph over Cystic Fibrosis’ has been well-received with small mentions in People, Publishers Weekly and USA Today. Last month, Reuters published a very nice feature on the Stenzels.
“Our job is to pitch national shows including Ellen, Rachael Ray, Montel, Oprah and the 700 Club. We also pitched half-Japanese Today show host Ann Curry. Other news hooks are Donate Life Month, Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month and in July, the U.S. Transplant Games where the Stenzel twins will be among those competing.
“Thus far, we’ve scored zero on big-time TV shows. We’re aiming high, but we’re sure Anabel and Isabel have a message that could knock the socks off a broad segment of the media. Do you think your Publicity Hounds could throw in some new ideas?
Sometimes it’s just a matter of building momentum. National TV shows often want to know that your topic was of interest to local markets first. Get booked on a few local TV news and talk shows (it’s a lot easier than national). You got some small mentions in a few periodicals – go for feature stories. If you can’t get them yourself, pitch some popular freelance writers. It will be a lot easier to get on national TV shows when you have a portfolio of published and television credits.
Who are the nonprofits that are widely known and
respected for raising awareness and money for Cystic
Fibrosis in New York City? Cry, and tell a very sad
story in your photos. Young people don’t smile like
they’re going to a birthday party when they are facing potential death. Tell them, “We don’t want to
die.” Then, tell them WHY. Then tell them HOW they
can help you. Tell them you will do a FREE advertise-
ment for their organization. And you will attend their annual fundraiser to help raise money for other
kids who might die before their high school prom.
The “fear factor” is what jumps to my mind; fear can make a powerful proposal. What are the readers viewers going to miss out on if they don’t hear this story? Are there caveats? Will someone I love be in jeopardy if you I know what happened here? Can you reframe the topic from what happened to these girls to what could happen to your own? Let me as the viewer see how their experience can help me, or let it show me how I can get involved to help others. Have the girls helped anyone else through their experience? Have they started a foundation? Raised money for a cause?
Other ideas include: finding relevance to a celebrity parent and twins topics.
Good posts above. I agree it has to come from their heart not just sharing their story but what has happened that they can warn parents of twins about. What have they found most important to their own support and recovery. And is there any shocking truths that almost cost them their lives?
You said and I quote ,
“Thus far, we’ve scored zero on big-time TV shows
I think you should remember “Thus Far” means it’s still possible because I can’t imagine some talk show will not eventually latch on to their story.
I would suggest if you haven’t already remember to pitch Dr. Gupta, relgious shows from Pat Robertson to Joel Olsteen & local talk shows
Pitch Ideas:
Twins Who Made A Deadly Disease Come Alive
Why Miracles Happen In Two’s
The Twins That Made Play Doh Out Of Cystic Fibrosis
Three Transplants, Two Hearts Of Gold, One Amazing Story
I know you asked specifically about top-tier mainstream media, but don’t overlook the power of social networking sites for your clients.
Are there Facebook and Myspace groups for twins?