Burgundy Olivier of Lafayette, Louisiana asks:
“On every list I see about the Top 3 or Top 10 healthy foods for disease-prevention, spinach is always on the list, usually in the top spot. How can I use this fact in the publicity arena?
“I have, what is believed to be, the world’s only ‘exclusively spinach’
cookbook, and want to promote it under the awareness of spinach’s lutein content, macular degeneration prevention, and disease-fighting
capabilities. But I don’t know how to combine all these into one single
publicity campaign.
“Any ideas? In my second cookbook printing, I added a starburst on the front cover that reads ‘SPINACH is an excellent source of LUTEIN!'”
From Frances Wilkins of Eugene, Oregon:
Contact the editors of Prevention…the food editor especially. I’ll bet
they would love it! I have recently been adding spinach to quite a few dishes. It looks good and is a painless way to get those vitamins. Your average Joe is not real concerned about lutein. But “vitamins” is a word everyone can relate to.
From John Lister of Manchester, United Kingdom:
I don’t know how close you can sail in terms of trademark and copyright infringement, but this book is crying out for Popeye!
It might be worth planting a passing reference in publicity material that gives journalists just enough spark of an idea that they think the Popeye connection was their own brilliant idea. That way, their legal department can worry about the legal issue involved in referencing the cartoon character or using pictures, rather than you.
From Tim Dawes of Seattle, Washington:
Try going to growers and packagers of spinach and doing a co-promotion. In 1908, when Proctor & Gamble introduced Crisco, one of their early marketing tactics was to promote a series of cookbooks featuring stories touting the benefits of Crisco. The line became best-sellers. Burgundy might see if she can pull off a similar feat for spinach.
From The Publicity Hound:
If you’re looking for a way to tie in spinach to lutein content, macular
degeneration prevention, and disease-fighting capabilities, create a simple tip sheet and call it something like “10 diseases that spinach helps prevent.”
Editors of health and fitness magazines would love it.
“Special Report #16: How to Write Tip Sheets That Catch the Media’s Attention” shows you how to write tip sheets the media love. You can even use them as a substitute for news releases.