Looking for some ink, air time or online publicity in the next few weeks? Consider these controversial holiday stories: Annual brag letters. Do you cringe when you receive a "year in review" letter inside a Christmas card from a friend or family member? Or do you appreciate the update? Are these letters inconsiderate, or a practical way of staying … [Read more...]
‘Top 10 Tips’ lists: Great year-end publicity
Here's a great end-of-the-year idea for your publicity campaign. They're short, punchy lists of "the best" or "the worst." The number doesn't even have to be 10. Your list can include 5 items. Or 7. Or 9. Just now, I googled and found these lists: The Top 10 Best Blogs, as chosen by [Read more...]
Black Friday or Jack-ass Friday?
Sick of all the hoopla over Black Friday, the day-after-Thanksgiving media frenzy that's the "official" start of the Christmas shopping season? A blogger named Chris apparently is and wrote an interesting post about how shameful the media act when they give "free … [Read more...]
October story ideas to pitch to the media
TV reporter Shawne Duperon and I had a blast brainstorming "103 Sizzling Story Ideas from July through December." October is bursting with ideas about the second largest retail holiday of the year that you can pitch to newspapers, magazines and TV stations. Here are some we're … [Read more...]
‘Let’s Say Thanks’ campaign by Xerox a great interactive marketing campaign
I love interactive marketing campaigns that engage people online. The "Let's Say Thanks" campaign, created by Xerox as a way for people to send postcards of thanks to the troops overseas, is brilliant, regardless of what you think of the war in Iraq. Here's how it works. Visit their [Read more...]
Gifts for print journalists? Don’t you dare
Publicity Hound Ek Dari writes: "I've been reading your tips for quite some time now, and love the articles and ezine. "One question I had was about thanking an editor or journalist. What is the standard on that? I have had successful placements in the New York Times, Washington Post, Fortune, and top-tier magazines, but am not sure how best to … [Read more...]
Katrina first anniversary means publicity opportunity
Tom Warneka of Cleveland, Ohio writes: "I spent two weeks in southern Mississippi last fall as a mental health worker with the Red Cross. We're quickly coming up the first anniversary on August 29 of Hurricane Katrina. "As a way of promoting my book 'Leading People the Black Belt Way: Conquering the Five Core Problems Facing Leaders Today,' I … [Read more...]
Mother’s Day gift needs pitching tips from Publicity Hounds
Publicity Hound Jennifer Raaths of Barrington, Illinois writes: "I am working on a Mother's Day gift idea for my client, DiCarlo Fine Wines & Spirits, a liquor store. The gift idea is a handmade purse by my friend, Carrie, a local stay-at-home mom. Each purse is unique. No two are … [Read more...]
Create your own holiday before April 15
Before you get buried in preparing your taxes, write a note and remind yourself that another deadline looms on April 15---it's the last day to submit your own holiday, or your own day, week or month of the year to Chase's Calendar of Events. This is the annal reference … [Read more...]
Valentine’s Day publicity ideas that worked
It's too late for most of you to get into the news today by using a Valentine's Day pitch, but remind yourself to start pitching Valentine's Day ideas early enough next year. Here are some creative ways others have piggybacked onto Valentine's Day: ---Friday's [Read more...]