When members of the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania traveled by bus to Albany, Ohio earlier this month to meet with Abercrombie & Fitch and complain about the retailer's controversial T-shirts, a reporter from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette rode along with them. The women were upset over sleazy T-shirt slogans such as … [Read more...]
The best time to pitch is before and after Christmas
I can hear the engines revving right now. It's the sound of Publicity Hounds starting a pitch-fest that lasts from now through the new year. Savvy Hounds know that this week and next are the very best times to pitch newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, bloggers, ezine publishers and other media that have short deadlines. That's because … [Read more...]
Pitch these story ideas in December
Thanks to Publicity Hound Shawne Duperon, a TV reporter, for reminding us that December is the very best month to pitch TV stations. "Newsrooms are no longer in a busy Sweeps month, so many employees are taking time off," she says. Fewer employees means they need your story in a big way. She suggests: ---Any gift ideas? Any new or interesting … [Read more...]
How to get great radio publicity
Some Publicity Hounds sabatoge themselves and make it difficult for the media to find them, then wonder why they don't get publicity. For example, they give media contacts only their office phone numbers, forgetting that radio talk show hosts and newspaper reporters work around the clock and sometimes need to contact sources in the wee hours of … [Read more...]
Let’s Expose the PR Flunkies
One of the worst ways that PR agencies rip off their clients is by forcing new hires to make those idiot phone calls to journalists asking questions like "I'm just calling to see if you got my news release and if you know when it will be printed?" These calls infuriate the reporters. The company mentioned in the news release looks bad. The agency … [Read more...]
The war against Christmas
It's not even December yet, and the sparks are already flying. In some ranks, it's no longer Christmas Eve. Now it's "Holiday Eve." Others don't send Christmas greetings. They send "holiday greetings." As for that tree...you guessed it. It's now a "holiday tree." On AM and FM radio stations and on TV talk shows, the debate is raging over … [Read more...]
Story ideas for the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping
Brick-and-mortar retailers refer to the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday, the official start of the Christmas shopping season. Whatever you call it, you've got opportunities galore to tie your product or service to it. Think trends. Here are some ideas to get you started: ---Credit counselors should remind us about how credit card … [Read more...]
Getting to know reporters will help you learn how to pitch reporters
When blogger Connie Bennett comes across an article on the dangers of sugar, she posts an item about it to her Sugar Shock! blog. She links to the article, then takes an extra little step that will generate publicity down the road. She emails the reporter who wrote the article and mentions that she linked to it. Connie, a member of … [Read more...]
Travel writers complain about lazy PR people
For every PR person who grouses about a rude, inconsiderate journalist, there's a journalist complaining about a lazy PR person. And the writers are sharing their gripes online. Thanks to Publicity Hound Lori Lisi of Joshua, Texas for pointing out this interesting thread at a discussion board for travel writers. Their gripes include PR … [Read more...]
Pitch Christmas story ideas early
I heard a news report yesterday that many retailers already had stocked their shelves with Christmas decorations and gift items a week before Halloween. Why? Because they're hoping to get your money before the utility companies do. Skyrocketing natural gas prices this winter might force consumers to spend less on holiday gifts once they see their … [Read more...]
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