Propaganda 4U

10 Yetis Guide to Making You Famous

What Am I Going to Waffle About?

Background– Overview of public relations

• What are the benefits

Why the media needs you– Making Yourself Accessible to the Media

• Identifying a press release angle

Writing a press release– Issuing & following up a press release

• Online Media Submission

Realistic Expectations– Make the Most of Media Opportunities

Online v Offline

Q&A

Our Background

Who do we work with?– Affiliate Sector

• MyVoucherCodes• sunshine.co.uk• Just-Eat.co.uk

– Wider Industry• IKEA• TotalJobs• MyProtein

Why people choose us– Marry online and offline media relations together– Early adopters of online marketing and media relations– Great track record in gaining media coverage

What is Public Relations

Early Origins– 1800’s

• USA Circus Promoter

Not Got Much Better!

1900’s• Propaganda in WW1 & WW2• Slowly adapted to be used in industry

2000’s• Multi-billion pound industry• In UK, Public Relations Consultants Association saw incomes rise from £18m

in 1983 to £401m in 2001 • Heart of everyday life

“Let the public be

fooled” Phineas Taylor Barnum

What is Public Relations... continued

Today:– Product = part of the marketing mix– Corporate = defence mechanism

Place messages in the media• Internet• Newspapers • Television• Radio

PR should be at the heart of decision making process– “PR-Centric”

Public relations is the practice of getting attention and shaping public opinion (CiPR Waffle 2007)

What are the Benefits

Three types of PR– Driving Sales– Profile/Awareness– Crisis communications

Greater impact than advertising campaign– Trusted source of information

Much more cost effective than advertising– Full page ad in national newspaper circa £30k– PR is less costly, with higher potential exposure

Search Engine Optimisation– Relevant links and traffic– High profile media links (BBC, Sky, MSN, Metro)

Potential To Go Viral– Social networking sites– Big Blog Trigger

What are the Benefits.... cont

No such thing as bad PR?– Controversy generates awareness

• Littlewoods Discount Code Claw-back Story• Mercenaries 2 - Free Petrol

Beneficial if Handled Correctly

Can get quick results/action– Companies fear bad PR!– Shame organisations into action

• Coca Cola Desani• 10p Tax U-Turn

Positive media– Motivates employees and impresses your customers– Great to put “as featured in” on your website and sales propaganda

I AM BIASED BUT... – Pound for Pound I believe PR Represents the Best Bang

for your Buck

Why the Media Needs You!

The papers need to fill space– Need your press releases– Tight deadlines– No budget for big research stories

The journo’s want to hear from you– Especially business owners over evil PR’s

Many national/regional papers today packed with press release driven stories... Have a look at the following examples:

Why the Media Needs You... cont

Metro (most influential paper in UK)

1 – Refurbishment of Mr Benn (PR)

1A – Pic to support Mr Benn

2 – Keane (the band) PR stuntAlbum on memory stick and not CD

3. Research driven story about dogs

4. Royal Mail survey from press release

Why the Media Needs You... cont

Regional London

1 – Enron appeal press release (PR)

2 – Clothing company PR Hot Tuna

3 – Debenhams PR on sales

4 – BP – Neg headline but release driven

5 – PR stunt for Great Ormond St Hosp

Why the Media Needs You... cont

Regional Bristol

1 – Advertorial (boo-hiss)

2 - Airline Press Release

3 - Office move for company (PR)

4 Advertorial

5 Airbus PR

Making Yourself Accessible to The Media

Journalists Need Info Quickly– Make information accessible– Go over and above to help

Media Section on Website– Press Releases – Past Coverage– Business USP’s/Key Facts– Images

• Logos • Key People Head Shots

– Media Sheet– Contact Info– Case Study Information

Identifying a Press Release Angle

Several to choose from:– Business Milestone

• Birthday, £m turnover etc• Key business win• New Employees

– Good For regional especially

– Survey Driven• 8 out of 10 cats• Use existing customer database to email out to• SurveyMonkey.com, affordable and reputable

– New Product Launch

– Some form of stunt

– Piggyback on current story• Green (climate change)• Credit Crunch• Obesity

Writing a Press Release

Max 2 pages

Don’t sweat the headline – the papers do this– Clear, can be funny, not complicated– Needs to be noticed (maybe put part in caps)

2 sentence summary under title– Often the only bit a journo reads and base their decision on

Opening para has the who, what, why, where, when, how info– 2 sentence paragraph– Contains all the key information

Second para has company name in– Not in first para– Change for online media

Writing a Press Release

Quote from you– Talk about how pleased you are– Maybe the problems that you company/product solves etc

Quote from 3rd party advocate– Someone (not your mum) to say how good your business is– Supports what you say

Where more info can be found– Web address

Editors Notes– Contact info – USP’s

Supporting Photos? Mention them– Media has no budget for snappers

Issuing & Following up a Press Release

Always issue to print/broadcast media first– Less likely to use if they see story across the web

Finding Contact Info– Read mags/papers you want to target– Find journo names– Google them and you will often find email details– Avoid editor@theregionalblah.co.uk or News@somepaper.com

Best day to send

Personalise the email to the journo– Don’t mass send– Don’t BCC or CC them all in– Make the journo feel special

Paste press release into section under main body of email– No big photos– Don’t attach release

Issuing & Following up a Press Release

Dreaded follow up call!– Plan key Points– Find number on Google– Ask for named journo

Never ask if they received the release– Journo’s hate this– Ask, “what did you think of the release I sent over”– Or, “Is there any more information you need about the release I sent over”

If journo on holiday ask if there is someone else you could talk to about a story

Most journo’s are too cool for school!– Will always say they have not seen the release– Come across as grumpy – They are just short on time– Well known national media get upwards of 1500 emails a day

Issuing & Following up a Press Release

Tell them about the pictures you have

Awkward Questions?– Ask for deadline info & call back

Try and build relationship– Future comment opportunities– Potentially try and meet them– “Forward Feature” opportunities

Keep calling to follow up– Suggest other related angles

Online Media Submission

Online release differs to off-line

Optimise online release headline for SEO

Move company name to para one– Headline & first para is often all you get

Online release submission sites– Daryl Wilcox is best for “real” news coverage– PR Web/Pressbox etc, only good for SEO

Relevant bloggers– Avoid the prickly ones

Use company Social Networking pages– Twitter

Business/consumer discussion forums

Realistic Expectations

Media sees many new brands/products come and go– No time to check information

Many ignore first story – to avoid being embarrassed– Exceptions are trusted/known brand associations

Launch release has limited chance of coverage– Good form of media introduction

Need to keep dripping stories to the press– Monthly– Careful not to saturate target media

If a story bombs move on and learn from it– Don’t try to re-launch it

Make the Most of Media Opportunities

You Only Get One Chance with Media

Keep calling to follow up– Suggest other related angles

Don’t be afraid to disagree

“Sex-Up” your answers– Flowery soundbites– Quirky replies– Be memorable

Relax and have fun!– Journo’s want you to do well– Makes them look good

Online v Offline, Future Media Trends

Current Media Snapshot

– Our Newspaper Sales Survey Said:• 22% of population don’t buy newspaper anymore• 18% only buy a paper at the weekend• Only 14 % buy a daily newspaper

– Our Newspaper Reading Survey Said• 45% of people read a freesheet daily (e.g. Metro)

– Our Top News Information Platform is:• 68% of people exclusively rely on internet for news updates

– Where do people go online for their news?• BBC• GOOGLE News• SKY News

Online v Offline, Future Media Trends

Our Predictions

Possible consolidation of print media

Move to freesheet model eventually– When/if ad market picks up– Predict Sun is the first mainstream newspaper to adopt this

Online media becomes even more important– Growth in clients concentrating PR efforts on online media – Print editorial no longer the authority figure for consumers

• Consumer use web for research

Growth in News/Feed Aggregators – as they become more mainstream

Greater reliance and demand for Micro News – Twitter Channels

Reputation management will become hot topic once Google Print is complete

Further Reading

All information mentioned in this presentation available from:

www.10Yetis.co.uk/a4uexpo

Thanks!

ANY QUESTIONS?