Media Relations for Public Relations Class

1. Media Relations
Communicating with the Media

4. Organization
Board of Directors
Investors
Unions
Government
Employees
Consumers
Community
Media
Media Relations

5. Types of Media

6. Securing positive publicity through the media
Heart of media relations:
Establishing a relationship with the media
Media as channel
Media as public

7. Publicity vs.Advertising
Which is considered more credible?
Bene
fi
ts of advertising:
• content
• size
• location
• reach
• frequency
Bene
fi
ts of publicity:
• costs less
• carries implied 3rd
party endorsement
Publicity

8. Difference between PR and Advertising

9. PR-generated News:
Jet Blue Example

10. I Love Lucy audience reach: 74% of the population
Big Bang Theory (2017 #1)
audience reach: 5.8% of the population
In the 1950's, when I Love Lucy was the
#1 show in the US, what percentage of
the US market could an advertiser hit by
advertising during the program?

11. Publicity vs.Advertising
Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty
2006 Superbowl Commercial

12. Publicity
Enhancing the organization’s reputation
Dove’s Campaign for real beauty

13. CNN coverage of the

15. fi
c to the
Dove site than the Superbowl ad
• 1.7 million views on YouTube
• Publicity on:
• Ellen, The View, Geraldo, Entertainment Tonight
The message was “more powerful because it came from an objective
source” in the form of the TV news and entertainment shows.
-- Todd Tillemans, VP North American skin care

16. Difference between the
commercial & the web video:
Not a penny of paid media!

17. Advertising Age named Dove’s
effort as the #1 campaign of the
21st Century for its transparency,
its authenticity, its groundbreaking
use of global viral video that started
with the anti-photoshopping
fi
lm
“Evolution”, and its educational
efforts to boost self-image among
young girls.

18. Web video as a PR tool
• Produced by Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto
• Publicity effort by Edelman, New York
Campaign outcome:
• Strengthened brand loyalty
• 2/3 of brand sales from people buying
more than one product
• Gained shares

19. Dove’s Later Campaign (Feb.2007)

21. Traditional Media
?

23. © Jason Kintzler | pitchengine.com | 2009
Traditional PR Distribution Model
pr with press release
consumers
journalist
broadcast and print
Media Relations Model: Pitching Journalists

24. © Jason Kintzler | pitchengine.com | 2009
pr with press releases
(and plenty of cash)
Traditional PR Distribution Model
PR Wire Services Model
more journalists
broadcast and print
consumers

25. consumers turn to social
networks, online news
sources, friends, blogs, in
addition to print and
broadcast media
© Jason Kintzler | pitchengine.com | 2009
pr with press releases
(and plenty of cash)
Problem with that Model
Social media offers new way for publics to receive news
more journalists
broadcast and print

26. shared to more
in
fl
uencers:
friends, fans,
followers
© Jason Kintzler | pitchengine.com | 2009
PR with social media release
and rich social content
i
n
fl
u
e
n
c
e
r
s
journalists
Modern PR Distribution Model
Content spread through social channels/direct engagement
bloggers
i
n
fl
u
e
n
c
e
r
s
consumers

28. Value of Publicity
• Enhancing the organization’s reputation
• Announcing a new product or service
• Reenergizing an old product
• Explaining a complicated product
• Little or no budget
• Crisis response

29. Announcing a new product/service
Publicity

30. Publicity
Reenergizing an old product

32. Publicity
News Release
Press Conference
Pitch Letter
etc.
Tools for Securing

33. The Pitch Letter

34. Pitching
Publicity
Throwing everything
against the wall to see
what sticks is a bad idea!

35. Pitching Publicity
Gain
interest
Know
deadlines
Address
by
name
Don’t
badger
Learn
contact
prefs
D
o
n
’
t
l
i
e
Develop
relationship
Call
yourself

36. Spend less time building media lists and more time
reading the news. If you're consuming current events on
a steady and regular basis, you'll know the names and
outlets that will appreciate your client’s news.

37. SAMPLE MEDIA PITCH LETTER
(Insert Date)
Dear (Insert Name of Television Media Representative/Medical Producer/Medical Reporter):
Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women. Unfortunately, only 55 percent of women know that heart
disease is their leading cause of death and most fail to make the connection between its risk factors and
their personal risk of developing heart disease.
In conjunction with The Heart Truth, a nationwide campaign raising awareness about women and heart
disease, (insert Organization name) is asking you to consider producing a three-part series on women's
heart health. Your broadcast will send a clear message and go a long way in raising awareness and
prompting action among your viewers.
The requested series could explore the following themes:
Part I: The Problem—An overview of the impact of heart disease on women
Part II: The Risk Factors—A look at heart disease risk factors and how they affect women
Part III: The Solution—A practical action plan women can follow to find out their heart disease risk and steps
to lower it
The Heart Truth features a Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness.
What's a Red Dress got to do with it? A simple Red Dress works as a visual red alert to get the message
heard loud and clear: "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear—It's the #1 Killer of Women." To help
enhance this message, broadcasters could wear red or wear the Red Dress Pin to complement the series.
We can also help coordinate interviews with local female heart attack survivors and local experts on women
and heart disease.
We urge you to embrace this issue and help us alert women to The Heart Truth. Media coverage has
proven to help raise awareness among its audiences and motivate change. Please consider including a
series on women's heart health to your news programming to raise awareness about this critical issue.
For more information on The Heart Truth campaign and to view the Red Dress Pin, visit
http://www.hearttruth.gov.
Please contact (insert contact name and information) to discuss the proposed series. Thank you in advance
for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Seriousness
Request/
Credibility
Story Idea
Visuals
Call for
action
Supporting
Material
Media
Knowledge
Contact
info

39. badpitchblog.com

40. Next Class:
Read article & PR material posted on Blackboard:
- Houston Chronicle article
- British Airways news release
- Continental news release
- NBTA news release

41. The Press
Conference

42. The importance of giving advance notice

43. Conducting a Press Conference
• Schedule the conference at
a convenient time
• Pick an appropriate room
• Don’t leave out major news
outlets
• Give ample advance notice
• Follow up early/often
• Prepare materials to
supplement conference
• State the time allotted for
the conference in advance
• Keep the speaker away
from reporters beforehand
• Signal the end

44. Good Media Relations
• Reporters are never “off
duty”
• You ARE the organization
• Treat them professionally
• Don’t sweat the
skepticism
• Don’t try to “buy” a
journalist
• Become a trusted source
• Inform journalists even
when you’re not pitching
• Read the paper
• Never lie

45. PR Tools for the
Broadcast Media

46. Satellite Media Tour
Series of one-on-one satellite interviews with
a number of television reporters across the
country or around the world
• Usually conducted from a studio
• Can be live or recorded
• Allows for lots of interviews in
limited amount of time

47. Spinach Expert

48. Public Service Announcement
A non-commercial advertisement designed to
carry a message for the public good
•Used by government & nonpro
fi
t orgs.
•Usually awareness campaigns (health,
safety, etc.)
•Often used to
fi
ll unsold air time
www.psaresearch.com

49. Preventing the Swine Flu

50. “The media, communications, and marketing
landscape in which the public relations industry was
developed is being knocked down. [...]
It is the decline of media based on a top-down model
of communications. [...] This model is premised on the
audience being passive receptors for the message
[...]
In the emerging model, as epitomized by YouTube,
MySpace, Oh My News and Wikipedia, ordinary people
provide content to others. Ideas and information are
passed virally. This consumer generated content
alters the laws of control of message.
- Richard Edelman

51. Explaining a complicated product
Mancation
Publicity

52. Little or no budget
Publicity

53. Crisis Response
Publicity