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Butts in Seats-How to Turn People Out: the Secret Ingredients |Making Media Connections Notes

Posted on June 17, 2008

Notes from Community Media Workshop’s 2008 Making Media Connections conference panel: Butts in Seats-How to Turn People Out: the Secret Ingredients.

This post is one in a series of four; browse the Making Media Connections 2008 category.

Were you at the conference? Let us know about your links or leave a comment.

Panelists

Mike Ervin, Freelance Journalist: writes mostly about disability issues, works at Victory Gardens on The Access Project to help people with disabilities: sign language, audio adaptation, if people want to be onstage, they have performance art workshops; also involved in ACT with civil disobedience

Mandy Burrell, Metro Planning Council: related to regional and urban growth and development, active in a group called Neighbors Project, also writes for Gapers Block, used to work as a community reporter for Wednesday Journal and Conscious Choice

Tanya Saracho, Teatro Luna: female Latina theater company only one in the country until a year ago, don’t have a lot of money, but they consistently sell out the shows

Christopher Piatt, theater editor for Time Out Chicago, theater scene is really broad, Denise is the media rep that reaches all parts of the city and Tanya does not, manages weekly magazine and online presence-blogs; have to watch trends in cities and rural area

Denise Garrity, publicity director for Goodman Theater, do almost 10 productions a year between 2 theaters, her job is to act as a liaison with the press, fortunate to have a separate marketing team, she pitches theater stories and works with critics. Fourth installment of the Goodman’s Latino Theatre Festival coming this summer. Moving to the new facility means they can invite off-Loop theater companies to present in that space.

Question about strategy

Christopher

Smaller companies are at Time Out Chicago’s mercy. Their response [Time Out Chicago] to the show is their [small theater] advertising. This Sunday at the Tony’s, you’ll see Steppenwolf and Shakespeare Chicago. The importance of that legacy is why Time Out Chicago’s subscribers want to know about the artist and the works. It’s harder to get their attention than it used to be. Send an email to let them know about the production. A lot of his job is emailing people about photographs. Presence of the glossy magazine means that theater is going to look different to the average consumer. There is a science and photographing theater is a craft. They have a lot of freelancers writers they have to trust. For people who are trying to push their companies out there, their attention spans can be very short sometimes. You can call him up. If you do, he will remember that. They get a lot of pitches, but sometimes they want to write about something else. Just be yourself and give them a personal contact.

Tanya

Teatro Luna’s motto: redefining the mainstream. How can you not be interested in a quarter of the population of Chicago? They were an accident, met her partner and got a group together. Don’t know how they filled that main stage at Victory Gardens. Got an email list, now they use Facebook and MySpace. They want to reach 25-32 year olds.

Question: What could you attribute the success to the initial show?

Tanya

We were doing something original and we had a product, but we didn’t know we had a product. Played to their strengths without the money, realized they were something special and we need to tell the people who might care. Started doing postcards. Whole Latin explosion; people wanted to see that on the stage. Originality and reflecting.

Christopher

It’s basically hip hop theater. For the show Machos they interviewed 54 men and women played them. It’s an accident, but a way that you’re answering the call.

Denise

In terms of delivering the information, you have to pay attention to the calendar. We’re in the midst of the festival season. They’ve taken the cast of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” to two baseball games. Now they’re investigating ways to get the performers out. Even the Goodman, we still rely on that. Put posters in boutiques on Southport.

Tanya

You got to talk to us the way we’re listening. We like to listen to the radio. There’s a free way to diffuse information via an events e-blast. Also use party promoters. From the beginning, they knew the importance of having on-point marketing materials. The logo needs to be something extraordinary. When they did start producing postcards and a web page they stood out, it’s kind of like equal opportunity on the net.

Mandy

Similarities, new project: community planning process, do people really want to go to another meeting? Started in 3 different areas, began a web site and started blogging about it, looking at transit missed connections and also looking at retail amenities. It’s been a challenge because there are new people in the neighborhood. Pushed out via e-alerts and they come up with some reason to send it out. How do you have a list? Started out with a list of leaders from business and community groups to connect them to larger groups within the neighborhood. There’s some back and forth there. Then, when people came to the meetings, they collected emails. Collected stories from people who came to the meetings and had interesting things to say. Passing out at neighborhood events, festivals and libraries.  Most meetings are interactive. Use surveymonkey.com. Brochure has a tear off to win a $50 transit card.

Denise 

Enter to win works well.

Tanya

They do holiday parties; secret Valentines bought in so much money and 350 people.

Denise

Tailor-made event, they identified their goal. Chief diversity heads at corporations very interested – had their boards blast out the information via eblast and a paper donation, caterer donated food, had to invest a little bit of money to get the artists to preview the show.

Tanya

They use Constant Contact to manage email

Question: How can we tie into arts to get our message out?

Tanya

Comedy, art and music are good partnerships

Christopher

Journalists love it

How did you come up the fake protest and have you done anything else like it?

Tanya

Fake protesting low priced jeans as performance art landed coverage in the Trib: Latinas have had enough. Also wanted to find out how men use urinals, got attention online.

How do you get volunteers?

Tanya

We only use volunteers, always important to build your board

Mandy

Use idealist.org

Denise

Created a program called university ambassadors that exchanged tickets for service

Mike

Theaters use Saints as ushers

Christopher

Saints are the best kind of volunteers to have

Tanya

pizza and beer

How do you do eblast trades?

Tanya

Partner with other groups to exchange lists

Mandy

Host an event with another group that’s well established to cross-promote stuff, make it easy for them

Tanya

Have an incentive, give them a discount

Christopher

Have to remember the law of diminishing returns with email, the more they see you, the less they pay attention. People block some companies. The really good publicity offices know how to pick those battles and how to really carefully arbitrate that.

Denise

Always attach attachments

What makes a good photo?

Christopher

Very few people in the photo, the eye is going to be drawn to simplicity and movement. Michael Braslow? is so good at capturing even in the still moments. There is a difference between a production and promotion photo. Production photos will help you get coverage. Make two investments: one in production photography and one in promotional photography. Be very simple so that the picture tells a quick story. Look at the advertising campaigns across the board and see which fonts and looks that draw attention. Never place an ad or take a photo for a show you wouldn’t go to. Don’t want a photo to run with the review that looks like the ad.

Observations

Discussion centered mostly on theater production. The secret ingredients? Be original, find a need, feed people, perform where the people are, collaborate and present two faces: production/doing and promotion/marketing.

What do you think?

What’s your secret for getting butts into seats?

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PR Takeaways | Tim Gunn: Ultimate Corporate Spokesperson

Posted on September 25, 2007

tim_gunn.jpgphoebe_and_tim_gunn.jpg 

PR Takeaways is an occasional series that usually, but not always, relates to an event or personal experience. The standard format wraps up public relations tips for entrepreneurs, organizations and small businesses. Images: Tim Gunn presenting and with one of his fanatical fans.

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“You haven’t written that post yet? You are sooooooooo lame!” comment from my 13 year old marketing advisor, two hours after meeting Tim Gunn in Lombard, Illinois 

Well, here it is three days later and yes, I’m finally getting around to writing about meeting Tim Gunn. For those of you who, like my dear husband, have absolutely no idea who Tim Gunn is or why anyone would spend three hours on a gorgeous fall afternoon sitting in a tent staked to asphalt in a shopping mall parking lot, you must not know about Project Runway.  

Last fall, I wrote a few posts about the show. After a few of the PTA moms admitted to stalking my blog, not for marketing and PR ideas, but to find out what I really think about the characters, I decided to back off. And, I wasn’t completely sure I wanted to write about this experience either.

But, after telling everyone I know I met Tim Gunn [Yes, the same thing happened after I met Chloe Dao, winner of Project Runway Season Two at BlogHer], I decided to analyze the relevance to you as a PR Takeaway. By the way, Tim Gunn is now Liz Claiborne’s Chief Creative Officer and is on tour with a denim event. [Scoop: He says we’ll L-O-V-E Project Runway Season Four!] 

How to Choose and Use a Corporate Spokesperson

Who Should Be Your Corporate Spokesperson

The business owner may or may not be the best public face of the business. Associating with an expert like Tim Gunn brought Liz Claiborne out of the department stores and into the Project Runway fan club with loyal fans like the woman who brought a Tim Gunn bobble-head doll that makes daily email image appearances on behalf of a hospital’s physical therapy department. You don’t have to hire a TV show host as your spokesperson to gain credibility. A testimonial from a customer with name-brand recognition will do.

What to Look For in a Corporate Spokesperson

Ideally, this should be someone who shares your passion. Your spokesperson could be your best customer, an industry executive, a company officer or a government official. Tim Gunn is elegant, classy, humorous, witty, creative, media-savvy – and of course, fashionable.

When to Use a Corporate Spokesperson

Any time the press will be there, you’ll need someone to talk about your company. For larger events, you’ll want to line up three or four backups with different angles and opinions to give the press a selection and to show that you have more than one facet.

Why You Need a Corporate Spokesperson

Even the smallest business needs a spokesperson and a group of ambassadors who can represent your company to the public. One business owner I know likes to attend “Steak Fry” events, usually an outdoor barbeque on an asphalt parking lot in the summer. That’s okay, but what about the more formal events that put the company in front of decision-makers? Where is he? Not there. So, I suggested training several company “ambassadors” to represent the company and then sending them out so he can go to the Steak Fry and they can go to everything else.  

For the Project Runway fans who want to know what Tim Gunn is really like . . . He is honest, gracious and sincere about wanting women to own their style and their shape at the moment. In our very brief exchange, he took the time to make sure he answered our questions and that our pictures turned out okay. All that makes Tim Gunn the ultimate corporate spokesperson.  

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Press Release Template | 35 Essential Elements for a News-Worthy Release | Ezine Article

Posted on August 30, 2007

Here’s the latest from Marketing Transformations Network News

Subscribe to My Ezine Articles 

Press Release Template – 35 Essential Elements for a News – worthy Release

by Barbara Rozgonyi, founder of CoryWest Media

To request permission to reproduce or republish this article, contact connect AT corywestmedia DOT com.

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Recently, a new client prospect asked me what goes into writing a press release. When I wrote down all of my ingredients, I was surprised. You can see how much planning goes into one campaign. The good news is that once you set up your template, you can go back to it again and again. Use this list to set up your own campaign.

  1. Headline – between 80 and 170 characters
  2. Keywords – selected to match your search engine optimization goals
  3. Subhead – two to three sentences that summarize your release with a call to action
  4. Opening – compelling lead sentence
  5. Body Copy – 5 paragraphs: intro, point 1, point 2, point 3
  6. Quotes – from you and a client/industry resource
  7. Links – use anchor text links to your site
  8. Contact Information – give phone number, site and email
  9. Image[s] – select a flattering portrait, not a quick mug shot
  10. Logo – upload only if the image supports your story or the brand
  11. Tags – how do you want bloggers to find you?
  12. Landing Page – where you want the readers to go after they see your release
  13. Data Capture – how will you measure stats? Some distributors do this for you
  14. Incentive – what do they get – a free report, more information?
  15. Pitch – what’s the hook for someone who will write about your story – what makes it interesting to their readers?
  16. Features – what makes your news news?
  17. Benefits – how do your features benefit the reader?
  18. Who – is your target audience and why do they need to know about you?
  19. What – is it that you’re tying into – a news story, industry stats, trends?
  20. When – is this is an event is there anyway you can make the story more evergreen?
  21. Where – is location important to you – local businesses may prefer local coverage
  22. Why – is this information relevant to your reader? Do the “so what?” test.
  23. Markets – segment by interest, industry and geography as well as point of purchase
  24. Distribution channels – traditional, online, blogs, your customers
  25. Media Attachments – images, documents, videos, podcasts
  26. Links – buy a domain name just for the release for optimal branding
  27. Platform – how does this fit into your overall platform approach?
  28. Follow up – what happens when someone contacts you?
  29. Media interviews – what will you say?
  30. Online newsroom – how will you promote the news on your site?
  31. Company background – a brief paragraph about what you or your company does
  32.  Trackbacks – will you accept or monitor trackbacks?
  33. GoogleAlerts – set up automatic messaging
  34. Tracking – how will you track results online?
  35. Clipping – clip out articles in local papers

About the author . . .

An in-demand publicist, professional speaker and marketing communications consultant since 1990, Barbara Rozgonyi is grounded, edgy and prophetic. “Panoramic PR,” Barbara’s latest project, compresses everything she knows into an affordable, manageable course that teaches small business owners, entrepreneurs, authors, experts, coaches and anyone else who wants more free publicity how to get completely covered by being fully exposed. Claim a free report and get automatic articles like this one at http://www.powerprsecrets.com.

Craving PR inspiration? Feed into the Wired PR Works blog therapy suite.All site content copyright Barbara Rozgonyi, CoryWest Media 2005-2007

3 Comments - Posted in PR, Press Releases, Publicity, SEO Tagged with: , , , ,

BlogHer 07 | Media Relations | Session Notes | Updated 8.16.07

Posted on August 16, 2007

Updated 08.16.07
Thanks for finding your way here. This post first appeared on July 28, 2007 at my former blog address and now includes other bloggers who covered the media relations session along with BlogHer ’07′s description and my notes. Unfortunately, all comments vanished in the move. But, I’d still love to hear from you if you want to talk . . . 

 

BlogHer ’07 Media Training Session Description
You’ve gotten yourself out there and noticed. It happens to bloggers big and small with regularity now. You’re in the public eye, and you finally get a big chance to be on TV or quoted in a major magazine or any number of amazing opportunities. It’s not always as easy as it seems, and journalists often try to get you to say something off-the-cuff. We will take a look at a couple of recent case studies of bloggers in the media…what went right, and what went wrong. What are the tactics journalists learn when preparing and interviewing subjects? What are they trying to accomplish? How do you take your self-branding skills to the next level and stay on message? This session will give you basic skills to help you control how you are portrayed. Cynthia Samuels and The Sarcastic Journalist will be the media training experts on hand to answer your questions. Stay tuned for our fascinating case studies.

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The first thing to do when the media contacts you is to get their name and phone number. Get them to differentiate with questions. Do you want me to talk from what angle? What’s the goal of the story? The bottom line?

If you want to get publicity on local television, watch what reporters are covering on their topic. Say: “I saw this piece and it was really great.” Always know about 3 or 4 things they’ve written. Get out on their blog. Make yourself visible.

Emails work with journalists about a trend that’s going on and sell as a new ground. Say: We found this on our blog: people have been posting on this and it’s not being covered. You may notice a phenomenon that your blog is evidence of.

Things that have worked in reaching out to the press . . . popping them an email about a story they wrote. “You know what, here’s a missing link that might be helpful. Here’s my book, my blog. Put me on your radar and call me.” It really helps if you present yourself well. State your blog and your area of expertise. Give them your website address, your book, a couple of ideas and ask for their email so you can send them an email.

Most freelancer writers go to ProfNet for resources. It’s a searchable database with links to experts. You can search the topic on the paper and then send it to the reporter, not the assignment editor. 

One person got quoted in the New York Times based on a comment she made in a conference. Use your connections.

In TV, the assignment editor goes to the same meeting as the producers. When someone comes in live, the booker tracks down the three best people. If you can make friends with bookers at local stations, you’ve got great connections. They usually run the list on a Friday newscast – look for associate producers and researchers.

Print is pretty simple. There is an editor in the audience right now. You can sometimes contact the reporter if you want someone to write about your specific story. You can find out a lot about the media if you’re a good detective. Search Google for the editors’ names.

Use GoogleAlerts to comment on articles and get to know the editors. Write personal thank you notes. This is a very high stress job. Say, “I enjoyed speaking with you.” A little bit of graciousness goes a long way. Always remember that the story brings the best truth they can bring. Never act like they’re doing it for you and your blog. They’re writing for the truth, for what America needs to know.

Connect with the media contacts on LinkedIn.

Put out the best site and product that you can so reporters can find you and identify you as an expert. It’s hard to get on the radar, but once you get on the radar – that’s going to help you.

Where’s the line between being persistent and being annoying? When you’re calling the reporter on their cell phone. One or two emails is okay.

Having sound bites is key to keep you from talking too much.

Stories have gone from over a minute to under 15 seconds on TV. It’s really important that you have it down and stay on message.

Message discipline is how people win elections. When you get asked something you don’t want to answer, you say, “That’s really interesting, but you know – “ Then go into the sound bite. Don’t push them to let you say something you don’t want to say. It’s very easy to be impulsive and not think before you speak. Know that anything you say can get used.

Some bloggers are refusing to do live interviews and then they pre-empt the interview by publishing the interview on their blog before it’s published. Emailing is very different than speaking with someone. If you insist on email you’re limiting how good you and the story could be. That puts you in a really odd spot.

As bloggers, some of the best material comes from what you said. One reporter asked if they could do an interview with IM.

Pieces on TV sometimes drop 15-45 seconds off before it’s the air so your quote may get dropped.

People sometimes get their feelings hurt when they open up. When the wall goes down, the reporter has to make a judgment.

Two things about running on in TV interviews: 1. Look at the person you’re talking to – take a deep breath, look at them and try to explain it just to them. There’s nobody else around. 2. Practice. Have a friend ask you 15 questions. You don’t want to sound memorized. It’s like a bookmark. Have your thoughts together.

What do you when someone shoves a microphone in your face that asks you a question? Be polite, take a deep breath, think and find some nice neutral thing to say. Even in a live interview, if you don’t think you’re ready take a breath and think.

On the phone or in person a connection can happen that’s warmer. When you feel like one question didn’t go so well, ask if they could email the questions or ask if you can email them back. Give them other sources – now you’re their friend.

Question about what do you think about social media releases? Presenters liked the idea, but hadn’t seen one yet. They think bullets would work well both in TV and local media.

Why don’t they talk about what I want to know on the news? The fact is, the excuse is, better ratings come from screaming on TV. Every time anything like that gets more ratings, it keeps bringing down the quality.

We can change it and the people in this room can tell the media we’re tired of all the fighting. Get the Benton Foundation’s report to see what the media’s covering.

What if you’re misquoted? The Wall Street Journal published a clip from a personal email to the editor on the front page. Don’t write down anything – even in email – if you don’t someone else to see it. Write a letter to the editor and the reporter. 

The two words press release have been mentioned only twice. Is the press release dead? Send your press release to a name and that is more effective.

Final thing . . . if you’re going to go on television, you need to be ready. It’s not that hard. It has to be that you know exactly what you’re going to say, how you’re going to say it. You can turn things closer to what you’re about. Bloggers are rebels. You have to be prepared in advance. Google the reporter before you call them back to see what they’re interested in. All we’re talking about is not that it’s the end of the world. It’s crazy not to be prepared. Reporters are busy. You have to help them.

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