Note: This post contains dramatic videos – plan to stay for awhile.

My trip to KÀ began with a brief email exchange . . .

ME: Thanks so much for making this offer. Last year I found out about it a few hours too late. I’ve never seen a show in Vegas, but I love theater, magic, dance and drama. Thanks for letting me know what is open.
JESSICA BERLIN [Cirque Du Soleil]: Thanks for your email. Hmm….if you like theater and drama I think we should put you in to see KA. There is a 7 and 9:30 p.m. show. Which do you prefer? Also, will you be bringing a guest? Let me know and I will arrange the tickets for you.

And, that’s how I got my first theatrical review assignment. [No photography is allowed; image copied from KÀ site.]

Disclosure: Cirque du Soleil provided two free tickets in exchange for a review to BlogWorld New Media Expo attendees like me.

This is my first review of any type. Why did I accept the tickets?

1. Although this was my fourth trip to Las Vegas, I’d never taken the time to see a show.
2. I love theater and have always wanted to write a review.
3. This is the kind of freebie I can’t pass up!
4. I wanted to pass on this promotion strategy to my readers: who can you invite to your event that can cover it for you?

Wondering how Cirque Du Soleil manages social media? [via Lee Odden and Online Marketing Blog]

Thanks to Marcia Hansen from Allstate for taking me up on my offer of a free ticket. We met up at the theater at MGM, got in line and walked into a huge auditorium theater. My first thought? What a HUGE venue! [One source I saw tagged the production's cost at $150 million.]

KÀ Production Facts

~ Every seat in the KÀ theatre has speakers built into the headrest for customized sound effects.
~ The video projections in KÀ are an intricate mix of computer-generated effects and human input that turn the performance space into a cinema screen.
~ Approximately 1,300 hours went into the making of each of the human-sized crab puppets.
~ There are 160 harnesses (of 21 different kinds) worn by the KÀ performers.
~ The Spearmen’s shoes are created to look like they are barefoot, with molded rubber toes affixed to a shoe base.
~ For the beach scene, the sand is created using 350 cubic feet of granular cork from Portugal.

Greeters, dressed like KÀ characters, showed us our seats. One had a bright red wig.
I said: I like your hair.
She said: Thanks! I just put it on tonight!

Settling into our seats, we watched the fireballs bursting from the stage.

Having no idea what to expect – after all, this was my first Cirque du Soliel experience, I interviewed Marcia and a new friend we made, Sharon Miller from Qube Global Software, about what to expect. I asked if I could video their review after the show. They said yes – here it is:

My review?

This is a show that blows your mind. To get ready, I watched KÀ’s trailer, but that didn’t prepare me for the live experience.

For me, the show was imaginative beyond belief.

My favorite elements:
• Costumes – there’s something about costumes that draws me to theater. I love seeing how characters play out in the clothing, shoes, hair and makeup.
• Batons – yes, batons. After going to Purdue and watching the All American Marching Band’s post band-camp show, I thought I’d seen every style of baton twirling, but this was different: elegant, smooth, enchanting [maybe the music had something to do with it.]
• Shadow play – enchanting and childlike, two characters and four hands together put on a play within a play
• Acrobatics – known for seemingly impossible moves, this show boasts aerial, wheel and well, multiple, demonstrations of amazing feats that had me holding my breath until the act was over
• Music – bold, dramatic and showy, the music underscored the story line
• Hydraulic Wall – think about a plane that moves from level to angled with people on it and add in a chase scene with spikes – got it?
• Pit – from fire to smoke coming up to people going down, the pit holds a place as a character all its own
• Staging – columns ring the stage as centers for drumming and more aerobatics, archers poised on railings before they rushed the stage, which gave me a close look at the costumes – the slippers had rubber toes
• Pictures – before the show Aurora took pictures of Marcia and me – very nice, but at $44 not a must-buy

This show is not for people who: scare easily, don’t like loud noises, need a story line with dialogue, like literal drama or musicals and fear indoor fire and fireworks. A friend told me she likes to watch Cirque du Soleil clips; a few minutes is enough for her.

Hint: Take the Get Cirqued Quiz to see which Cirque Du Soleil show you’re in the mood for.

Would I go back? Absolutely and next time I’d take my family with me. KÀ is the pinnacle of a theater experience. I can’t wait to tell our high school theater department about it.

Have you seen KÀ? What did you think? How can you compare your business performance to Cirque Du Soleil?

Monday means Marketing Sherpa. Today’s Marketing Sherpa PR Interview features Peter Shankman and his new site/service called “If I Can Help a Reporter Out, I Will.” The founder of The Geek Factory Inc., Peter also wrote the book, “Can we do that? Outrageous PR Stunts That Work and Why Your Company Needs Them.”

Matchmaking PR

The idea behind “If I Can Help Out a Reporter, I Will” is to match in a hurry, always-on-deadline journalists to a list of media-hungry experts just waiting to be interviewed. First launched on Facebook, the group members now number almost 1200 – Facebook’s limit. That’s why Peter’s moving the service from Facebook to a site. Reporters email Peter directly; you’ll find directions at the site.

Want to sign up? Visit How to Help A Reporter and enter your name and email address. The first email came today with queries from a student journalist, BusinessWeek, an author looking for  real-life stories for a TV show, Investment Dealers Digest, and freelance journalists. No fit for our clients. That’s okay. It’s good to see stories in progress and learn more about the reporter’s beat. And, the experience inspired me to type out a quick guide to keep handy in case there is a match – I can send our clients a link to this post.

When You Answer a Reporter’s Query

Google the reporter to find out more about them and their work.

Check out a copy of their magazine or publication so that you can tailor your answer to their readers.

Respond only if relevant – think about how many answers in forums don’t match questions.

Mention the topic in the email subject line.

Be brief: introduce yourself, comment and close with contact information.

Link to any information you have online that might be relevant.

Record a quick video/audio answer, if you’re so inclined, so they can hear you or see you.

Be there when they call – if you’re not there when they make the call, you might not make the story.

Think about your comments as sound bites – package them into 20 words or less.

Refer to your experience and give numbers, if you have them.

Set up a media contact page they can go to for images and background information.

Update your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts – make sure that what they see matches who you are.

Email Peter with a testimonial when you have a great experience – I’m sure he’d like to keep track of what works and how.

How to Contribute

Although the service is free, if you want to make a contribution, Peter suggests an animal charity like Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, or The National Search Dog Foundation.

Let Me Know . . .

What would you most want to be quoted on?

It’s no secret that I am on the Academy Awards’ media email list – to my friends and family. Two years ago, while watching the Oscars with my laptop, I decided to see how and if I could ever be on the red carpet.

Remembering how press passes got me into other events, I tried that route. Within minutes, acceptance speech and backstage interview transcripts began popping up in my email box.

And since then, the Academy’s kept me informed about every Oscar-related media event opp. I came thisclose to being there last night. What stopped me? Two things: a line on a form and the Academy’s approval.

I got all the way through filling out my request for red carpet press credentials and got stopped by one question: media outlet. Is Wired PR Works a media outlet? I left the question open and never submitted the form.

You see, to get press credentials you need to represent a media outlet, like a newspaper, TV station or magazine. Is my blog a media outlet to them?

To get into Academy events – like red carpet coverage, I would have to have official press credentials.

But, I/you don’t need press credentials to write about what’s happening as it happens – about anything, anywhere.

I like this live blogging around a show or event concept. Something struck me intuitively as I took my place on the couch in front of the TV with my laptop last night, ready to type and post.

But, the teens on either side of me slammed the top shut and asked me to just watch and not blog. So that’s what I did. I did sneak a peek at the Academy’s official blog from time to time. Not many comments here and no images.

Checking other live Oscar blogs like MTV, Deadline Hollywood Daily and Entertainment Weekly, there’s a range of coverage from a page with snippet updates to more in-depth stories.

One of my friends goes to an Oscar party every year – all women, all they do is talk about Oscar Night fashion. What if you hosted a virtual party online? Or checked in with a group like this for comments and then posted the video? Better yet, invite people to upload their own videos to your blog or YouTube channel.

Update 02.26.08

Inside the Marketer’s Studio by David Berkowitz’s Oscar coverage combines live blogging, online media and search - like this mix.

Think About It . . .
What event would like to cover?

Technorati Tags: Live Blogging,Oscar,Barbara Rozgonyi,Wired PR Works

If you read Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound’s blog or e-zine [affiliate link], you might enjoy her “Help this Hound” feature. This post is in response to a question from one of Joan’s readers, a media relations professional, who put out a call for tips on how to deal with impatient clients.

Technorati Tags: Joan Stewart, publicity, PR tips, public relations, PRWeb, Barbara Rozgonyi, CoryWest Media, press release, client expectations

What to Ask Before You Dress to Run Your PR Race

It’s a challenge all media/public relations consultants often face: impatient clients who want major media results NOW. If you’re one of them – an impatient client or a pressured PR pro – try asking these questions I often ask prospects . . .

1. Why do you think your story is worth telling?
2. Who do you think should know about it?
3. Who should tell it?
4. Where do you expect your story to appear?
5. What publications do your customers read?
6. What radio and TV news shows do they rely on?
7. What sites and blogs do they visit and read?
8. What do you think you will get out of a major media exposure?
9. How will you know when your PR efforts are successful?
10. Are you willing to commit to a 3-5 year strategic marketing plan?

Set Reasonable Expectations

The key word in all of this is: expectations. Managing client expectations can be challenging, frustrating, motivating and rewarding.

We start off talking about small steps and building up. Let’s face it, sometimes your story isn’t worthy of a big hit right away. You have to achieve success on subsequent levels to attract major media attention. As Christian said when he won the avant-garde challenge on Project Runway last night, “I’m young so I don’t have much media coverage yet.” [May not be exact quote - can confirm the winning project used 45 yards of fabric and that Chris partnered on the challenge.]

It sounds like Joan’s reader is doing everything right. Sometimes shifting focus away from the glimmering limelight to substantial statistics is as, if not more, impressive and impact-full.

Go Online to Boost Rank and Visibility Simultaneously

Distributing an online news release can effortlessly boost your page rank and visibility. And, major media outlets start to take notice when you show up in their searches.

Since we transitioned away from counting clips to more of an SEO/virtual PR visibility approach, we find that our clients appreciate their different, but more immediate and measurable results.

Within 24-48 hours after their release, many of our clients land on page one of Google news for the desired search terms.

After a few web releases, many of them vault way ahead of their competition, both in terms of number of Google results and page rank. One client showed up at 4, 5 and 6 on page one for their keyword term for the first month or so after their release. Three months later, their news release shows up at 35/232,000 results – while their own site is buried many, many pages back.

Interpret Stats in New Ways Using Traditional Measures

We’ve come up with a measurement tools like this one to gauge effectiveness: reads/impressions = response rate. Using a comparison to other direct marketing methods, where anything above 1-2% is considered a success, we interpret the results for them.

When you distribute your news via PRWeb at the $360 level, you’ll see stats along with search engine terms and geographic readership. So, in addition to releasing news, you’re also testing search terms and mining readership data.

Be Courageous When Contacting the Media

As far as major media goes, it helps to know where your clients want to appear. In one case, our client’s target was the leading industry risk management monthly. I mustered all the courage I could, held my breath and called the editor to tell her what my client wanted. At the end of the call, she assigned me the story and even edited the four-page final version more in our direction. The client happily paid for the ghostwriting and their board was ecstatic. You can try this, too.

Search for Field Scouts

It’s not always [almost never?] this easy to break into bigger publications. PR agencies can make the calls and tell your clients what it takes to get in the publication so that you both know how to get in. For example, home publications often employ field scouts to preview projects. So, you need to find out who that is and contact them.

After a few phone calls and an hour meeting with a scout, one of our clients got booked for an eight page spread in a Better Homes and Gardens specialty magazine. While my client is located in Chicago, one of their newest projects is in Bermuda. The homeowner read the Better Homes and Gardens feature, saved it and called my client when they were ready to renovate their home. I don’t have to tell you – do I? – that I can’t wait to write that release!

Meredith publications’ garden scout editor is a friend who joined a writing group I started a few years ago. Every now and then we touch base and I tell her about a new garden I like. How hard is it to get in? It depends on what the editor is looking for – sometimes you get lucky.

Learn How to Get Lucky

Out of over 80 press releases I sent to the Chicago Tribune about retailers, only one made it as a major feature. When I call the editor to ask why – they said “Sometimes you get lucky.” I found the more I embroidered the release with intriguing details, the better the pick up. Some PR firms focus on the nugget of the pitch and let the reporters discover the story on their own. I’m more of a storytelling type who enjoys rubbing out the vibrancy so my client can see themselves shining and be proud of a release that portrays who they are.

Knowing the editors personally also helps. When a new client told us they hadn’t had any luck with a regional living magazine, I called the editor and said something like: I can’t believe you’d do a feature without them. Did you know – I listed all the awards and credentials. Even though the story was almost finished, the editor shuffled the article around to include our client, giving them three photos and the beginning and closing quote. Why did he do this? He trusted my opinion, not just as a PR rep, but also as a reader and marketing strategist who knew how to make this issue standout.

Take Action and Test it Out

Now that you’ve read this post, take a minute to see what stands out for you, make some notes and try at least one approach. You can also contact Barbara about speaking, writing and creative projects.

What’s your take on accelerating PR performance?

Now, here’s an idea I found in ineptuser’s Boost PR blog post via a Google Alert.  If you want to get in on the Viral Tag Train game, instructions follow, copied directly from the post. The idea is to build viral steam by exchanging links. When your blog shows up somewhere, you add the blog to your viral list. Remember to change the host tag to your own blog before publishing your post.

And, in compliance with number four, here’s a personal invitation to get on board.

When David Meerman Scott mentioned this blog as one of about 160 or so in his recently published book, “The New Rules of Marketing & PR,” I copied the list of blogs the announcement post and watched for links. Each time Wired PR Works by Barbara Rozgonyi was mentioned [i.e., the blogger copied the list like I did], I posted a thank you comment.

All of this back and forth linking raised my Technorati ranking from 2 million something to 113,380 today. And, I found some intriguing bloggers who were regular readers that I’d never met. So, give it a try and let me know how it turns out. You know me, I’m always up for experimenting with new PR and visibility tactics. While you’re here, browse the list and check out the collection – quite a few fascinating bloggers on this train.

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Instructions:
Important Update – Please read here!
1.) Copy and paste the matrix of “ViralTags” below courtesy of Founders Cafe (to support Jimmy’s quest of launching his own Internet Startup with a shoestring budget, please consider subscribing to his Full RSS Feed to see his triumps and struggles in real time).
2.) Substitute the Host Tag and one of the “Viral Tags” in the matrix with your anchor text of choice with your blog’s URL. Please keep anchor text to a max of 3 words to keep the matrix size manageable.
3.) When you get a ping back from someone that has your link in one of their “Viral Tags”, practice good karma by copying his/her Host Tag’s anchor text (automatically the associated link will also be copied) and paste it over one of your “Viral Tags” below.
4.) Encourage and invite your readers to do the same and soon this can grow virally.

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Host Tag: Wired PR Works by Barbara Rozgonyi
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