Most are familiar with the “Dear Abby” model. If/when anyone encounters relationship challenges, “Dear Abby” is always there to share wisdom, experience and most importantly to remind everyone that we have more in common than we don’t.
Early in my PR career, I remember countless times where I felt like I was on an island; feeling isolated and searching for someone to trust. I went to superiors, mentors and others but quickly realized they have their own agendas. This only deepened my feelings, “how can I improve if there is nobody willing to teach me?”
As I developed and became the leader I always sought, the PR pros under my wing flourished as others struggled; I was onto something…
Beyond the lack of unbiased mentors in PR, Media Relations is downright challenging; and only getting harder. Trusted companies that PR pros rely on like Cision (State of the Press Release), MuckRack (State of PR), Propel (Media Barometer), PRNews (Media Relations Dirty Little Secret), PR Daily (7 tips from an editor on getting Earned Media) and SpinSucks (How to Design the Perfect Pitch) have been saying the same thing for years.
Whether you choose empirical data or more anecdotal, the relationship between PR pros and reporters is broken; causing an increasing number of PR Firedrills that agency and brand marketers have to combat.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting a different outcome. The path to improvement requires reevaluating the process.
Over the last 20 years, I have mentored dozens of “PR Rockstars” that hold different senior agency and brand marketing roles; spanning industries. I have countless experiences that we all can learn from.
Through sharing these experiences and questions openly, we chart a course to a different outcome; a world where reporters respond to PR pitches. Every change begins with a single action…
Enter Dr. PR, who is ready to take on any and every PR challenge that you or your colleagues are faced with. There is no issue that is off the table for exploration; the only goal Dr. PR has is providing a solution to your challenge. If it faces you, others can learn from the experience too; let’s explore openly.
When Dr. PR responds, the recommendations are rooted in best practices learned from other brand marketers (in-house and agency) AND reporters; getting to the heart of solutions through sharing experiences.
To showcase some of the scenarios, we will share some of the popular PR Firedrill scenarios that plague our industry, further damaging our relationship with reporters. We will openly explore PR Firedrills that emanate from the Client-, Agency- and even Reporter-side; providing successful options to consider.
Share any comments, questions or topics for us to explore by email, DrPRpitch@riverbedmp.com
Dr. PR is In and Ready to Turn on The Lights!
Reporter Firedrill Scenarios
Let’s start with one we can all agree on, getting reporters to engage in PR pitching is the essential first step to generating Earned Media coverage. Knowing that reporter response rates to pitches has dropped to 3.27% (Source: Propel PRM’s Q2 Media Barometer), the empirical data is irrefutable.
Reporters are rightly frustrated with PR pros. Emmy Award winning producers at the most prestigious National shows share with me that they receive 5-10 pitches per week that mention either the wrong show, network, hosts, etc. It is a daily reality that positions us akin to telemarketers.
A podcast host shared how they receive pitches to secure guest spots on their show. The pitches often start “Big fan of your podcast and I have a guest idea that I feel could be of interest…” The only challenge, the podcast has never had a single guest.
These missteps are as frustrating as they are easy to avoid. Getting the name of your target isn’t asking much. Knowing the tonality of the program being pitched is not too much for reporters to ask.
Dr. PR is in! Submit questions, comments or topic ideas by emailing DrPRpitch@riverbedmp.com
Client Firedrill Scenarios
The least controllable audience often isn’t reporters, it can be clients. Let’s explore some previous PR Firedrills.
This first example starts well intentioned, the client has “media friendlies” and is tactically executing the media strategy that we researched, recommended and built for them. Less than 48 hours from launch and the client calls, “we didn’t secure anything and are about to launch; we need ‘all hands on deck.’” Creating the strategy, we seamlessly took the reins of pitching. We continued the strategy and secured some key placements; with less than 24 hours to spare.
A common PR Firedrill is when a client shares a segment and says they would like to replace that seated expert, on that show, for that specific segment. In diving into what makes that show and those segments unique, I uncovered the equation that led to the segment. It wasn’t the expert, it was the content of the segment that was most important. Doubling down on improving that segment in the future would lead to our objective. We successfully booked the client as a quarterly guest; the other expert was never booked again.
These experiences best exemplify the “Control the Controllables” philosophy. We never can control variables (client, agency, reporters), but we have to remain ready to course-correct and be in the “hot seat.” If we are always ready and expecting curveballs, we are prepared when they are thrown.
Dr. PR is in! Submit questions, comments or topic ideas by emailing DrPRpitch@riverbedmp.com
Agency Firedrill Scenarios
We all can relate to a crickets response from reporters to a critical client pitch that has to succeed. Let’s explore a few examples:
A sad reality is that many who hold senior strategic positions in PR haven’t actively pitched media in years. In one such instance, a senior leader was convinced that a client’s media relations results were struggling and they had a pitch idea. Against my colleague’s instincts, she executed the strategy only to watch it blow up. The reporter, unhappy with the ethical approach taken, went directly to the client to report how they were being positioned. When the client called, the senior leader disavowed any knowledge of the strategy; leaving it all on the shoulders of my colleague.
To balance out, let’s look at how a mid-level employee can also create a PR Firedrill. A former colleague that excelled at Media Relations was struggling on this one client activation. In evaluating the media strategy, we identified that the targets and client assets were aligned; we needed to look at the pitch. We found that the pitch was “too safe” and “promotional.” We reinvented a pitch strategy that was built on “perceived risk,” to increase reporter engagement; checking in 10 days later and nothing had changed. The new pitch strategy had never been shared with a single reporter; the PR pro felt it was too risky. We replaced the team that executed the identical strategy and secured dozens of National placements over the ensuing weeks.
These examples are very different but all provide clear CTAs for PR pros to learn from. Be open to the realities of the situation, actively listen to your peers and know that it is your individual brand that is behind every pitch; beyond your client and/or agency. The risk/reward proposition directly impacts our personal brands.
Dr. PR is in! Submit questions, comments or topic ideas by emailing DrPRpitch@riverbedmp.com