Article Highlights:

• Don’t lock yourself into one marketing message
• Broad messages make for bigger audiences
• Have a variety of angles for year-round marketing

Imagine if the publicists for The Descendants, the George Clooney movie up for five Academy Awards, had decided to market it as a film about Hawaii.

Sure, I might have gone to see it. It is set in Hawaii and I’m a sucker for those sun-soaked surfs and volcano vistas. And, I’ll admit, George Clooney.

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5 Tips for Making the Most of It

Getting media exposure means putting yourself out there. It might be chatting live on the air with a radio talk show host, taping an appearance for TV, coming up with posts for social media, or being interviewed by a print journalist.

The first couple times can make you apprehensive, but trust me, that disappears quickly. You realize the interviewers tend to ask the same questions, so there are few surprises. You figure out your best sound bites and the responses that get a nice chuckle, and you polish those up.

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Article at a glance:

• Why radio interviews have gone from one hour to today’s norm of 7 to 10 minutes.
• How radio stations are rated and what this means to you.

Last week I introduced you to our new Creative Director, Penny Carnathan, an award-winning former newspaper editor who shared tips for getting press coverage in this era of changing media. I got such great feedback, I thought I’d introduce you to some of the other members of our team who can share similar insights about the media.

I’ll start with Alex (“Dro”) Hinojosa, who spent 15 years as a talk radio host, as he’s got some excellent insights into this industry, for those looking to use radio to get their message out. As with newspapers, it’s a new age in the world of talk radio.

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Five of the Year’s Best Lessons From the Wild World of The Media

Article Highlights:

• Arnold Schwarzenegger’s head-on diffusion and Anthony Weiner’s denial and implosion.
• Lindsay Lohan’s cry for attention.
• Herman Caine’s affair denial that cost him his campaign and Newt Gingrich’s upfront admission that made the issue a non-starter.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot – and this year, there were a few that some media figures would certainly like to.

Now is the time the media looks back on the most significant stories of the year. Since we work with the media, we like to look back on the most significant stories in terms of PR. As comedian Jeff Foxworthy says, “You can’t fix stupid,” but what we can do is learn from others’ mistakes (and successes) to make better PR choices for ourselves.

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While Your Competitors Guzzle the Eggnog, You Can Be Getting the Media

And now, the season begins.

In the office, everyone is hanging around the coffee machine longer and enjoying holiday deserts.  Outside the office, people are caught up in the holiday parties, shopping, food, family gatherings, and enough reruns of holiday programs that they are replaying the Grinch song in their head. They spend a little more time online surfing eBay for gifts and writing emails to associates hoping to put any real work off until January 2.

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The Secret is that it’s NOT all About You

Sometimes the harshest truths are the most important ones.

In public relations, one of the most important truisms revolves around the primary question that the media asks itself as it evaluates the potential stories it may cover: Who really cares?

They ask that question not out of rudeness, but rather out of a genuine desire to serve their audiences. Now, as consumers of the media, we may argue some of their choices of stories (I’m completely mystified with the media’s fascination with the cast of the Jersey Shore, but that’s just me), but we have to remember that the media’s revenue comes from the size and scope of their audiences. If they believe their audience wants to hear about a particular person or story, you can be assured they’ll cover it.

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How the Different Elements of Your PR Campaign Work Together

With all the movies coming out in 3-D these days, I started thinking about how a good PR campaign also has its own 3-D elements. Well, really, there are four types of media outlets today – TV, radio, print (offline and online) and social media – so you really need a 4-D strategy (a point I am sure I will be arguing online at some point with a smart-aleck physicist who takes issue with my science).

In PR, unlike movies, 4-D is the only way to go. I mention this because people frequently ask me which of the four media outlets I think is better. I try to explain that each one is effective in its own right, however, as the media feeds off of itself, the most effective PR campaign will include using all elements in a strategy that leverages a 4-dimensional approach.

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Best To Let the Media Determine That

In my role as the head of a PR firm, one of the most common misconceptions I see has to do with the superlatives people choose to describe themselves. Now, I’m not referring to how the media positions someone, but rather how someone seeking PR wants to refer to him or herself.

I once overheard my senior strategist, Tony Panaccio, having a conversation with a client about what their tagline should be. It went something like this: Read more →

How Social Media is Changing the Way the Media Markets Itself

You don’t have to tell Kevin Reilly, entertainment president of Fox Broadcasting Company, that social media is a good way to market new shows. He already knows.

At the MIPCOM show, a TV and entertainment conference and market held in Cannes, France every year, Reilly said the network is using social media to build awareness of new shows with tremendous success. Reilly gushed over how social media has made shows hits like Glee and New Girl, almost before they even hit the airwaves.

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It’s a More Complex Question Than You Think

Irony has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

One of our clients was at a convention this week, and among his activities, he was hosting a panel on the digital revolution in the entertainment industry. While his credentials in the entertainment business are solid, he has yet to figure out how to operate his new Droid smartphone.

So one of my staff emailed him, pointing out the irony and the client emailed back, “I thought ‘digital’ meant they were going to talk about fingers!”

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