Companies that want to generate more media coverage to reach their target audiences sometimes need to get creative with their public relations efforts. That’s not always easy to do, which is why it’s best to learn from the examples of other companies that have managed to do the same.
Newsjacking
There are a few different ways that companies can utilize this incredibly effective public relations effort, with one of the most popular ways being responding to a breaking news story. This is what happened with the ice cream brand Magnum, which decided to talk about the summer heat wave back in 2018 with the press. To utilize the public relations strategy, companies need to be closely following the news cycle, and find a news story that’s going to be relevant to the company and its target audience. Then, the company needs to figure out how it can add a brand new angle to that news story for media outlets and journalists.
Pop up event
Many companies have utilized pop-up events in the past, however, no one has been as successful as the genetic testing company, 23andMe. The company decided to host an event in New York City, to help various New Yorkers learn more about their DNA. This was a great opportunity for the company to engage more with the public, and it was an unusual event enough that the media outlets wanted to talk about it. Companies that want to create a pop-up event on their own need to think about how they can stage an interactive event on their own, that’s going to be interesting to the target audience, as well as to media outlets. Another great example came from a hotel brand that decided to put one of its rooms inside of a train station in London so that commuters could try out the beds that were available at the hotel.
Founder interview
Interviews with a company’s founder are relatively easy to do, and the best part about them is that they are intrinsically newsworthy. This is precisely what the luxury lifestyle brand Purcell and Woodstock decided to do by conducting a 60-second interview with its founder. The interview itself probably took less than 30 minutes out of the day of the founder, however, she managed to deliver a very powerful quote that became the headline of the news article itself. Most customers want to know about the people behind their favorite brands, and this is a great way for our company to capitalize on that interest. Additionally, companies also get the benefit of building more trust with their target audience and improving their SEO efforts by generating a new backlink that will contribute toward a company’s long-term PR goals. There are many different things that companies can ask their founders and share with the world, such as why they decided to create the company, what kind of problem they were trying to solve, how they managed to become so successful, and more. Most company founders tend to have various stories and life lessons that they are more than willing to share through interviews, which makes them a great opportunity for companies to improve their public relations efforts.
Mike Paffmann is the CEO of Virgo PR. He has previously worked as a Vice President at Clarity PR, 5WPR, and Highwire PR.
Checkout the Virgo PR blog @ https://virgo-pr.com/blog/
Virgo PR is a full-service digital marketing and digital PR agency that caters to clients in all industries. Paffmann has over a decade of experience in the public relations industry and has provided diverse media relations programs for brands and corporations across enterprise, software, eCommerce, technology, and consumer apps of all sizes. He has worked with clients including IBM, Genies, Glint, Rebel Ventures, AppAnnie, Owl Labs, car2go, Vkanesee, and more.