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PubClub Event: Securing TV Coverage (an Overview)

Alison Raymond — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:43:16 +0000

Last night, I attended The Publicity Club of New England’s program on Securing TV Coverage in a Major Market. It was a great session! Fred Kocher – from WMUR-TV (ABC) – moderated a panel consisting of Jack Auresto, Planning Manager of WFXT-TV (FOX 25); Lauren Bettencourt, Managing Editor of the Local News Service at WBZ and FOX 25; Linda Olsen, News Assignment Editor at NECN; and last, but definitely not least, Joe Roche, News Assignment Editor at WCVB-TV (ABC).

It’s every client’s dream to get TV coverage, however news assignment editors are swarmed with emails for us PR folk every day, all day trying to fulfill this dream for our clients. The panel was great and offered excellent insight as to how to get their interest. They also said not to take it personally if you don’t always hear back with a response – they’re essentially working in a tornado.

Here are a couple highlights from last night:

After all the fires & robberies are covered, how do they make their decision as to what to feature next?

Roche: He sees what people are clicking on. It’s about giving people news items that they are interested in and want to see. The news is 3 parts: what the audience wants to know, what the audience needs to know and what the audience didn’t know.

Olsen: At NECN keep in mind there are different areas to tap into: the Business Show, CEO corner, etc. She tries to look for a mix of stories and noted 3 very important things a pitch should be packaged with:

1. Make it visually pleasing
2. Make it of human interest
3. Have the story be relatable

Bettencourt: LNS covers many things that some of the other stations couldn’t. She loves community outreach stories.

Let’s talk on-air vs. web, do they choose different stories for each?

Auresto: We don’t wait till the 6 o’clock news to break a story that happened at noon. It’ll be put on the web (but it still may be covered during the 6 o’clock news). The Web is like having a sister-station. Everything is moving to the Web.

Roche: For instance, if there is a news conference, only part of it might be shown on TV – but you’ll be able to see the entire conference online.

What don’t they cover?

Olsen: Dry meetings or events that are more like a dry meetings. Stuff that isn’t visually stimulating.

Auresto: You have to think, “Do I want to watch this on the 10 o’clock news?” Fine a compelling story about what you are pitching.

Bettencourt: Also, if you send releases about events, have an interesting person available at the event.

Top Dos and Don’ts

Bettencourt: Don’t send an email then call 5 seconds later. You can call, but remember she always is checking email, but she might be busy. Give her time to digest. Do, however, leave contact information including cell phone numbers.

Auresto: Contact information is extremely important. Put that up front with details below. *Regarding events

Olsen: Establish a relationship. She’ll take a few minutes to talk to you if you start a relationship with her. Also, remember you don’t always have to pitch the assignment editors, build relationships with others at the station too.

Roche: Relationships are important. Don’t call too close to news time. Don’t pitch the same exact thing to him that you are pitching to another station.

A couple other interesting pieces I got out of last night:

Roche: He said they aren’t a bunch of prima donnas, so do reach out.

Auresto: He files all the experts he receives, so send him a list of clients and what they can talk about/specialize in.

All-in-all, the panel stressed the fact that they just want to put together an awesome newscast. Think about what you would want to see on the news, create a good story for your pitches and offer them a nicely packaged story idea.

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Technorati Tags: FOX 25, NECN, Pitching News Station, Pitching Tips, TV Coverage, WBZ, WCVB-TV, WFXT-TV, WMUR-TV

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PRobecast #80: Social Media, Scott Brown, Mommy Bloggers and more

Alison Raymond — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:30:09 +0000

There was a big group participating in this week’s PRobecast! In this episode, Alison Raymond, Paula Slotkin, Amy Krigman, Wendie Larkin, Renatta Sierwert, Mike Sapienza and Joanna DiTrapano talk social media, cell phone usage on planes, Scott Brown and the influence of Mommy bloggers. Here are some topics we covered:

Twitter’s launch of @earlybird – The group buying trend is becoming increasingly popular. Many smaller merchants are finding that it is a great way to market their business – but what should they be thinking about before joining in?

The influence of Mommy Bloggers – The media landscape has changed tremendously throughout the last couple years. Blogging isn’t just a pastime anymore. Bloggers can be highly influencial, especially mommy bloggers.

Are we in an Analytics Era – PR and marketing professionals are being asked more frequently for results of campaigns as more and more sources and platforms are used.

Usage of Cell Phones on Airlines – It might not be long before calls are allowed on domestic U.S. flights. Do you want to hear someone talking next to you while you’re flying? Will this be beneficial for those travelling for work?

Brown backing financial overhaul – Thoughts on Brown’s decision to back the financial overhaul.

Success of the Old Spice Man Viral Marketing – Old Spice has done an excellent and hilarious job responding to people’s tweets via YouTube. Is this something that more companies should be doing?

Let us know what you think!

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Waterless Engine Coolant – The way of the Future…

Paul Hughes — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:08:12 +0000

I was recently at the Performance Racing Industry’s 22nd Annual Show in Orlando with Evans Cooling (client). At the show, all manners of technological advances were showcased as they related to the racing industry.

At the show, Evans showcased their waterless engine coolant. This is a unique engine coolant that overcomes the drawbacks of water-based coolant. Essentially, with Evans product, a vehicle can get better performance, better gas mileage, reduced maintenance, a lifetime coolant that never needs to be replaced providing a reduced the impact on the environment.

While Evans solutions have an application in high performance (race cars, motorcycles, ATVs, etc.) engines, it is also a viable option for virtually any internal combustion engine that has a radiator.

The benefit of Evans that was most interesting to the editors we talked to at the show – with all the talk on climate, the environment and being “green” – was the fact the Evans coolant is currently in testing to be declared non-toxic. With 88% of regular coolant ending up in landfills, this is a tremendous benefit.

Evans is available worldwide, but few folks know about them. Take a minute to visit their website and check out their coolant…www.evanscooling.com. I think you’ll find it interesting.

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Technorati Tags: Events, Marketing, PR, technology, Topaz Partners

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RedEye: A Personal Remote Control with an iPhone Wow Factor

Tim Allik — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:01:32 +0000

I should use my 11-year-old son as an early warning system when it comes what’s going to be hot in tech. When he was younger, he always seemed to embrace new technology trends months before they hit the mainstream. Club Penguin, Webkins, Tamagotchi – he learned all about them long before I did, and before they attracted huge followings. He must have picked it up from the playground, because we’ve always been pretty strict when it comes to allowing web surfing.

Now that he’s older, he’s in love with the iPhone, the iTouch and all things Apple (although we’re going to try delaying the purchase of a mobile phone for him for a year or two. Keyword “try”).

When I described what the RedEye (a new Topaz client) does, my son’s eyes grew wide and his face lit up. “That’s soooooo cool!” he yelled. (Don’t say I didn’t give you a heads-up).

RedEye is the first (and only) universal remote control system for the iPhone and iPod touch that lets you control virtually any home entertainment device from any room in your home. That’s right. No more hunting for the remote control in the sofa cushions. And it’s way more affordable than high-end universal remotes with similar functionality.

The RedEye is currently in Beta, and the early reviews have been positive.

What’s particularly interesting is to see a groundswell of interest in the social media world. People get passionate about technology! I love this video from a fan breathlessly “unboxing” the RedEye from its stylish package. It’s actually tagged as an “unboxing” – a category that apparently has a loyal and growing following among YouTubers:

The team behind RedEye is creative and passionate about everything related to remote control. In fact, they live and breath remote control, so why not blog about it, too? Being smart people, that’s just what they are doing. MoreControl.com is now alive and kicking, with posts on everything from Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology to gesture-controlled TV. Check it out and let them know what you think.

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Technorati Tags: iPhone, iTouch, MoreControl.com, Remote control, ThinkFlood

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Topaz Partners Client’s Social Media Strategy Featured in PRWeek

Tim Allik — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:29:46 +0000

Black Duck Software conducts social media-focused brand awareness effort

Frank Washkuch
June 29, 2009
PRWeek

WALTHAM, MA – Black Duck Software, maker of management solutions for open source software, is conducting a brand awareness effort to increase its visibility within the tech sector and its reputation as a thought leader.

Black Duck is focusing the effort on reaching business leaders on social media, blog, and trade press outreach, said Peter Vescuso, EVP of marketing and business development at Black Duck. The initiative is also promoting the company as a technology thought leader, he said.

“More and more, we are using Twitter and reaching out and leveraging the blogosphere, and that’s a critical part of the whole outreach program,” he said. “It’s all b-to-b, and technically, our customers are very savvy. And what we’re finding is that we’re shifting our emphasis to be almost all online, and we’ve been getting better results in terms of awareness and lead generation.”

The company is aided by AOR Topaz Partners, which it hired earlier this year.

The initiative features various Web components, including podcasts, social media press releases, industry blog outreach, and public-facing efforts on Facebook and Twitter, said Ann Dalrymple, senior counsel at Topaz. She explained that the brand wants to maintain its awareness levels in the mergers-and-acquisitions industry and in the legal press while gaining in various technology trade areas.