FLACK ATTACK

1) Don’t be a Nagger

There is nothing worse than a constant nagger. Needy. Annoying. Desperate. If a journalist doesn’t get back, there are two possible reasons. Either your pitch a) got lost somewhere in their never-ending sea of emails because it wasn’t dynamic enough or a fit or b) it isn’t appropriate for their reader or viewership.

Don’t beat the dead horse. Go to the writer with legitimate questions as to why it’s not a good fit or no longer relevant so you can adjust your future approach.

Let’s not kid ourselves though. Like it or not, we have been guilty of it at one time or another due to said inexperience, poor planning and timing or just actual desperation to fill ‘one more seat’ or ‘secure the client’s dream placement’…

However, over our seasoned years, we’ve come to realize there is, a way to be tenacious without pissing off journalists. We like to call it the art of being “subtly loud”.

When dealing with anyone in life, research is crucial. Media aren’t the exception; they’re the rule. Do everyone a favor. Find the appropriate contact. Read an article or two (or merely follow twitter feeds for a few days). Understand the definition of local. Grasp the nature of deadlines and lead times and for the love of G-d, don’t EVER reach out to someone just to remind them about a release, ask if it ‘rings any bells’ or offer up embargoes to media you never met in your entire career (although it’s tempting).

Don’t insult the intelligence of intelligent people (remember they are the ones who got straight A’s in English). Otherwise, one risks this:

                 “If you send me an unsolicited email on a subject that I do

                 not cover, and I do not reply, it means I am not interested.

                 If you send me a second email on the topic, and I still don’t

                 reply, it means I’m really, really not interested. If you send me

                 a third, it means I wish you would go to the window, open it

                up, and plunge to your death.” – Shel Israel, Forbes Magazine

Disclaimer: Although we’ve never had the pleasure to work with Shel, we will ALWAYS make sure the initial unsolicited mail will be one well-worth his time and the start of a fortuitous, collaborative working relationship.

2) Don’t Newsjack the Dead

A couple of weeks ago, we told you about newsjacking and how it can be a great tool to gain more coverage. Yet, it comes with a caveat. There are some cases where not only is newsjacking far from appropriate, but it’s severely frowned upon and goes against what we would hope is the moral compass of all PR professionals.

The death of Robin Williams was a tragic loss, not only for his close friends and family, but for the world he kept laughing for the last 50 years.

Shortly after his death, a blog post was released from one of the largest, accomplished, and successful PR firms in the world connecting Robin Williams’ death to a carpe diem moment for mental health professionals.

True, in the wake of a tragedy, it’s appropriate to raise attention and awareness. However, instead of using a timely death as a sales pitch for mental health professionals, how about just embracing the moment and letting people grieve a trusted friend, dear family member, or comedic icon?

3) Flush your unoriginal pitch down the toilet

When fighting for the attention of a journalist who receives 500+ emails a day, you have to find a way to stand out in the crowd (And I’m not talking about an all CAPS subject line) 

If you want to be heard, listen to this reporter’s advice:

                                “I get it. Your client wants free publicity about their product.

                                 Fine, but that can’t be the pitch. Tell me why it’s innovative,

                                 why it’s going to change the industry, or why it’s benefiting

                                 society, or creating jobs where there were none. Give me

                                 something other than, ‘this is our product and we think people

                                  would love a feature on this.’”

This may seem like common sense, but we know from being friendly with some pretty influential media that 75% of pitches read just like that (some even worse).

Placements don’t just get handed out on a silver platter. Providing valid reasons why your product, service, etc. would be educational, or at the very least pertinent, positions you as an invaluable resource to media as opposed to inexperienced nag.  So kiss the homogeneous, wet blanket pitch goodbye and be the creative, fearless, passionate, successful force that should be appreciated by both media and client alike.

Q: You have recently acquired a new position at the PBJ. How are you feeling in your new role and what have been the hardest adjustments to make?

A: I’m almost four months into the new position and, obviously, going from intern to full-time reporter was a huge transition, but it’s been amazing so far.

The hardest adjustment I had to make was definitely being able to balance everything — my schedule, sources, stories and priorities — but I’m getting there. Fortunately, I’m a relatively organized person. Now, if you’ll excuse me, some things on my desk are not at a 90-degree angle.

Q: Has your photography taken a back seat due to the new position or is it still in full swing?

A: My photography has definitely not taken a back seat. Fortunately, PBJ embraced the fact that photography is one of my strengths. We’re in an evolving industry (and world) that’s becoming more visual, and PBJ is hip to that fact. People don’t want to just read about events — they want to be immersed in it, and I’m glad I’m able to do that.

Plus, I think my photography work let’s us cover events that we may not have covered before, or may not have covered as in-depth before.

Q: Since you write about a variety of topics, is it hard to stay up to date with all the trends? What is your secret to staying in the loop?

A: It’s hard to keep an eye on every single thing but you try to do your best. Luckily, I have a great team surrounding me who send me things that relate to my beat or things they feel I may be interested in. We do it for each other, which is great, because it shows the camaraderie at PBJ. It’s one of the reasons I took the job — everyone wants you to succeed.

Q: How would you describe your interaction with social media? What percentage of your stories come from social media i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.?

A: I wasn’t a big Twitter user until I started interning for PBJ. I didn’t understand it, but now I find that it’s very useful. I’m still relatively new to Twitter, so I would say I still get a bulk of my stories the old-fashioned way: Talking with people from organizations, leaders and PR folks, scouring the Web and hearing things down the grapevine.

Q: What is your preferred method of contact when dealing with PR pros?

A: When it comes to them contacting me, I prefer email. It allows me to organize everything and take in the information at my own pace that a pitch over the phone can’t do. This way is especially helpful if it’s immediately clear the pitch isn’t something I would cover (so I could forward it to a colleague) or something PBJ wouldn’t typically write about. It’s a time-saver for both parties.

Q: Roughly, how many emails a day do you receive from PR pros?

A: About 10-20 emails a day sounds about right. Then again, that could be the amount of emails I get after I come back from lunch.

Q: What was the worst email you have ever received thus far from a PR pro?

A: I don’t have any specific examples, but the worst pitches are those where the PR person doesn’t send me pitches relevant to the industries I cover. I understand that they send pitches to many people, so it may be hard to keep track, but it’s extremely helpful for everyone involved if those pitches are directed to the right person. It’s all about research, to put it bluntly.

Q: What is your opinion on follow-up emails? Are they annoying to reporters or a helpful reminder when things get busy?

A: They’re helpful. Emails have a tendency of getting lost in the shuffle, so a friendly remind is always helpful. I prefer follow-up emails as opposed to phone follow-ups, too.

Q: What advice do you have for professionals entering this industry?

A: Come back to me in a year or so. But, from what I’ve learned so far, it’s that you have to find time for yourself. This goes for any industry, I suppose, but it’s very easy to work 24/7 in this job. Work as hard as you can, obviously, but take a moment to step back and relax, too.

That’s probably advice for someone who’s already in the industry, but for those trying to get in the industry, it would be to do anything you can to get your foot in the door. Doing internships is the prime example.

I’ve had some people tell me that doing an internship post-graduation is a waste of time, talent and my degree. Well, clearly not. You never know when you’ll be in the right place at the right time. Being an intern at PBJ wasn’t the sole reason I was promoted to full-time status, but it allowed me to show my skill set and abilities.

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone living or dead, who would it be and why?

A: Meryl Streep. Enough said. Think we can make that happen? Streep is hospitable, eats at restaurants and tours cities, right?

To hijack is to illegally seize something in transit and force it to travel in a different direction or destination. 

Whether it is the illegal seizure of an airplane, or something a little less life threatening like the stealing of confidential computer information, hijacking, in some form, happens almost everyday.

What if we told you that there is a LEGAL way to hijack professionally that will:

            a) Never leave your story's fate in the hands of journalists

            b) Generate unprecedented buzz about your brand

            c) Grow your business exponentially

Most of you would probably call us crazy, but in fact, David Meerman Scott came up with just that. His idea? NEWSJACKING.

Newsjacking is the act of injecting your own ideas (or your brand's ideas) into a breaking news story to generate tons of media coverage for your own brand.

Whether you realize it or not, companies are Newsjacking all the time. In the 2013 Super Bowl blackout, Tide released the following, perfectly-timed tweet:

In today’s digital age, real time marketing (as seen above) is becoming the wave of the future and will ultimately phase out long lead stories.

Unfortunately, pulling this off takes a great deal of quick, smart thinking. However, once mastered, your brand will generate more media than you ever thought possible.

We know we speak for the industry when we say that there is nothing more frustrating than writing up pitch after pitch only to be ignored by every journalist that exists, so why not give it a shot?

Here at Food Shelter PR, we try to Newsjack as much as humanly possible. Nevertheless, we are still making it a mandatory office read.

If you have any Newsjacking tips or would like to share a superb newsjacking story of your own, we are all ears!

Until next time, fellow Newsjackers. Godspeed.

If you have logged into Facebook recently, there is no doubt your newsfeed is drenched [no pun intended;)] with videos of friends and family dousing themselves with ice water. The #IceBucketChallenge, as it is called, is a social media campaign that was put in place to help raise awareness for ALS, a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. If nominated, you have 24 hours to soak yourself with ice-cold water or donate $100 to the ALS Association.

Now while many believe that awareness can only go so far, we as PR professionals know that creating a buzz around your brand is the key to success. And for ALS, its proof of success is not just in word of mouth, but in the numbers as well.

In 2013, from July 29th- August 7th, ALS raised $14,480. This year, during the same ten-day period, ALS raised close to $160,000.

This viral campaign is proof that social media is truly the wave of the future and the quickest way to get the word out. It is important to understand that when people are talking about your brand, ROI is almost an inevitable by-product.  So if your business is in need of a pick-me-up, you should probably just throw a bucket of ice water on your head and post it to Facebook. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?

If you are engrossed in the media world, you know that the PR-Journalist relationship is a sacred one. We asked our friend and colleague, Danya Henninger, Philadelphia Food/Drink Editor at Zagat, for advice in navigating this tricky partnership by unveiling the do’s and don’ts from a journalist’s perspective.

 Q: What is your preferred method of contact from PR pros?

 A: Email. I know some tech reporters (Farhad Manjoo, NYT) who like Twitter DMs, because it   strips away the pleasantries and makes people get right to the point, but I primarily use email to organize everything. DO. NOT. CALL me with an initial pitch unless it's an exclusive, or scoop. However, I would still prefer to get a text to a call.

 Q: Roughly, how many emails a day do you receive from PR pros?

 A: 20-35, depending on day of week. More Mon-Wed, usually less Thurs-Fri. Nearly none Sat-Sun.

 Q: What was the worst email you have ever received from a PR pro? 

 A: Hmm. I don't want to name names or anything. But I can point to a worst. Characteristics included sentences that didn't relate to the ones previous, half-baked information (leaving out prices or leaving out other details), unrelated information in blubbering paragraph form, which led to this tweet: https://twitter.com/phillydesign/status/476322290226192384

 Q: How much time should PR pros give journalists to respond to their press releases?

 A: Depends on the industry. In food and drink, I think 4-5 days is a good measure for follow-up.

 Q: What is your opinion on follow-up emails? Are they annoying to journalists or a helpful reminder when things get busy?

 A: Useful. Emails can get buried fast. Just be honest that you are following up.

 Q: What is your biggest pet peeve when working with PR professionals?

 A: False pleasantries. You have a job to do, I have a job to do, let's do it together. "Happy Monday, hope you're well" is a waste of both of our time. See: https://twitter.com/phillydesign/status/392660197023305728

 Q: We've entered an age where every company and individual can be a media outlet with the capacity to create and syndicate content, has that altered the PR-Journalist relationship and how would you describe that relationship? 

 A: Definitely altered. I get more of my news from Twitter than from email. I love catching wind of new dishes or promotions on twitter. In this way, there's a chance to get ahead of the other journalists — not scoops, necessarily, because it's all public, but if you follow up (sometimes through the PR firm), you have a chance of telling a better story, first and faster. PR folks are still very important. Most of social media is put out there for the general public, not for journalists. Entities still don't want to deal with writer questions, that's why they hire PR firms. PR is still an important liaison.

 Q: Do PR pros depend more on journalists to do their job properly or vice-versa?

 A: Depends on the industry/beat. If you're a crime reporter, or write about school funding, you do not depend on PR folks. If you're in tech or food, you do. In those cases, it’s a two way street.

 Q: Can you tell a difference in a PR pro's approach depending on if they are local or from a different market? Do you prefer working with PR pros that are local or from different markets? 

 A: It's not so much local PR folks vs. out of town PR folks, but who their clients are. PR firms representing national clients (liquor brands, for example) are obnoxiously impersonal, while pretending to be your best friend. If a PR firm reps a local restaurant, they're usually responsive. That said, it's always nicer to work with local folks who really appreciate the entire vibe of the scene from minute to minute.

When you think of summer, you think of things like backyard barbecues, baseball, fireworks and fireflies. But over at Food Shelter PR, our mind goes straight to delicious summer seasonal craft beer.

Like most folks, we’re pretty obsessed with craft beer. We also want this blog to be a helpful resource for our friends in the industry. So we combined two of the things that we spend the most time doing: Drinking good beer and PR.  Here is a look at the PR industry through a pint glass.

1)   Experiment with new channels

Experimentation is at the heart of the craft beer culture. Breweries are constantly coming up with new ideas for beers and even breaking into the world of food collaborations, keeping customers on their toes.

PR Takeaway: Experimenting with a variety of media channels, whether it is YouTube, Twitter, Vine, or even just plain old email, can only benefit your clients. By taking full advantage of every media channel and resource available, you are putting yourself in the best position to get your message out to the public.

2)   Keep a good HEAD on your shoulders

If your beer doesn’t have a good head (aka the right amount of foam), it’s not going to taste all that great.

PR Takeway: Common sense and levelheaded thinking are always en vogue. If you don’t have a good head on your shoulders in the PR world, or just life for that matter, you are going to run into lot of trouble.  As a PR professional, you are faced with multiple challenges on a daily basis, but if you can think quickly and clearly, you and your business will thrive.

3)   Too much of it, will give you heartburn

Everyone knows that feeling. That feeling where you know that one last beer will take you over the edge, but you can’t seem to fight the urge to have just one more. I mean it tastes so freakin delicious, how can you resist?  And that’s when everything stops feeling incredible, and you just want a glass of water so your damn heart will chill out.

PR Takeaway: As a publicist, things are always a little bit nuts. Whether it is working with demanding clients or dealing with not-so-friendly journalists, your day is always a hectic one. That being said, you need to remind yourself to take a few deep breaths each day and just relax. If you keep taking on more tasks and let the craziness win, you, your clients and your career will suffer.

As teenagers, we distinctly remember allowing ourselves to fall backwards into the arms of our closest friends with complete faith that they would catch us. TRUST FALL, we would call it.

Now as working PR professionals, we’ve learned that the client trust fall takes some time (And by time we don’t mean 12 hours after the retainer is signed).

It is almost inevitable that you and your client will experience waves of ups and downs; it’s a natural part of the process. However, through hard word work and perseverance, you will eventually earn each other’s undeniable respect and be able to form a relationship based on mutual trust.

Recently, a survey done by RPA (Rubin Postaer and Associates) and USA Today concluded that there are 4 ways to build trust in agency-client relationships:

1.    Focus as much on interpersonal communication as we do mass communication.

2.    Work with clients to better define and understand the evolving role of creativity.

3.    Support clients in recognizing the distinction between "different" and "risky".

4.    Practice the art of business as much as the art of PR.

Take these tips with you to your next client meeting and rest assured that your agency-client relationship will only flourish.

Word of advice: You might want to wait a few months on the trust fall..

In our experience, many of the people who are fantastic at what they do, rarely apply it to themselves or their own personal business objectives because their own needs take a back seat.  Food Shelter is no exception to that idea.  Despite counseling clients and initiating a number of new sites, we spent months, possibly years (really who are we kidding), of discussing what our own site needs in terms of updates, functionality, adaptability, etc. Well, we got fed up and the time has finally arrived.  We introduce our fresh, new look to all.  May it be nothing short of the riveting,  typo-free, easy to navigate and to those in need of a loud, tenacious, creative PR group, high up in the SEO rankings masterpiece it was intended.