A RE/MAX broker/owner asked if we could persuade the media to cover a visit by one of the company’s hot air balloons to a school. We anticipated some of our media contacts would dismiss the idea, categorizing it, fairly or not, as little more than a commercial for a company. Some newsroom managers, in an overzealous attempt to preserve journalistic ideals, too quickly reject a newsworthy story pitch when hearing a business owner or private company is involved. How those managers apply their standards is sometimes hypocritical, but let’s save such a debate for another time.
We asked the broker/owner if she had any suggestions on how we could point out why the hot air balloon was newsworthy. She explained, among other aspects, students would learn about aerodynamics, meteorology and the history behind mankind’s first powered flying vehicle.
We first decided whom to pitch the story to. We wanted to pinpoint a journalistic target, not blast an email to multiple media outlets. We ruled out many journalists who prefer hard news stories and related sidebars. What we needed was someone who often covered fun, light features.
We chose a morning weathercaster and his producer. Keith has known both people for years and emailed a casual, straightforward email that cut to the chase in six sentences. (We never considered sending a press release.) The challenge was driving home the news value while explaining RE/MAX would sponsor the balloon for the event. Mentioning RE/MAX too soon might invoke the unpredictable “commercial clause.” But if our pitch didn’t mention RE/MAX at all, the media outlet might consider our email misleading after arriving at the event. Keith remembers reporting on one particular story when a pitch, intended to ensure media coverage, took advantage of some clever wording to deliver an empty promise. This is similar to junk mail with clever subjects providing weak content. Brands weaken their relationships with the public and media by practicing such a tactic.
We attempted to strike the correct balance between being strategic and accurate and the producer, eight minutes after we sent our email, agreed to cover the story. Find your news value and resist temptations to plaster someone with your brand name. Don’t overwhelm the media with unnecessary details. Less is more. Then strategically pick the person who will appreciate your pitch.