I was sitting at my desk trying to decide what to blog about this week. I decided to turn to the latest news headlines for ideas. As I’m going through the top stories (at least the ones I can think of), I realize that what gets people talking are the most outlandish and disturbing stories. So disappointing…
Example 1: Crazy Stephen Slater. We’ve allowed a disgruntled flight attendant to be the top news story for days. His ex-wife was the lead guest on The Today Show yesterday and his face was on the cover of USA Today. Really??
Lesson: If you want to be a media sensation and have your Facebook fan base grow nine gazillion percent, do something reckless and immature, and maybe break the law while you’re at it.
Example 2: My colleague Ada Hatzios recently attended a PRSA luncheon. In her recap of the event, she mentioned that one of the panelists (a reporter who will remain anonymous) mentioned that he would rather cover death than a company who donated a playground in New Orleans. [sigh]
Lesson: Sometimes your pitch, no matter how timely and awesomely executed, will be trumped by a serial killer who was captured in the Atlanta airport on his way to Israel.
Since I can’t recommend to my clients that they should deploy the plane’s emergency slide on their next business trip, or quit their job in dramatic fashion (well, I guess I could, but I’d like to keep my job), it looks like we’ll have to settle with getting coverage the old-fashioned way. Brainstorming cool ideas, researching reporters, drafting crafty pitches, and hoping that the Dow doesn’t drop 1,000 points on the day of your launch.
As a senior vice president at Cookerly, Matt helps organizations protect and advance their reputations and bottom lines through strategic communications programs. Using creativity, planning and flawless execution, he works with a team to deliver compelling public relations campaigns that produce results and support clients’ business objectives.
As senior vice president at Cookerly, Mike Rieman specializes in building and maintaining relationships with the media and has an excellent track record of landing significant placements in print and broadcast media including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Money Magazine.
As vice president of Cookerly, Sheryl Sellaway uses her extensive corporate communications background to lead consumer PR efforts, deliver strategy for marketing programs and share expertise about community initiatives.
