Quality of TV Markets

The Problem: You’re certainly aware that it has become increasing more difficult to secure “earned placements” in TV news programs and especially in the Top 50 markets.  Even for broadcast public relations specialists like CMP Media Cafe that have long standing relationships with TV stations, although we do book many Top 50 markets for our Co-Op SMTs, the newsroom environment has had two important changes that our industry has had to roll with:

1. The FCC scrutiny of content provided by corporate sponsors has resulted in many TV stations deciding to abandon use of the video news release b-roll packages and satellite interviews entirely rather than simply disclosing that they are provided by a sponsor.

2. The business model for network affiliates has changed due to decreased advertising revenue during the current economy.  This means that where, in many markets, good pitches used to result in booked interviews via satellite or in studio as a public relations coup, stations are now charging for a “sponsored content segment” on their program if a company or product is part of the pitch.  Stations then fully disclose it as a sponsored segment to viewers.

Most Co-Op SMTs already use several sponsored content segments to compliment their earned placement interviews and have done this for several years, but the Top 25 markets have been elusive and cost prohibitive.  As a result,  a small part of Co-Op SMT budgets have been directed  at TV markets between the Top 40 to 90 because they have more affordable rates.  As the trend toward sponsored content has grown, it has started eating up budgets and profit margins for companies like ours.

The Solution: At CMP Media Cafe, we’ve been busy cracking the code on of one of the biggest P.R. challenges of recent years – how to get exposure in the Top TV Markets in today’s testy media environment.  Many markets like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago will remain next to impossible to book with the Co-Op SMT vehicle, but we’ve secured relationships in other desirable Top 25 markets like Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Phoenix, to name a few, in order to give our clients the highest quality broadcast public relations product.

Since the beginning of this new hybrid of broadcast public relations, our company budget for these types of placements has increased over 400% from a few years ago when our only guaranteed placement was on one of two nationally syndicated programs, Broadcast News in 30 (Formerly ANN) or Newswatch.  This means that approximately 20-25% of our Co-Op SMT budget is now dedicated to ensuring our clients get the results they desire and on high quality nationally syndicated programs like The Daily Buzz.

The Cost: We’re definitely able to secure earned placements on several top quality TV markets with our pitch angle, but many of the Top 50 markets will simply not take satellite interviews unless they are paid for by the sponsor.  In order to secure quality markets that only take paid placements, our company has raised it’s Co-Op SMT client participation fees in order to provide a higher quality product and continue with our client pleasing business model of limiting participation to just three clients (and going on-the-air with a minimum of two clients although we don’t meet our margin.)

We understand that there are several Co-Op SMT companies to choose from that also offer what may seem to be a more attractive fee, but understand that several companies crowd a segment with four to five products into a two-and-a-half minute interview (and some products won’t get on the air as a result).   That’s a risk we don’t want to take with our clients.

Quality of TV Production

The Problem: Clients spend a lot of effort finessing the verbal message of a feature on a Co-Op SMT but have little control over the quality of production and the look of the product on-the-air.  As a former network television producer, I’m confused by the lack of quality sets and lighting I see being produced by other companies.

The Solution:  The visual representation of your client’s product positioning should be just as important as the verbal representation and CMP Media Cafe has the highest broadcast standards.  We hire experienced media savvy spokespersons to deliver your message in a natural friendly presentation, provide network quality sets and set dressing, have network quality lighting, and provide a high quality live shot for TV stations.  Unfortunately, some companies skimp on the visual look of the set and that then reflects poorly on the featured products.

I’m sure you’ll agree that we all want what’s best for our clients.  We’ve cracked the code on how to provide a Top TV Market tour but that comes at a price that our clients have to be open to paying for in order to secure the highly coveted Top 50 television markets.

But here’s the big question:  Would you rather pay a little more to be featured in a Co-Op Satellite Media Tour (SMT) that limits participation and get into the top TV markets you want with a network quality produced feature or pay less to be crowded into a Co-Op SMT feature with a mediocre TV market list, lots of radio hits and a set that looks like a “leased access” cable production?  It really comes down to dollars and sense.

Peace and coconuts,

Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2012. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.

Info  PR: n/a  I: 24  L: 0  LD: 16  I: n/a  Rank: 4478457  Age: n/a  I: 0  whois source Robo: yes Sitemap: yes  Rank: n/a  Price: n/a Links: 81|17 Density

August 29, 2011: Last Friday, as Hurricane Irene was preparing to wreak havoc on the East Coast, a 30-year-old media monitoring company battened down its hatches and closed its doors – forever. VMS (Video Monitoring Services of America) has been an icon in PR services for three decades, but after several attempts to resurrect its market share, it finally gave up the ghost, shut down operations and laid off its entire staff on Friday.

Since 1981, VMS was a provider of videotape copies of news clips and airchecks for public relations professionals and more, but digital video changed the business.  Digital delivery provided a less expensive alternative not to mention competition from other companies throwing their hat into the news clip / media monitoring ring. It’s sad that the pioneer of this service an industry grew to rely on couldn’t survive the digital revolution.

So what are your options?  VMS was a heavyweight, but Vocus, Cision, Critical Mention, and MediaWatchAZ (my personal favorite) are alternatives.  I’ve been using MediaWatchAZ for years for monitoring reports and airchecks not only because of their very  competitive rates, but primarily because of the excellent customer service provided by Mike Shaldjian and his team.

Perhaps VMS should have read a short little book titled, Who Moved My Cheese?, to adjust their business to the changing digital world.  If you’ve never read this book, then by all means go to Barnes & Noble and pick up a cup of Starbucks, sit down and read it…it’ll take you about an hour – or just buy it like I did.

In a nutshell, here are  Six (6) Important Lessons on Change that deal with moving the “cheese” and how to adapt your business practices accordingly:

1. Change Happens.  They Keep Moving The Cheese
2. Anticipate Change. Get Ready For The Cheese To Move
3. Monitor Change. Smell the Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old.
4. Adapt To Change Quickly. The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese.
5. Change. Move With The Cheese
6. Enjoy Change. Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese

I love the lessons of the fable told in that little book.  Perhaps if VMS had taken a page from Who Moved My Cheese?, their final acronym wouldn’t have been R.I.P.

Peace and coconuts,

Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2011. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.

Perhaps you’re guilty of engaging in Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective PR. To most seasoned public relations professionals, this list will be quite humorous but, trust me, as a producer who worked for many television programs, these industry faux pas are more common than you’d imagine.  Let’s take a look at these seven ineffective habits:

1. Pitching product announcements and stories without knowing what a publication or television programs covers or who the audience of that publication or program is.  Saying that you don’t have time to read these publications or watch these programs because you work for a living does not score you any points with a reporter or producer. PR pros buy and study the publications they pitch and TIVO programs they think might work for their clients to determine if it’s a fit or not.
2. Issuing press releases with long slug lines that serve the client, not the reporter.  Your slug line on your press release must have an angle that hooks readers — including reporters and producers.  Sell them on the slug line and you’ve probably sold them on the story.
3. Failing to check a publication’s or program’s deadlines or production cycles, especially for monthly magazines, which often work more than three months in advance. Failing to plan is planning to fail here.  In the fast pace world of P.R. it’s easy just focus on the fire in front of you, but it’s the fire three to six months down the road that needs your attention as well.
4. Deluging reporters with too much spam and too much information to “pitch” the story.  Remember the main object of a media alert or press release is to get the reporter or producer interested in the story.  Introduce more details to them as they are needed or you could kill the story before it breathes its first breath.
5. Hounding a reporter to see if they plan to use a recently sent press release.  There’s a difference between pitching and harassment.  Know where to draw the line.
6. Not returning calls or emails from reporters asking for help on stories.  Like them or hate them, in our ever increasing electronic world, that’s where cell phones, Blackberry’s and Treo’s make the difference between your company or your client getting on the air (or the competitor.)
7. Not displaying PR contact names, phone numbers, and email addresses in easy to find places on the company web site.  Sometimes this information may be hidden from the very media decision makers that need to contact you.  Have an effective method in place on your company or client website for the media to reach you easily.

For more ways to plan on how to break through the clutter and give newsrooms stories they need to grab viewers, get time sensitive ideas on planning media opportunities for you or your client at our  Broadcast Calendar

Peace & Coconuts,

Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2011. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.

There was a commercial airing in California within the past few years that was hilarious, though I must confess, I do not remember what the ad was promoting.  It was produced like a pseudo 11- o’clock news station promo and started with the reporter voice over announcing, “There’s something lurking in your kitchen that’s very dangerous.”  There were images of a kitchen counter loaded with food and a refrigerator door being opened as shots of various foods were panned inside.  Then the voice over continued, “It’s in your refrigerator and it could kill you.  Details at 11.”  The ad was an obvious parody on how news stations over sensationalize to grab viewers, but the satire is not too far from reality.

We understand that the overall goal of any public relations effort is to project a positive image for a product, service or brand, but all of those “happy” or “positive spin” headlines on your press release, media alert or email pitch may actually be sabotaging your efforts.  Think about it.  Which story would you rather read or tune into on the news, “We have good news about a new soft drink.  Tune in at ten,” or “As you hydrate during the summer heat wave did you know some drinks may be bad for you?  Find out what drinks you need to avoid.  Details at eleven.”  The second tease is a promo I heard on our local CBS affiliate and like it or not, viewers (and readers) tune in to the negative headlines.  So it’s obvious, your press release or media alert may get more attention if it has a negative headline or slug line.

Worried about obtaining the positive spin?  Don’t because all you’re doing with the negative headline is getting the media decision makers to actually read your pitch.  Set the story up with the negative thought and then position your product, service, or brand as a solution to the negative tease.  For example, if you’re a bottled water company or produce sports drinks containing electrolytes, you can use the CBS tease to your advantage and talk generically about avoiding drinks high in sugar during high temperatures and communicate how your product is exactly what a body needs to stay hydrated during the summer heat, replenish electrolytes, and people need to keep it on hand in the car, at the office and in kids’ backpacks.

CMP Media Café has been very successful in using this technique to get media attention when our clients have the right product or service to capitalize on it and when the clients understand that the negative springboards the positive.  Some of our successful projects have included:

Slugline: “Top Three Mistakes Parents Make with Preschoolers” Our client was a national leader in classes for kids and by identifying the top three mistakes parents make and using their service as a solution to correct one or more of those mistakes, it gave their service a very positive positioning.

Slugline: “Herbal Supplements.  Are They Safe?”  Our client was a nutritional supplement company that was responding to bad press and they put a positive message out about taking herbal supplements as recommended are very safe and how they adhere to FDA guidelines with their products.

But don’t take my word for it.  I’ve found several articles from ABC, FOX and MSNBC to see how they use the negative headline to grab an audience.  Any one of the following stories could be the launch for a positive spin on a variety of products, services or brands.

MSNBC – Five Biggest Mistakes Homebuyers Make

ABC – Medical Myths That Can Kill You: And the 101 Truths That Will Save, Extend, and Improve Your Life

MSNBC – What You Don’t Know Can Hurt Kids

ABC – Aged Tires:  A Hidden Danger on the Road

CBN – The Hidden Danger in Your Food

Now, keep in mind that some of the negative headlines do in fact report negative stories, however, you can use the same media tactics that producers and editors use to grab viewers and readers to grab the media’s attention.  So be brave.  Be Daring.  Use the secret power of the negative slugline and see your media exposure improve dramatically!

Peace & Coconuts,

Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2011. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.

Getting newsroom attention is not easy.  It’s harder and harder to get producers on the phone to give them your pitch even if you’ve developed those media relationships.  Now, everyone wants you to submit your pitch (aka press release and/or media alert) through email.  That is if they don’t just cut you off completely and put your emails into their spam filters.

There are also many outlets for press release distribution online but in most cases, they’re a waste of time.  Not because the services don’t do the job of distribution and getting your press release into the search engines, but because the press release is the problem.  So what’s the number one mistake even seasoned P.R. pros make on writing press releases?  The press release has a boring headline/slug line with no angle.

The headline is the most important piece of the press release and it needs to be strong enough to grab thejournalist’s attention so that he or she will actually read the rest of the story.

Think about it, what do news room assignment desks, producers and media decision makers see first?  The slug line or headline to your news release or media alert.  You’ve spent hours crafting every word of your press release and getting it approved by your client, but it’s never read because you’ve lost the decision makers before they read word one.   Here’s what I’m talking about. 

I’ve put together some good “bad” examples of headlines that I found at an online press release website:

SFR Company Gets New Home in Utah.

Sally Jane, Author of Crime Thrillers, Promotes Her New Book

R2D2 Company Concentrates on FANUC Echo Robot Sales

(NOTE: The names have been changed to protect the innocent)

Here are some good examples of headlines I found at that same online press release website:

Tiny Spacecraft Could Help NASA Find Unmapped Planets

Avoiding the Con in Construction

4AllPromos Saves Lives with Summertime Promotion Products*

(*although this could be better)

Your slug line should sound like a tease for a news cast.  The difference between the two sets of examples?  The good slug lines can almost be turned into a tease for a newscast and say, “details at 11,” whereas the bad slug lines say, “who cares?”  For example, “Tiny spacecrafts could find new planets?  Details at 11,” or “Tune into tomorrow at 6 and we’ll show you how to avoid the “con” in construction.”  Here’s how you might spin a better slug line from one of the bad headlines with something like, “She’s solved two crimes without leaving her office.  How’d she do it?  (Tune tomorrow and find out).”

Now there are definitely news releases that have certain restrictions where the SEC is concerned on financial reporting, but if you’re promoting a product, person, or brand, then start thinking how producers and news editors think.

With that said, do not resort to cheap tactics to make your story seem more interesting than it really is or use a marketing-hypefilled headline that reads like an advertisement instead of a news story.  Always practice good journalism ethics and craft a headline that reflect what the story is truly about.

Finally, if you do half their work for them (i.e. create their tease line or headline so they see how they’ll grab viewers or readers with your story), then you’re on your way to becoming a rock star in P.R.

Peace and coconuts,

Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2011. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.

The ultimate question is are you and your broadcast public relations tactics evolving to meet the changes of how public relation efforts are being delivered to the media and are SMTs still viable with new forms of media available to reach the consumer?  There are definitely a lot of new media tools available for your P.R. toolkit.

Internet Media Tours and Social Media.  Some stars with new sizzle in broadcast public relations devices include internet media tours and social media campaigns.  First, I will be blogging about this topic soon, but internet media tours may be the hot new flavor of broadcast P.R., but as someone who has one of the top ranked travel websites I can tell you that they are way overpriced for your true audience reach and the numbers being reported are very distorted. Second, social media has some amazing possibilities (I currently have over 2700 Twitter Followers as @TravelProducer and a Klout score of 62), but even if you’re using social media successfully, it’s still only one piece of the publicity outreach machine you need to be pursuing to maximize any public relations campaign.

All social media has done is increase our options in a similar way that the 500 television stations increased viewing options on TV.  There is no one single way to reach your audience, but an editorial feature of a product, expert or brand in broadcast media continues to the be gold standard to add credibility to your name.  As much as viewing habits are shifting and diversifying to the internet & mobile phones, TV is not only still the originator of most of the news, but it’s still the driving force of credibility.  You see, almost anyone can get featured on the internet these days, but it’s still an elite group that gets featured on television news.

What About Audience Reach and Consumer Impressions.  As a producer, in addition to being creative, I’m also a numbers person and clients are very concerned about audience reach (i.e. consumer impressions).  Let’s talk about audience reach numbers then but let’s ask a few questions first:  What’s the audience reach for the top rated prime time show?  What time of the day are these shows broadcast?  Should a satellite media tour (SMT) expect to reach the same amount of audience numbers that the top rated prime time show gets?  I think you can see where I’m going with this.

The top rated shows on TV in general will get up to 15 million viewers on average during the winter when everyone is home and the numbers can drop almost in half during the summer when the weather is good and people are out enjoying the nice weather instead of being glued to the tube.  Sure, you’ll hear the finale of <i>American Idol</I> will get high audience reach numbers exceeding those averages, but they are the exception to average Nielsen ratings.

So continuing on the numbers theme.  Let’s say a client pays a participation fee on the high end of $15,000 for a Co-Op SMT and the company guarantees an audience reach of seven million viewers (including sponsored content on syndicated television programs).  How much does it cost to reach each viewer (not the CPM, but each viewer)?  The answer is easy.  It only costs $0.002 to reach each viewer – way less than a penny per person.  Can any company produce a printed brochure with product information, purchase mailing lists and place stamps on envelopes to seven million people for that price?  Can you produce a commercial and purchase airtime for a DRTV spot for that amount per viewer?  Even if you could (which you can’t), would the product have the same credibility as the editorial news feature?

It All Boils Down to Credibility.  So the question remains: are Co-Op SMTs still effective in today’s media world?  Given the audience reach results for the dollar value, they’re still a very good bang for your buck.  It’s important to reiterate that no amount of advertising can give your product the credibility that an editorial feature on a television program can.

To find out more about Co-Op Satellite Media Tours and broadcast public relations options, visit us at CMP Media Cafe.

Peace and coconuts,

Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2011. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.

The next time you plan a media event to promote your product or client, you may want to take a look at what the Hawaii Visitor and Convention Bureau (HVCB) and their public relations agency McNeil Wilson cooked up in Los Angeles earlier this month. Not only did they create an event for the media to experience a taste of Hawaii on the Mainland, they also leveraged this event to generate television news exposure on three Honolulu TV stations. How did they do it?

First, the HVCB & McNeil Wilson created an exceptional event that had great visual elements. It’s no secret that L.A. is a vital market for Hawaii tourism and the HVCB created a VIP Reception to launch there “A Thousand Reasons to Smile” campaign in Los Angeles so that the media could experience the Spirit of Aloha first hand from the moment they entered the second floor of the W Hotel. Journalists received an authentic lei greeting and as the evening got underway, they were given a traditional Hawaiian blessing performed by cultural specialist Celine Pi‘ilani Nelsen on the W’s version of a lanai – their second floor terrace.

Elizabeth Harryman, Travel Editor of Westways Magazine commented that, “It’s very helpful when the islands come to us so to speak so they can tell us what’s going on in the islands and we can tell our readers.”

Media attendees got to dig deeper into the destination through “talk story” sessions led by local culinary expert and author, Joan Namkoong, and Grammy winning slack key guitarist, George Kahumoku, that gave background on the Islands unique food and music and set the tone for the 7-course Hawaiian inspired menu created by Chef John Matsubara of The Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The evening came to a Hawaiian style crescendo as the four mayors of Hawaii came together for an unprecedented media moment and serenaded the journalists with a traditional Hawaiian song and had everyone join in.

Second, the HVCB & McNeil Wilson created a plan to insure that the priceless moments of the four mayors of Hawaii were captured on video and delivered directly to the news stations they wanted to target. The HVCB could have just hosted the event, entertained journalists, and left it at that, but they decided to hire a broadcast public relations company, CMP Media Café, to capture the night on video, edit a b-roll package of highlights including soundbites with the Mayors, journalists and the HVCB, and coordinate the delivery of the b-roll to Honolulu via an early morning flight. This assured the video would arrive in time to make the 6 o’clock news less than 24 hours after the event wrapped at the W Hotel. They knew they had something special and it paid off to put the footage directly in the hands of the local network affiliates. Three of the four Honolulu stations that received the footage did not just air the story once, but multiple times. These airings on KGMB-CBS, KHON-FOX, and KITV-ABC collected 405,353 consumer impressions and created a lot of goodwill for the HVCB with Hawaii residents to know the efforts being made to drive tourism to their local economy.

Finally, the “money shot” of the evening for Hawaii residents and local Honolulu TV stations alike was not just having the four mayors of Hawaii in one event and coming together to promote Hawaii as a vacation destination, but actually serenading the journalists with a traditional Hawaiian song. This shot was the lead shot in most of the news stories.

Peace and coconuts,

Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2009. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.

It’s “scary” out there. Turn on the TV and all you hear about, aside from the upcoming Presidential election, is how bad the economy is. Having weathered many economic cycles in my lifetime, I’ve grown accustomed to the ups and downs of the markets and how the media infuses psychological trauma to the masses feeding the economic frenzy with never ending poor economy stories. I have seen this happen time and time again in economic downturns, so this isn’t new to me. History repeats itself and there is nothing new under the sun.

Without going into the story behind the story of the current economy crisis, I will acknowledge that this is one of the worst, but understand that things do turn around. The market is making a huge correction as it never could have sustained the illusionary gains for the long term (just as in the “dot com” downturn). There are good times and there are bad times — it’s part of the economy and part of life.

Several things you need to know about a bad economy. Even in bad economies people are making money and will continue to make money. Also, the trillions of dollars that “disappeared” from the stock market was just simply transferred into someone’s bank account. While millions of people have been losing their retirements and their “shirts,” that money has gone somewhere – it didn’t evaporate — someone just got rich. Finally, what does this info have to do with a media blog?

Now, let’s talk turkey. The economy has everything to do with broadcast public relations. Clients are seeing budgets cut, even jobs cut. The world seems to be in a panic. Why would the media want to listen to your story when there are such serious issues at hand? But what do smart people do in situations like we’re seeing unfold before our eyes? They make money and make a killing in these markets. They respond to how the world is changing by changing their strategy and approach to business. The world is not ending, just the world as we know it for now. Several years from this day, you’ll be back to a new normal. In the meantime, you have a job to do which is to get your story on the air and in the news, so what do you need to know?

Number One: The News is Focused on the Economy so Spin Your Story Accordingly.
We just produced a Co-Op SMT at the end of the September on Insider Travel Secrets which was about creative ways to travel and save money. We featured a hotel rewards program and a destination that has great deals in the fall shoulder season of travel. Knowing that we couldn’t do a traditional “Insider Travel Secrets” pitch as the media would have perceived the story as frivolous and that their viewers cannot afford to travel during our current economy, we pitched this story to the media as “Tough Times are Great Times for Travel Bargains.” By the day of the tour, we had booked 26 interviews (16 TV, 9 Radio, 1 IPTV) including many Top 25 markets. Our SMT actually hit during the news of the $700 billion bailout story so our angle struck a chord with the stations.

So look at your current clients and existing campaigns. Keep in mind that you may need to go back to the drawing board and scratch current plans rather than forging ahead with a plan that won’t work in today’s media environment. Look at ways to spin your client or service as a solution. If you represent a luxury item and think all is lost, think again. Spin your product or service in this way, “While it seems like most Americans are cutting back, some are feeling very confident.”

Number Two: What You Focus on Expands.
Without sounding like a self-help guru, you need to focus on the positive and stop focusing on the negative as the negative will ruin you and your ability to be productive. The Law of Attraction states, “what you focus on expands,” so if you focus on creative ways to get media in the current economy instead of how hard it is to get media in any economy, you have the first key to standing out during this economic season.

Focus on how you’re going to revise current campaigns to respond to the current media climate.

Number Three: Panic is Not Your Friend – So Don’t Panic.
I produce a lot of live television events and the key to being successful as a producer of live television is don’t panic. When I was producing gavel-to-gavel coverage of the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, we had a production assistant on staff who was very good at infusing panic on the set and had a knack for making every situation somehow turn into some emergency. I had a choice to either buy into her panic or NOT to buy into panic. Now she was good, so a few times she “got” me, but she taught me a very valuable lesson that I use to this day on the set. No matter what is happening, I do NOT panic because panic does not help the situation. If the station cannot tune in a satellite, don’t panic. Calmly work with the engineer until you succeed in solving the issue. If an IFB goes down, don’t panic. Calmly find a quick solution. If a spokesperson hasn’t mentioned a client and the station is wrapping, don’t panic. Calmly use the IFB to speak into their ear to get the mention in. Getting excited and buying into panic generally has one outcome — you don’t succeed with your mission and you’ve made the entire crew feel helpless and hopeless in the process.

Professionals don’t panic. Professionals respond calmly with solutions when “the sky is falling.”

Number Four: Prediction – Stations will Come Back to Using More Corporate Provided Programming (VNRs, B-Roll Packages, SMTs).
We all know the ups and downs that broadcast public relations has experienced in the past couple of years due to a certain “watchdog group” and the challenges that has caused in our industry. It’s helpful to look at a little history on this and how history will repeat itself. One of the reasons VNRs, B-Roll packages, and SMTs were so prominently used by stations in the past is budget — stations just didn’t have them. In addition, stations didn’t have the personnel to cover consumer news so the corporate provided b-roll was a win win situation when the story was newsworthy and/or unique and fun. News stations will see budget cuts in the very near future. Ad revenues for stations will be down and so news directors will have to respond by cutting staff. When that happens, their resources will be stretched and I predict that there will be a gradual and systematic return to corporate provided programming (with newsworthy topics). History repeats itself and there’s nothing new under the sun.

What We’re Doing During the Economic Downturn:
We are following our own advice during this challenging economic season. We’re currently creating great opportunities for our clients with Co-Op Satellite Media Tours that will resonate with news stations. For example, we’re producing “Christmas on a Budget: Great Gifts Under $20″ and other topics that are responding to the current media focus. We sincerely hope that our clients will see how to use these TV tools to generate great broadcast P.R. for their products, brand or service.

If you need to be “talked off the ledge,” or need help revising current campaigns, email me at mschwab@cmpmediacafe.com and we’ll set up a complimentary consultation.

Posted by Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2008. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.

As I was watching the local KABC 6pm news on Monday in Los Angeles, I saw a tease for an upcoming segment on how to recycle your energy bar wrappers. The video used for the tease featured Clif Bars and looked like video from a b-roll package, but was this a b-roll feed or was it “something else?” Either way, I was interested for two reasons: #1 – I am a fanatic about recycling. #2 – Since it’s more and more challenging to get a b-roll package on-the-air in a climate increasingly “timid” about using corporate provided video, I was really interested to see how this rather commercial story featuring a brand name caught the eye of KABC.

A quick Google search followed by a couple of short phone calls and I got to the bottom of the story behind the story. The tape piece actually originated at KGO (ABC) San Francisco where it was then picked up for the ABC newsfeed. The in-house Clif Bar P.R. department had released a press release on the story in February of this year and it has been making a significant splash in print and online media. They had persistently pitched the story locally with KGO and then the timing finally clicked. Persistence paid off. This is not uncommon as when I worked as a producer for ABC, that’s how things would sometimes happen. A press kit or release might sit on my desk for several months as I liked the pitch well enough to hold onto it, but it wasn’t “breaking news.” Then all of sudden, it would become relevant to what we were doing (or we had a “slow” news day) and the story was alive.

Yes, persistence did pay off for Clif Bar, but if it wasn’t a good story, all the persistence in the world wouldn’t have motivated KGO to send their camera crew to the Clif Bar offices. (To see the KGO feature click here) So why did this story finally get on the air? Several reasons, first, the locally based company, Clif Bar, went to their hometown station to pitch the story. Network affiliates love local stories and since Clif Bar is based in the Bay Area, this was the first “hit.” Stations are often more apt to feature big companies if they are right in their own backyard. Second, Clif Bar is “the first energy bar to recycle wrappers” and in a rather non-traditional way. This is a winning angle because not only are they “the first,” but they are also on message to something big in the hearts of San Franciscans – recycling. They are, after all, the first city in the country to outlaw “evil” plastic grocery bags. Throw in the local fundraising element that gave the viewers a reason to care and show how you can take one great cause – recycling – and combine it with fundraising for another great cause and it’s great television. What really gave this story “legs” was when it got picked up on the ABC newsfeed so that it was no longer just a local story, but it was strong enough to get on the air in other major markets.

Posted by Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2008. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.

The world of broadcast public relations is constantly evolving as new technologies keep exploding onto the scene. From podcasts, webcasts, blogging and social networking devices, the public relations community has been searching for a way to harness the power of the internet.

Many production companies offer to put your VNR, B-Roll package or Generic SMT interview on the Internet video outlets like YouTube and Google, but is this really effective? Do you really think someone’s going to watch one of these boring segments and tell there friends, “You gotta see this?!?!?” Not unless you have some VERY unusual and compelling video.

If you’re having a hard time thinking outside the box, a picture (or should I say video) is worth a thousand words.

Today, in my inbox, I stumbled across a great YouTube video that was a perfect example on how to make YouTube work for your P.R. campaign. This video has all the right elements: it’s funny, it’s entertaining, and it says, “You gotta see this!” so you’ll tell your friends. What makes this really work is that it’s for a non-profit (ahaworks.org – Alliance for Human Action) with a “social” message about the importance of spaying and neutering your pets. You’d think that this might be boring, but not so – especially when you combine creativity with humor. I’m just surprised that it’s had only a little over 220,000 views. So take a look at “Help! Cat Music Video (Click Here)“

One final question. So how did this video end up in my inbox? This one came in because I opted in for a newsletter from a vet (Dr. Jon) who answers lots of cat questions. As I happen to be a cat “owner,” this is targeted to a specific audience. You’ll notice that the link was to the Pet Place website and not YouTube since PetPlace.com embedded the video on their webpage. To really be effective, you’ll want to reach websites like Dr. Jon’s that target your audience and that will help your message go viral with the website’s subscriber base. Then Dr. Jon’s subscribers (along with other sites like his) will share the video with their friends and family because it’s fun and entertaining. They might even blog about it or embed it on their myspace or facebook page –like I’ve already done.

So the sky’s the limit! Create away! Contact us and we’ll help you brainstorm a great idea!

Posted by

Marianne Schwab, Executive Producer, CMP Media Cafe

Copyright (c) 2008. CMP Media Cafe. All Rights Reserved.