VerveCast

Time and time again clients approach me with “PR ideas” that I’m 99.9% sure won’t attract any media attention. Don’t get me wrong… I certainly appreciate their enthusiasm for sharing information with me. Typically, the more info I get from clients, the better. However, when they expect a magazine feature from something like a “new-and-improved” product with one minor tweak, we’re in trouble. As a general rule, the following are three basic necessities that make up a good PR pitch.

1)      Timely and/or unique ideas – Why is your idea newsworthy? Why does the media care about your message? Your pitch needs to stand out from the clutter. Re-hashing old news is not going to cut it.

2)     Expert sources – We can’t pitch a cooking segment to a broadcast TV station without a chef. Make sure your interview subject is lined up (and media trained) before contacting the media.

3)    Visuals, visuals, visuals – If you’re pitching to a magazine, make sure you have a great collection of relevant photos to share with the pub. If you’re pitching to a TV news morning show, think about what your client will be doing on camera or how you can supplement the interview with something interesting to look at.

Keep in mind, this post refers to traditional PR. Social media is an entirely separate beast. Which brings up another great point… PR ideas and social media ideas are two different things. Yes, one idea can sometimes span both disciplines, but oftentimes, topics addressed through social media outlets are completely inappropriate for pitching to traditional media sources.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines created a new social media campaign, called “KLM Live Reply,” that truly needs to be seen to be believed.

The airline committed to answering every tweet it receives within the hour, round-the-clock, in a special “live” way. The company is responding with messages from people holding up letters to form sentences.

The airline explains the campaign this way:

“To show the world KLM’s helpful social media service, we’ve replaced normal Facebook and Twitter typed responses with a living alphabet made up of 140 KLM employees. This dedicated crew responds to tweets and posts in a unique way, by running around and assembling the answer live before your eyes, within the hour.”

The crew is videotaping live from Amesterdam Schiphol Airport and more responses can be found on KLM’s YouTube channel. What do you think? Do you like this form of instant messaging and company contact?

We’re pretty darn excited about our latest award win—a national Clarion award for public relations from the Association for Women in Communications. We won the award for the Pfister Narrator program at The Pfister Hotel, which I blogged about a few months back.

In essence, the program works like this. We put out a call for entries, local writers apply for the position and a selection committee picks from a pool of applicants the candidate they feel is most worthy of the job. The chosen ‘narrator’ then spends a specified amount of time in the hotel’s lobby and other public spaces, interviewing visitors and guests and sharing their stories on the Pfister’s blog. The blog and stories are subsequently promoted through The Pfister’s social media outlets, like Twitter and Facebook.

The program has been very well-received. In fact, The Pfister’s website and blog traffic has essentially doubled since its creation. It has been beneficial to the hotel in terms of that online presence, as well as in relation to in-person communications with the hotel’s guests. The narrator serves as an ambassador for the hotel and guests who interact with her feel special, forming a unique bond with the hotel. It’s a win-win for The Pfister and its guests.

Thanks to The Pfister for partnering with us to create this unique program!

Oh, by the way, the search is on from now until Sept. 1 to find the next Pfister Narrator. Go here to apply, and tell your friends!

Do you think your tweets just alert your friends about what you’re thinking, but don’t do anything more? New social media statistics are stating otherwise and are proving that LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and other outlets are profitable for business. Here are a few facts that amazed me.
LinkedIn surpasses 100 million users

Best Buy has 2,500 employees helping people on Twitter

2011 Social Media Marketing Report – 58% of marketers surveyed are using social media for 6 hours or more every week

Facebook now tops Google for weekly traffic in the US

The second largest search engine in the world is YouTube

There are more 70 translations available on Facebook

After 23 years, Pepsi dropped TV advertising for last year’s Superbowl to spend $20 million on a social media campaign

It seems like the sharing of ideas is also helping companies increase their share of the profits. Businesses are reaching customers in a new and intimate way – and it’s proving to pay off.

I remember going to the Book Fair in grade school to buy the Harry Potter books. Those little paperbacks got quite the beating, as they went everywhere with me until they were finished. I’ve grown up reading the books and watching the movies… so you can imagine how thrilled I was to see the upcoming (and final!) movie’s trailer just a few days ago.

In case you were wondering, I’m fully aware of how nerdy that makes me. And no, I’m not ashamed. (Okay, maybe just a little…)

Pottermore Website

But back to the point. This trailer led me to find out about Pottermore. Potter-what? My thoughts exactly. It could be, well, anything. Speculation includes an online game, new fan site or online encyclopedia about the popular wizard.

Now, normally I would find the lack of information irritating, but I’m sucked in. Perhaps it’s my love for everything Potter (want to take a guess at what I dressed up as for Halloween?), or maybe it’s the very intriguing campaign.

Pottermore Twitter. Location from the first tweet take users to a secret street view.

The coordinates take you to this street view spot.

Wait, wait! I saved the best for last. Owls have taken over a special YouTube page, and they’ve been gathering for days. Seriously. When I checked just a few days ago, there were only three owls or so.

Owls gather on the YouTube page, as a countdown for the announcement ticks on.

Okay, so maybe you’re not quite the Potter enthusiast I am, but you must admit, this does make you wonder what on Earth this announcement – and website – could be. My vote? An online game. But we’ll just have to wait and see, I guess!