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- Jan
- 6
Posted on January 6, 2012 by John OReilly
This entry is Part 2 of our look at the fundamentals of staging effective media tours. View Part 1 here. Below is a slideshow of images from a recent media tour for Uponor in Chicago.
Fundamental #2: Have something to show. Visual aids are a must and typically take the form of a PowerPoint presentation. I can hear you suppressing a yawn, but a slide show has solid practical value in holding the editors’ attention, while making what you say more concrete and therefore more memorable—especially if your slide show is part of your leave-behind. (More on that in a bit.)
In creating the PowerPoint or whatever tools you prefer, don’t shortchange the visual imagery. The editors may not read along as you move from slide to slide. But strong pictorial elements, especially of product components, cutaways, schematics, graphs, tables, flow charts and the like will help make your words resonate. And your audience won’t fail to appreciate the care you have taken in crafting your presentation.
The only communications aid better than an image or an illustration is the thing itself. If possible, bring actual products or components, so that the editors can see and touch that special new finish or unique functionality first-hand. The hands-on approach will generate more interest, more questions and more enthusiasm for whatever you are presenting.
On my most recent media tour, the client highlighted his company’s proprietary method for making pipe connections, which can seem a rather mundane affair when left solely to verbal descriptions. Step-by-step graphics are better, but how about actually making a connection right there in front of the editors? That’s what my client did, and his rather quick and simple demo made a solidly positive impression on each group of editors. When one asked to do a connection himself, it was easily one of the highlights of that session. What better way to persuade an editor of the value of your product or system?
Fundamental #3: Have something to leave behind. While building relationships is the primary benefit of a media tour, clients understandably expect a more tangible payoff in the form of actual publicity. The surest way to make that happen is to create a press kit dedicated solely to the meeting or media tour. Also, be sure to bring enough copies so that all attendees can have one if they wish.
This kit should contain press materials relating to your presentation, including news releases and photography of new and recently introduced products. But you might also want to include relevant case studies, white papers, product brochures, as well as your PowerPoint presentation and a corporate backgrounder that the editors can keep on file for future reference. Anything that adds to their understanding of your company and its mission is of potential interest.
That may sound like information overload, which is why I strongly recommend making the kit electronic: Editors will accept paper kits, but they love the easy portability and “file-ability” of a disc and, best of all, a flash drive. Do not miss this opportunity to impress the press. The fastest way to an editor’s heart—and to the pages of his or her publication—is to make the job of using your materials easier.
Fundamental #4: Find converging interests. Generating more publicity for the brand is at the top of the wish lists of most marketers, regardless of the state of the economy or the market. Meanwhile, editors find themselves constantly scrambling for information and ideas to meet the relentless content requirements of their proliferating communications outlets, print and online.
One of the best ways to discover where exactly your mutual interests converge is through a face-to-face dialogue with the editors. Trade shows and other venues offer numerous occasions for such meetings, but except for a tour of your own factory, none matches the effectiveness of a “deskside” get-together for building relationships and identifying ways to meet editor interests and needs.
- Jan
- 5
Posted on January 5, 2012 by John OReilly
Recently, I completed one of my favorite activities as a public relations professional: a three-day “media tour,” in which I accompanied one of our manufacturer-clients in a series of face-to-face meetings with the editor staffs of roughly a dozen trade magazines at their Chicago-area offices.
As a former trade-pub editor myself, I enjoy connecting with my old colleagues on their home turf in a relaxed and friendly setting. (Meeting with trade and consumer media in other major publishing centers for our building and architectural products field, such as New York, Washington and Des Moines, is a lot of fun, too.)
But the true beneficiaries—and properly so—are our clients and the editors themselves, who use these occasions to gain a better understanding of one another’s interests and needs on their way to forging deeper and more productive relationships.
Each media-tour meeting, which typically runs sixty to ninety minutes, merits its own approach, depending on the editor, the client and the season. But there are certain fundamentals for any get-together that will ensure success both during the meeting and in its aftermath. Pay close attention to these basics and, when all is said and done, you’ll have zero doubts about the value of the experience.
Fundamental #1: Have something to say. It’s not enough to just show up and plop down for a little coffee and chit-chat: This isn’t a chance encounter at a trade show. Editors are routinely cordial to their guests, but they will expect the meeting to have a specific intent, enabling them to learn things they don’t already know. Without a worthwhile agenda, you’ll likely have a hard time even getting on their schedules.
Previewing a new product is a great way to anchor a media tour: An editor’s main mission is to report on “what’s new,” so your audience will welcome an in-depth look at your latest offering. This approach is also a great way to generate a quick and tangible payoff on your meeting in the form of coverage of your new product in an upcoming issue.
But editors are also on the prowl for content that is more general and not-so-brand-centric in scope. They need “big ideas” they can readily translate into feature stories, in line with their published editorial calendars.
So, in addition to announcing your newest product and what makes it so special, put all those messages in the context of the industry zeitgeist: Why this particular product at this particular time for this particular audience? What needs does it meet? How does it fit in with the general direction of the market? How does it differ from what came before?
What’s more, those questions need not be confined to a new product. Editors will generally welcome your POV on the overall industry (or at least your product category): where it’s been, where it’s headed and why, and how you are adjusting your strategies in response.
This type of big-picture presentation will deliver compelling ideas around which editors can build their own trends stories. And when they finally get around to writing such a story, guess whom they are most likely to contact for further insights and information?
Check back tomorrow for three more fundamental elements of a successful media tour, as well as a gallery of images from a recent tour for Uponor.
- Sep
- 13
Posted on September 13, 2011 by Nora DePalma
Today’s Let’s Blog Off topic is Thumbtacks.
I use thumbtacks for no other purpose than to post things I love over my desk. A boss once told me that it’s unprofessional to have a lot of personal things over your desk.
Maybe so. But I’ve tacked up precious memories for more than 25 years, and I really don’t think it’s really hurt my career. Enjoy the tour of my thumbtacked life:
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Years of holiday greetings from the inimitable Jim Zarchin of Scripps Media. These are not photoshopped.
Read more thumbtack thoughts from the clever Let’s Blog Off Community. Learn more about Let’s Blog Off.
- Jun
- 13
Posted on June 13, 2011 by Nora DePalma
Our American Standard client recently hosted six influential designers who have used social media and blogging to create communities of designers online and-for some-actually reinventing their careers along the way.
Paul Anater (below right) tells the story of going to KBIS a few years ago when he ate dinner alone and had no evening opportunities to build relationships. Since his skillful use of social media and quite amusing unique voice on his Kitchen and Residential Design blog, he notes that he could barely get through the aisles at the 2011 IBS without being stopped by brand marketers, PR firms, the media and his many online friends.
Rich Holschuh and Saxon Henry have benefited so much from social media, that they have teamed up to create Adroyt, a well-named firm for their entire focus: social media and blogging for brands seeking to reach design influencers.
Andie Day, below right, has recently updated her Boston design practice website as she expands more into multi-generational design. Her blog helps communicate her expertise (Great shots from Standard Hotel Rooftop Bar.)
J.B. Bartkowiak (below left) was inspired to share images of his current bathroom remodel underway, already using Porcher products to replace some historical “Standard” products. Laurie Burke (below right), a.k.a. “CabinetGal1” on Twitter, flew in from California to join us as she ramps up her cabinet rep firm.
Business got done. Fun is definitely part of it. The Return on Relationships™ is not designed to drive immediate sales, but rather to build and/or rebuild trust among specifiers who influence homeowners, the media and other professionals. And believe us when we say this group can make the needle move on social media.
Click any image below to start the slide show.
- Apr
- 29
Posted on April 29, 2011 by Nora DePalma
KBIS 2011 was a successful show for three O’Reilly/DePalma clients: Rheem, American Standard Brands and Hy-Lite Windows. We had fun, too!
Click on any image to start the slide show and view the captions.
- Mar
- 24
Posted on March 24, 2011 by Nora DePalma
Fix a Leak Week, an annual event sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense Program, is designed to encourage Americans to fix running toilets, dripping faucets, and other household leaks, which combined waste an average of 10,000 gallons of water annually per household. This year, Fix a Leak Week ran from March 14-21, 2011.
American Standard Brands marked the occasion by co-sponsoring a free workshop in Marietta, GA titled “Go Green and Save Green.” The workshop was led by Nick Marine of Marine Plumbing, Georgia’s first Certified GreenPlumber® and showed participants how to check for leaks, and how to install retrofit kits that conserve water and reduce household expenses.
View the complete press release for additional details about the event, or click through the event photo gallery below.
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Nick Marine, Georgia's first certfied GreenPlumber, shows how a toilet works.
- Mar
- 14
Posted on March 14, 2011 by Nora DePalma
The Green Earth PR Network meets annually for a retreat, and our 2011 retreat was held at the Shorebreak hotel in Huntington Beach, CA. Our hostess was Lisa Lilienthal, our So Cal consultant. She is also the creative genius behind the Official Cocktail of Green Earth Public Relations Network , which includes fresh herbs from her garden. Get the recipe here.
Click any thumbnail below to start the slide show. To close, click anywhere in the slide show.
- Jan
- 16
Posted on January 16, 2011 by Nora DePalma
January 2011: IBS 2011 marked our debut with new client, Hy-Lite®, a U.S. Block Windows Company. Below, Laura Sikes and Tom Rachfal from Hy-Lite show off their awesome new booth . Click any image below to launch the O’Reilly/DePalma slide show.
- Nov
- 27
Posted on November 27, 2010 by Nora DePalma
November 2010: O’Reilly/DePalma arranges a sitdown of sorts with green building influencers Carl Seville and Michael Anschel at the American Standard booth. We also placed client CEO Don Devine of American Standard on a Greenbuild 2010 Residential Summit panel with Wendy Koch, USA Today environmental reporter and Deborah Meyer, SVP and chief marketing officer of Pulte Group.
We supported several clients at the show with press releases and booth media appointments and also had time to have fun with our Green Earth PR Network colleagues. Click any image to enlarge and read the story in captions.
- Nov
- 11
Posted on November 11, 2010 by Nora DePalma
November 2010: O’Reilly/DePalma was asked by a division of our American Standard Brands client to secure architect, designer and media attendance at a new product launch event in a midtown Manhattan showroom. Wendy Silverstein in New York managed the event planning, connecting the client to the right influencers in the New York design community.
Final attendance exceeded the expectations of the showroom and exceeded the success metric for attendance the client set as a goal. Client quote: “The attendance was not only great in quantity, but even better in quality. They genuinely liked what they saw and had a good time.”
Click on any image to enlarge.
