When one door closes, a good PR team will dig you a hole for your message to crawl through. Or find you more doors. Or pry open some windows... you get it ;-).

That said, brands are often disappointed when they don't see themselves featured in certain media outlets. While this could happen for a variety of reasons (timing and lack of real newsworthiness being the top two), there's one reason that few want to admit, but it happens all the time.

Sometimes journalists simply don't like certain brands.  

Since we work in the tech world, we often deal with tech media, from the consumery oriented (that's a word, trust us)  mainstream outlets to the influencers/mavens/tastemakers/other-hot-buzzword journalists and outlets that focus on the latest and greatest before it's even available.

Lately we've been working with LockerGnome on some features and tin the below video, they called out BlackBerry. Specifically, they called out that they may not review a particular BlackBerry device.

Skip to about 5:10 to get a handle on what we're referencing.

Perhaps LockerGnome is just trying to get a rise out of their BlackBerry using audience. Or maybe they're serious and just aren't into the new releases from the brand.

Unfortunately, this is a reality in PR and media relations - sometimes the media just aren't into your product or story.

This is one of the reasons we (and other reputable PR practitioners) will tell you clients in the upfront that coverage is not guaranteed. We have a pretty good relationship with LockerGnome, but we can't dictate their coverage or coverage tone. Any firm that guarantees you visibility for your retainer (without a money-back guarantee) is either lying or selling you advertising.

But again, a good PR team (or consultant, etc.) can work around this. If you can't land that one Tier-A placement this time, they should be able to help you evaluate why for the next go, and in the meantime, work to secure coverage in 10 Tier-B outlets to supplement. It takes more to do less in the PR / media relations world, and anyone who sets their hopes on one placement is setting themselves up for disappointment.

Like this post? Please share it!

  ">

Note: This post was originally published in 2013 and LockerGnome is on hiatus. However, the message and learnings remain the same.

San Diego PR Public Relations Tech PR Startup PR social media san diego marketing advice marketing hacks convergence SDStartup

(more…)

For potential clients, we’re always asked about our ‘lists’ and who is on these ‘lists’. While it’s great to have relationships with journalists in a key segment, no one has them with everyone. It’s probably impossible. Similarly, editors and reporters change beats and employment regularly. You simply can’t rely on these lists or the ones you purchase through a third party (which can be helpful though).
What you can rely upon in the PR world is creative and targeted outreach. In the past we’ve scored coverage of robotic innovations on CNN and a professional skateboarder in Field & Stream.
Both times, the contacts we approached were new to us. But that didn’t stop us from approaching them with story ideas that were appropriate for their audiences.
We’re not saying that we don’t have great lists of contacts, because we do. But just because CNN, Field & Stream, Maxim, Women’s Health, CoolHunting or HypeBeast featured one client, that does not guarantee they’ll feature another. Don’t be misguided.
A better way to judge a firm’s media-savvy would be to ask about creative pitches or projects they worked on that had less than tier-A media appeal.
For more of our thoughts on the infamous PR ‘lists’ and ways to conduct media outreach, check out these other blog posts (blatant plug) that we have on the Remedy site:
http://remedycomm.com/2012/04/why-your-press-releases-dont-get-you-coverage/
http://remedycomm.com/2011/04/pr-lessons-from-a-journalist/