Robert J' Oltmanns, APR, Fellow PRSA

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Effective Media Relations

• Robert J. Oltmanns, APR, Fellow PRSA
• PresidentSkutski OltmannsPittsburgh

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Effective Media Relations

• or
• Leveraging Best-of-Breed Brand Management
  Solutions in Customer-Centric B2B Categories

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(No Transcript)
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About this Presentation

• What it is not
• Slick ways to guarantee publicity
• How to get the media to run any press release you
  give them
• How to pull one over on unsuspecting reporters
• Beating your competitors at the publicity game

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About this Presentation

• What it is
• A primer on the stuff of successful, long-term
  media relations
• Strategies and practices that make it more likely
  that the media will want to hear/run your story
• A stern warning to any technology business
  seeking news media attention

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The Media Conundrum
If you have a story worth telling, reporters will
probably want to tell it, but...
If your news release doesnt catch someones
attention, it will end up dead
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Culture Clash

• The Technology Business World

PA Tech Industries
Business Plan April 2003
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Culture Clash

• The Reporters World

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Culture Clash
Get the story
Get funded
Solid strategy
Solid writing
Clear, concise, correct
Detail, depth, diligence
PA Tech Industries
The language of Wall Street
AP Style
Business Plan April 2003
Whats the news here?
Whats our value prop?
Create a "buzz!
Make deadline!
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Culture Clash

• The Inevitable Conflict

They dont get it
PA Tech Industries
Clueless
Business Plan April 2003
They dont understand how we work
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Business vs. Media
Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by
the barrel. Benjamin Franklin
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How to Kill a Perfectly Good Story

• Press releases by the pound
• Poor writing
• Hype
• Jargon
• Flackery
• LAQs
• Ignorance of the publication
• Corporate chest-thumping
• Lack of perspective, news judgement

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News releases

• Too many
• 1000 releases per day (PR Newswire)
• Non-news
• Lateral hires
• Version 4.5, 4.6, 4.7
• Change of address
• Meaningless partnerships
• Minor contracts
• Technical (for non-technical media)

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News releases

• Poorly written
• New solution every 8 minutes
• Distracting
• Butt of newsroom jokes
• Hype
• Credibility-killers
• Borders on fraud
• No long-term benefit

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News releases

• Generic, not customized
• Loaded with jargon
• Bozo and jargon filters
• Wall Street Journal
• Forbes
• The Economist
• Interactive Business Daily
• Others

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Jargon

• General business drivel...
• leading
• synergy
• leverage
• core competencies
• best practices
• bottom line
• 24/7
• out of the loop
• on the ground
• benchmark

• value-added
• proactive
• win-win
• think outside the box
• fast track
• result-driven
• empower
• knowledge base
• at the end of the day

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Jargon

• Utter bilge frequently related to technology...
• solution(s)
• robust
• turnkey
• interactive
• best of breed
• mission-critical
• scalable
• next-generation
• Web-enabled
• B2B, B2C

• e-tailing
• seamless
• end-to-end
• "the ___ space"
• offline
• incent
• end user
• architecting
• deliverables

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Jargon at its worst

• Avery Dennison
• A global leader in pressure-sensitive technology
  and innovative self-adhesive solutions for
  consumer products and label materials."
• Christopher B. Miller Company
• A water infiltration solutions provider

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Jargon at its worst

• cannibalize competitive adjacencies
• end-to-end management solutions to optimize
  and synchronize activities
• solutions that solve...
• well-positioned to leverage leadership to drive
  adoption

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Jargon at its worst
"Buzzwords that make me froth at the mouth and
dispatch press releases straight to the recycling
bin and should be avoided in anything sent to me
at all costs Solution, robust, paradigm shift,
Internet speed, 'e' anything, industry leading,
state-of-the-art, cutting-edge, trailing-edge,
priced competitively, superior performance,
orders of magnitude, world-leading and
global. Electronic News
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Jargon at its worst
I hate it when companies simply put an 'e' in
front of words and overcrowd their press releases
with e-marketing, e-this, e-that. It's
ridiculous. Wired News
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Jargon at its worst
If it's the phrase of the moment, I don't want
to hear it. If the same words could be used in
a sales pitch for breakfast cereal, I don't want
to hear it. If I never hear of another hot Web
site, another moment of corporate synergy,
another wireless strategy, it will all be too
soon. Felicity Barringer The New York
Times
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Jargon at its worst
Im done covering solutions. I filter out
pitches with the word solution or solutions
nowespecially ones that are customer-centric
or mission-critical. Please dont write to me
about solutions anymore. Theyve become a
problem. Wall Street Journal Interactive
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Jargon at its worst
"Solutions as in business solutions, software
solutions, e-commerce solutions, etc. is a
meaningless word that tells me absolutely nothing
about what a company actually does. Puget
Sound Journal
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Jargon at its worst
(Words like) revolutionary, solutions, unique,
best of breed... anything in CAPS! Matthew
Boyle Fortune
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Flackery

• Did you get my press release?
• This is the biggest thing to hit our industry
• Will revolutionize
• Were unique, no competitors
• CEO is a maverick
• Your readers have to see this
• Aggressiveness without a story

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Flackery
-----Original Message-----From Suzi
SchwerhandTo 'jmchugh_at_forbes.com'Sent 5/14/99
858 AMSubject hotter than the Internet Hi
Josh,I hope you'll consider this compelling
market story for Forbes. I'm contacting you on
behalf of Network Icebox , who Merrill Lynch has
heralded as "next major computing company." We
would like to meet with you in-person to
introduce the company and discuss your interest
in our proposal. Given the bubble economy of
many Internet companies, where is the real
show-me-the-revenue? Network Icebox (NASDAQ
NICE) is at the cross section of two hot markets
that benefit from the Internet storage and
appliances....I hope you agree that NetIce is a
company worth getting to know. I look forward to
hearing your interest and availability.Thanks
for your time.Regards,Suzi SchwerhandHyperacti
ve Public Relations, Inc.
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Flackery
-----Original Message-----From Josh McHughTo
Suzi Schwerhand_at_hypr.comSent 5/17/99 107
PMSubject Re resend hotter than the
Internet Suzi, I already wrote a story about
Network Icebox . Regards, Josh McHugh
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Flackery
gtgtgt Suzi Schwerhand ltSuzi Schwerhand_at_hypr.comgt -
5/17/99 137 PM gtgtgtHi,I'm not aware of this
story. I just re-checked via the Forbes web site
search engine and cross-referenced all the
articles you've written. As much as I hate to be
contrarian, maybe you are confusing Network
Icebox with another tech vendor whose name is
similar? Please let me know. Thanks,Suzi
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Flackery
Original Message-----From Josh McHughTo Suzi
Schwerhand_at_hypr.comSent 5/17/99 357
PMSubject Re RE resend hotter than the
Internet Suzi-- Yes, I am sure I wrote about
Network Icebox . Don't worry, you're not a
contrarian--you just didn't look enough. You
should check the NetworkIcebox website. The
piece I wrote is referenced in the news
archivesthere http//www.netice.com/news/archive
s.html "200 Best Small Companies in AmericaBest
200 in 2000, Forbes November3, 1997" Now you
know.
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Flackery
gtgtgtSuzi Schwerhand ltSuzi Schwerhand_at_hypr.comgt -
5/17/99 422 PM gtgtgt Hi,I guess this article
pre-dates my work (and most of my colleagues'
here) with Network Icebox . Given this was almost
two years ago, would you consider meeting with
them now? The storage market is very topical and
strategic to the Internet -- its growth potential
should appeal to Forbes readers. We're not
looking for a corporate profile from you, but
I'minterested in your feedback re a potential
trend or market story. Suzi
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Flackery
-----Original Message-----From Josh McHugh
mailtojmchugh_at_forbes.comSent Monday, May 17,
1999 447 PMTo Suzi Schwerhand_at_hypr.comCc
sroberts_at_etranslate.com BUpbin_at_forbes.comSubject
Re RE RE resend hotter than the
Internet Suzi,I apologize sincerely for writing
the piece 18 months ago, before your and your
colleagues' work with Network Icebox began, and
have been happy to provide you with hard-to-get
research on Network Icebox 's website. Thanks
for the tip on the topical and strategic
relevance of the storagemarket to the Internet.
I'm relieved that you and yours aren't looking
for a corporate profile from me. Thank you for
that! Please let me know what a potential trend
or marketstory is.-Josh McHugh
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Flackery
Josh,I don't know you well enough to gauge
this, but your email seemed awfully sarcastic. I
know you're a terribly busy editor at Forbes, so
I don't want to waste your time, Josh. That
said, I can't tell whether you are really
interested in talking to Network Icebox or not.
My original email outlined some angles for a
market/trend/feature, so I can only assume your
interest was not piqued by these ideas. Or do you
want me to define what I mean by a feature? -
) BTW, thanks for increasing the audience of our
back and forths. I'm suresroberts and bupbin are
keenly awaiting the next installment of our
emailcorrespondence. Suzi
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News releases

• LAQs (Lame-Ass Quotes) We are committed to
  providing the highest quality products and
  services that provide the greatest values for
  our customers.

We used to offer low-quality, high-priced
products that were usually returned for a full
refund a week after delivery.
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News releases

• LAQs (Lame-Ass Quotes) We are very pleased to
  be working with a best-of-breed technology
  provider like ABC Technologies as we move
  forward in developing customized solutions that
  will benefit our customers.

Normally, we get in bed with bottom-feeders that
can help us stamp out junk software that screws
up our customers IT systems.
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News releases

• LAQs (Lame-Ass Quotes) Our partnership with
  XYZ Technologies combines proven business
  strategies with cutting edge Internet solutions
  and breakthrough thinking.

So far, weve been bluffing our way through with
20-year-old technology.
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Effective Media Relations

• 1. Fewer and better news releases
• 2. Develop media relationships
• 3. Know the publications and reporters youre
  pitching
• 4. Think like a reporter
• 5. Help reporter do his/her job
• 6. Know how and when to pitch
• 7. Speak, write in English No jargon!
• 8. Dont sacrifice your reputation for a story

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Effective Media Relations

• Give reporters what they want and need
• Help, not hype
• Get down and dirty with the story
• Be publicity-blocker, not just facilitator
• Accuracy and integrity in releases
• Keep story within the context of marketplace

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Effective Media Relations

• Give reporters what they want and need
• Real news
• Not corporate chest-thumping
• Case studies
• Referenceable customers
• Access to executives, newsmakers
• Numbers
• Know their publication
• Where could your story fit?

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Effective Media Relations

• Give reporters what they want and need
• Story idea they havent heard before
• Compelling, relevant, timely
• Write in their style
• Visuals
• Not just photos
• Dont be afraid to break up the staid news
  release

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Effective Media Relations

• Other ways to pitch a story
• Email
• Phone
• Letter
• Personal contacts
• Advisory
• Tip sheets
• Web site

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What Reporters Want
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What Reporters Want
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Rules for News Releases

• Formatting
• Two pages
• 1000 words or less
• Double or 1.5 spacing
• 1" margins
• Point Size - 12
• Times New Roman
• Subhead in italics
• Left justification only

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Rules for News Releases

• Formatting
• Clear, simple headline
• Contact information on first page
• NO
• Exclamation points!
• Bold or italic words
• Quotes around every other word

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What Reporters Want

• Graphics are hotter than ever
• Locator maps
• Info boxes
• Charts
• Graphs
• Fast facts
• Pull-out box for complicated issues

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What Reporters Want

• Graphics will
• Increase the likelihood that your story will see
  print
• Draw more people into the story, much as a
  photograph does
• Give your story better play on the page

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Rules for News Releases

• Jargon Trash Index
• Take your news release
• Circle all jargon words from Buzzkiller.net
• Add jargon words
• Divide by number of paragraphs in release
• Multiply by number of times solutions appears
  in release

GCS Public Relations, San Diego
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Rules for News Releases

• Jargon Trash Index
• Less than 1 Likely that editors will read it,
  if it has news value
• 1-2 Creeping into JargonLand may get read
  if theres real news
• 3 Candidate for jargon filters unless
  theres big dollars or industry icons
• 4 Unfit for human consumption
• 5 Subject of newsroom mockery
• More than 5 Bottom of the bird cage. Start
  over.

GCS Public Relations, San Diego
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News Releases Donts

• Ask a reporter why the story didnt run
• Ask a reporter why your release has been ignored
• Send email attachments
• Ask a reporter if they received your news
  release, unless
• You have real news
• Want to supplement news release with a personal
  conversation

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www.skutski.com oltmanns_at_skutski.com