Making your press release work
Publicity is only one of the main tools in the marketing mix and within this medium are several specific functions such as press kits, film clips, photo stories, press releases and the like. Even when well produced, these and others are a waste of time unless they reach the right people at the right time.
It goes without saying that unless you have something worthwhile to include in your press release and/or photographs, you’re better off doing nothing. Editors are turned off instantly when they receive releases which are poorly written, or worse, misleading. Interestingly, in a poll of metropolitan newspaper editors by Opinion Research, Inc., it was learned that 74 per cent of those polled considered the press release “the most useful contact a company has in dealing with the press.”
Before getting into specifics, it should be clearly stated that press releases/publicity is not a replacement for other tools in the marketing mix, particularly advertising.
There is one often overlooked advantage of publicity over paid advertising though and that is the implied creditability of your news when an editor (especially a leading one) chooses to run the story in his paper and, often, under his byline. Whereas readers might be suspicious of a provocative ad that you place, (after all, they know that you pay to say what you darn well please) news of your resort by a leading ski writer carries weight because they choose to use it in their publication.
Mailing list is the key
It doesn’t matter whether you send out three or 33 releases each season, your media mailing list is the most vital publicity tool you have. History indicates that even before you distribute a press release, you’ll have an investment of over $200 (each time!). For this reason alone, careful attention should be paid to effective distribution or you’ll just be throwing money away. Four aspects of preparing and utilizing a top-notch list are: 1) professional guidance in constructing it; 2) establishing an all-inclusive mix; 3) developing an accurate content; and 4) designing a method for flexible utilization.
Professional guidance
It’s painfully true, and often not sufficiently obvious, that no one can successfully select the media for a press release list who doesn’t know how to write it in the first place. You might say there’s a “sixth sense” that enables a person to sniff out excellent additions and bypass those which are actually worthless.
To repeat — this is the critical point of a profitable publicity effort. If you do not have a qualified person for this vital task, go outside and obtain some temporary professional guidance. The person you must have should be one who knows your business, your company and its policies. In short, he must understand the product and, beyond this, understand the media — what fields of interest they cover, the audiences they reach, the kinds of editorial material they will use and their deadline requirements.
All-inclusive Mix
For a moment, forget traditional sources and think fresh. Media selectivity isn’t what it was five years ago. It’s no longer sufficient to contact just your local paper and radio station plus a ski writers list. General interest publications, television, special interest media and others are now all logical outlets for ski publicity. Look beyond traditional sports, travel and ski publications. Also investigate health, business and technical publications, all of which are now carrying some articles on skiing. And they’ll carry more if you’ll but help them do a good job for their readers.
If you have an active learn-to-ski program, it is particularly important to cultivate non-skiing media also. One good story of yours in a nursing publication or insurance company house organ can go a long way to solving some of that mid-week revenue slump by delivering a few ski-weekers to you.
Accurate content
With postage going to 8 cents and history suggesting that each outgoing publicity unit will cost another 8 cents all together, be sure the names and addresses are current and accurate. It is always difficult to obtain this precision from lists of media contacts you purchase, borrow, etc., so it is suggested you screen all names before installing them permanently in your files. Installing them is a one-time cost of another 16-22 cents, depending on what sort of addressing equipment is used.
Flexible utilization
For purposes of effective strategy, as well as economy, not every media outlet need be used for every single mailing. Thus, categories should be established enabling flexible selection.
First, regardless of what media they include, generate a “must” list. People in this category are those who should get every single outgoing news item, no matter how minor. In addition to selected editors and broadcasters, include other sources who should be constantly informed such as your officers and directors, area businesses, skier-information centers, etc.
To help visualize this matter of categories and to suggest areas you might investigate for expanding your news release outlets, the following sample of a publicity check list is provided. By grouping as below, the decision can easily be made in advance on what a release should say, who should receive it and what the cost will be.
| Total # Units | Check | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 110 | MUST List | |
| 185 | Daily Newspapers (by state) | |
| 70 | Weekly Newspapers (by state) | |
| 30 | Consumer Magazines | |
| 60 | House Organs | |
| 70 | Radio (by state) | |
| 55 | Television (by state) | |
| 40 | Free Lance Writers | |
| 15 | Networks/Syndicates | |
| 20 | Gov’t/Political | |
| 25 | Ski Industry VIP’s | |
| 45 | Travel Editors/Writers | |
| 15 | Airlines | |
| 400 | Special Customer Lists | |
| 125 | Stockholders | |
| 175 | Ski Shops (by state) | |
| 140 | Ski Clubs (by state) | |
| 60 | Travel Agents | |
| 35 | Bus/Tour Operators | |
| 105 | Schools/Colleges | |
| Other | ||
| Other |
TOTAL UNITS: 715. COMMENTS/INSTRUCTIONS: Ship all 1st class. Use 8½ x 11 yellow stock. Must list gets top handling priority. Overrun 75 units, night letter to networks with release highlights.
Timing influences response
Running a close second to the critical matter of effective distribution in order to achieve a profitable publicity function is the matter of timing.
First, you should be equipped with the manpower and machinery to process and distribute a newsworthy idea in less than 24 hours. This is not as true with feature subjects which can be prepared well in advance and released at a pre-planned time. But with late-breaking news, time is of the essence.
When a story is released pretty much determines who should receive it. For example, a Wednesday story is worthless to weekly newspapers who are already on press, or to a ski writer who generally files his column by Wednesday.
With regard to timing, a few quick thoughts on certain media may be of assistance:
Wire Services (AP, UPI, etc.). Consider sending them a telegram or night letter and don’t wait for your mailed release to reach them. Wires are geared to consume and distribute news almost 24 hours a day.
Magazines. Both consumer and trade magazines work several months in advance of publication dates. Most would be willing to give you actual closing dates for copy so that you could more accurately plan release dates for feature material. “Hot news” items stand little chance of use if they arrive near the closing date.
Radio/TV. In addition to feeding them as news develops, a good time to reach these outlets for added coverage is Friday and Saturday. Broadcast media experience a real “news slump” on weekends and you’ll find them very receptive anytime between Friday noon and early Saturday morning. A similar situation is true for the wire services.
Newspapers. Ski writers should get copy at least 72 hours before their Thursday or Friday column. Sunday editors must get your news by Wednesday, and weeklies should hear from you by Monday at the latest.
Sink or swim with content
A final, but vital, reminder is this. The substantial expense of producing a bank of media contacts (between $500-$800 before you’re through) and the related costs of producing releases in a timely fashion, all goes down the drain unless content is both newsworthy and properly written.
There are two obvious approaches to producing worthwhile content — you can gear up internally and use your own staff, or you can look outside for professional publicity writers. The former is best, so long as the individual is fully qualified, for reasons of convenience and cost. If going outside seems advisable, there are numerous individuals and services available, two of which actually specialize in ski area publicity.
