One of the great things about our job as publicists is that we really get invested in, and inspired by, the clients and spokespeople we pitch to the media every day. Connecting with them on a personal level beyond just day-to-day business really helps create more meaningful relationships. This in turn helps us in our publicity efforts, because the media picks up on our passion and enthusiasm for our clients’ stories. That recently led us to something fun in our office that is actually connected with two different clients.
The first is O’Neal Hampton, one of the contestants from NBC’s The Biggest Loser season nine. Our team has been pitching O’Neal’s story for a few years now (here’s an example of a magazine article we got him with Star Tribune). As we got to know him, we really picked up on his eagerness to teach others how to make positive changes in their lives.
The other is the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). We’ve been doing publicity for this organization for a long time, and have gotten it placements in everything from The Washington Post to Yahoo. O’Neal and the NSCA folks are such positive role models, and working with them motivated us to want to make some positive changes in our lives!
Thanks to a little nudging and encouragement along the way from both clients, our office just finished a 10-week weight loss challenge. “Biggest Loser” style competitions have been pretty popular around workplaces the last few years, and we thought the holidays were the best time to do our own. It was hard to resist the leftover bags of Halloween candy, going for seconds and thirds at Thanksgiving dinner and gooey Christmas cookies, but we had our game faces on.
A big congrats goes to our Controller Darik Buchar and Communications Specialist Jenner Hanson for their win. They lost a combined 10.71 percent of their body weight. (I feel the need to point out that my partner Sallie Crowl and I only lost out by .7 percent) Part of the grand prize is five free personal training sessions with NSCA certified trainer Erik Peacock, who has spent more than 16 years in the fitness industry. Darik and Jen also won an autographed t-shirt and cook book from O’Neal.
It is extra little activities and connections like this that give us extra ammo to use when pitching a client to the media. As I mentioned earlier, the media really picks up on the genuine interest and confidence we have in our client’s story and message. We are always ready to connect with new clients, so give us a call! Our Vice President Heather Champine is looking forward to learning more about you and explaining how we can work together to get your company in the news. 952-697-5269.
