There’s a reason why product publicity is the most impactful form of marketing. You can’t buy a media story. You can’t dictate its content. When the media write or broadcast a story about your product, it means you’ve earned their third-party validation. It tells consumers that someone they trust believes in your product. It gives people a reason to talk about your product. That’s why it should be the cornerstone of your marketing campaign.
We’ve been arranging media coverage for products and services since 1987. Back then, we were making thousands of phone calls to reporters and producers, and faxing details about our clients to media outlets across the country. Meanwhile, consumers were tuning into see who shot JR, learning to play Pac-Man and becoming fascinated with 3M’s newest invention, Post-It Notes. A lot has changed in the last three decades, but one basic truth remains: It still takes lots of work, skill and preparation to arrange product publicity. Below are some other basics you should know.
- Plan to diversify your approach. Make people desire your product more than their money by appealing directly to their needs. An easy example: You might tell a dieter that your oranges have few calories; but you might tell parents with small children that your oranges are high in immune-boosting vitamin C. You are telling both groups to eat oranges but you’re using different angles to persuade them.
- Prepare the right content for the right channels. Select the channels most used by your target audiences then prepare materials that will help your media contacts produce your story. These will be different depending on the media and the market. If you want to pitch yourself as a guest on your hometown morning drive-time radio show, that’s a different approach than arranging for a national newspaper to run an article about how your product is trending.
- Commit enough budget to get your desired results. Because of its credibility, publicity may generate more sales than an advertisement. The cost to produce and arrange product publicity can give you a great return on investment. The most successful media campaigns layer local, regional and national coverage. They build momentum by earning coverage on digital news media, print, radio and TV.
