Get Press by Leveraging Unofficial Seasons

There will always be 12 months in a year, but the number of seasons is constantly changing. For example, wedged between summer and fall is back to school time. This unofficial season is the impetus for the second busiest shopping event of the year, which draws interest from the media viewers and provides fodder for social media channels. Incorporating your company's message into this time of year, can get you noticed.  In fact, one of my clients received national press from multiple outlets thanks to the story idea we developed for back to school time.

College Planning Authority is a full-service college planning company. In June we began developing tips on how parents of college freshman could save money on back to school shopping. We came up with seven bullet points and began contacting local and national reporters.

Press coverage included interviews in U.S. News & World Report and two television stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. Additionally, two other interviews with national publications were completed, and are scheduled to run in the near future. This one of the most successful campaigns I have ever pitched.

Here's our notes on how we got it done.

-Our homework was done ahead of schedule. We planned our media calendar well in advance. We knew what we were going to talk about months before back to school time and had the press release approved weeks ahead of time.

-We started long before the sound of the first bell. I began pitching reporters weeks in advance. Each media outlet has its own planning arm, and even the most timely of stories can be disrupted by breaking news. Starting early allowed us to make concessions for such events (which included the shootings in Colorado and hurricane Isaac).

-We chose our friends wisely and played nice. Each pitch was crafted for every reporter I contacted. Nearly all were interested, but some weren't able to accommodate due to breaking news and newsroom schedules - it turns out journalists go on vacation during the summer, too! Follow-ups were frequent but if told to move along, we did so - graciously.

Other hot media seasons are easily identified. Whether or not it makes sense for you to pitch stories related to holiday shopping in December or weight loss in January depends on your business.