The Myth of the Press Kit

First a quick press kit overview, a press kit generally consists of a two-pocket folder in which you include your press release, fact sheet, and a biography on yourself and your company. You can also include a photo, some graphics, statistics, visuals, a brochure, a sample list of questions, and a Rolodex card. Some companies include buttons, audio tapes, video tapes, booklets, whistles, trinkets, and all sorts of knick-knacks. You name it and someone has jammed it into a press kit. There are companies that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on extravagant, expensive press kits.

Trouble is most press kits get tossed in the circular file as soon as they arrive at the editor's or producer's desk. Most don't make it past the secretary. A press kit's travel itinerary generally goes something like this - your office, post office, media outlet office, trash can.

Press kits can cost thousands of dollars, which can translate into a hefty profit for many public relations companies. I'm sure that I'll probably be at odds with most other media relations professionals, but I find most press kits to be a waste of time and money. They're expensive and usually don't do the job they're intended to do. I've found that press kits are generally ego-oriented. People want to make a splash. They want to look good. They want to keep up with the competition. Often the head of a company will see a competitor's press kit and immediately demand that his creative department create one that's glossier, snazzier, and thicker. But the bottom line is, why do you want a press kit?

Press kits can be invaluable when making presentations to clients, or for internal public relations, but think twice before sending them to the media. And never send a press kit out as your first contact. If the media requests to see a press kit, by all means send one. That's when they should be used and can be effective. But, don't send out a hundred press kits at random, don't send them if they haven't been requested and never send a press kit to inappropriate media.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2006

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

The Press Release aka Tell Me Your Story In One Page Or Less

Ah, the infamous press release. What is it? Traditionally, a press release is a one-to five-page document that tells your story. Unlike a letter, there is no salutation, nor is the release personalized or written to a particular person. It is a general document you can use for the different media. There are some set-in-stone, very specific guidelines to press releases, such as covering the who, what, where, and when information, adhering to the press release format, and keeping it double-spaced. Personally, I break more of these set-in-stone rules than I keep.

Most press releases are horribly, terrifically boring. They are dry, and chock-full of dull, tedious facts, or they are overly cute.

Since I concentrate solely on media relations, as far as I am concerned, there is only one purpose for a press release - to interest the media, to interest editors, writers, or producers in my clients and their stories. And that ain't necessarily easy. The press is inundated with press releases, and most receive releases that are filled with information that is unusable or inappropriate. Don't become known as a one of the monotonous release senders. Once you're identified as a part of the "don't bother" lot, your releases will be tossed in the circular file as soon as they arrive.

Cutting Your Trailer: I have a hard-and-fast rule at my company that press releases cannot exceed one-page, and I will sacrifice double-spacing in order to come up with a one-page release. But, you argue, you have so much interesting and important information to impart. You couldn't possibly say all you wanted to in one page. You're right. So don't. You're not going to tell them your life story in one release. There will be more releases. Only give them the headlines, the teasers. Imagine that you're cutting a trailer for an upcoming movie. You're not concerned with trying to let the audience see the entire film. Your job is to interest the public enough to plunk down their money to see the movie. It's the same with your press release. You want your release to act as a teaser; you want to interest the media, grab their attention.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2006

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Defining Your Target Market

Once you have defined and written your message, it's important to define your target market. Who is your audience?

If you've developed a new anti-wrinkle cream and are marketing it to teenage boys, you'd better take another look at your strategy. You may have the best product in the world, but if you've picked the wrong target audience, it's not going to work.

Believe me, this isn't an uncommon mistake; more businesses than you think have done everything right and gone belly up because their targeting was off. This is an essential component of success. Know your prospective clientele. And don't let your ego or your preconceived ideas get in the way. If you have developed a product that you want to market to CEO's who earn over $750,000.00 per year, but your real market is junior high school students, you'd better learn that and learn it quickly.

For example, early on in my career I worked with a dentist who had written a book on various aspects of dentistry. The book was well done and contained information that would have been of interest to others in his field, but it was not a mass market book. The dentist was dead set on marketing his book to the general public, whereas his true market was a specialized niche market - other dentists. His perception of his target market was askew. He erroneously believed that because he found the information in his book fascinating, that everyone else would as well. He basically had two choices, stay with his approach and target a narrowly defined market, or broaden his scope and by doing so broaden his market.

It's an important decision every business owner needs to make. Be realistic about your business and your target market. Not every product or service has a huge market, but you don't need huge, you need a realistic, well-defined market. If you can define your target market and effectively reach your customers or prospects, you're in business.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2006

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Utilizing Your Media

If you use it correctly, media begets media. Use your TV and radio appearances and magazine and newspaper articles to interest other media. Copy the article, video, or audio tape and send it out when the media requests further information on you. Update your biography to include your most recent media appearances (unless you're pitching a direct competitor).

When writing or talking to the media, let them know about other segments or articles you have appeared in. Be prudent in the media you send. If a feature story or interview has certain quotes you are unhappy with, you may want to copy only the parts of the interview you want highlighted. If you have a recently taped interview from a particular TV program and are now being considered by their direct competitor, you may want to think twice before sending that particular tape for viewing.

Keep copies of articles displayed in your office or framed on your walls. Mention your media in your ads, flyers, newsletters and brochures. If you have a staff or employees, teach them to use the media you have been featured in, in their pitches or conversations to both clients and prospective clients. Send out copies of your media tear sheets to your current and prospective clients.

If you give seminars, speeches, or lectures, use copies of your print tear sheets and video-taped interviews in your presentations. Consider hiring a graphic artist to help professionally display your articles and interviews.

These are just some examples of ways to utilize your press. With a little thought and ingenuity, you'll come up with several more. Make your press work as hard as you do.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2006

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

The Most Important Marketing Tool of the Internet Age

The ONLY Valid Form of Marketing in the Brave New World Of Social Networking

Never has PR and storytelling been more important than in the age of the Internet and social networking. I've worked as a journalist, novelist, playwright, film and TV producer and PR consultant; they all rely heavily on being able to tell a story. The brave new world of social networking marks the renaissance of storytelling, making effective PR the most important marketing tool there is.

The MySpace, YouTube Connection: The world is becoming more and more about transparency and relationships. Traditional media is looking to the net for its answers, which is why News Corp bought MySpace and Google to purchased YouTube. Ads and commercials are not the way to spread the word in those worlds. But P.R. can directly impact the new social networking phenomena to maximize its effect like never before.

The Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment Example: Google recently made a deal with, and has agreed to turn over most advertising revenue generated by, the latest video from Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, creators of "The Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment." In exchange, Grobe and Voltz, who saw their original offering--which shows a version of Vegas' Bellagio Fountains made of 101 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke and 523 Mentos--catch fire with video-sharing fans last summer, have agreed to let Google host their latest video. But the story was told and the news spread via PR with coverage on The David Letterman Show, Good Morning America, NPR and countless other media outlets. The PR was the engine that drove the story. Whereas the new media is the story, it's traditional PR, done with a bit of a creative flaire, that tells the story.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2006

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Public Relations - Staying on Course

Once you've launched and outlined your PR campaign, give yourself room to change and alter the game plane as you go, but only if there's a strong definitive reason. Don't change direction, or start to panic because you're not on Oprah after three weeks of sending out press releases. Give your campaign and your story ideas a chance to do their work.

A recent study showed that only 20% of press releases are actually read by the media. Which means you have to send it again and again and follow ups have to be made? If you're working with a PR company give them the time and the space to do their job. Patience is not only a virtue; it's a necessary ingredient for success.

Because you now understand some of the basics of media relations, don't assume you are now a media Ph.D. In media relations, often what appears to be the obvious decision is the wrong decision. What makes it especially difficult is that everyone thinks that they know all there is to know about PR. Most people believe they can tell writers how to write and everyone will know more about your PR campaign than you or your public relations firm. You will be given advice from your neighbors, co-workers, pastors, janitors, clients, patients, relatives - you name it.

When I was a magazine editor, I worked for one particular publisher who had a tendency to listen to, and take advice from, any and everyone he met. When he went to lunch, I used to pray that the elevator would be empty and that he'd go for drive-through fast food where no one would talk to him. If he spoke to a waitress, a salesperson, or a stranger in an elevator, he would invariably call me into his office and propose that we implement some revolutionary suggestions that he had been given. Never mind that nine times out of ten these changes were totally inappropriate, to him they were dynamic, new - revolutionary!

People love to give advice, whether they know what they're talking about or not. Remember, these people who tell you exactly how you should run your PR campaign have nothing at stake, which is why they can afford to make such definitive and authoritative pronouncements. So, when these know-it-alls give you advice, smile, listen, maybe even nod, but stay on course.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2006

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com