Silly Season: PR Famine or PR Party?
The countdown to “silly season” is on. Saturday marked the end of the official 2011 ratings season, which means The Circle, The Morning Show and Four Corners are some of the shows on hiatus.
While you may think there are fewer opportunities to show off your PR, summer programming can present a host of opportunities. Continuing your DIY PR efforts beyond Christmas could pay off and give your business a boost in 2012.
Most news and current affairs programs do not have a summer break with shows like Sunrise and Today Tonight airing throughout the holiday period. These newsrooms are shortened too much as the media works frantically to fill airtime and pages.
This means it’s an even better time for you to get invaluable publicity for your new book, exhibit, or personalized school bags, as journalists are more receptive to stories that take less time to research and prepare during this unrated summer period. .
Here are some topics that might interest you:
Shopping frenzy: You can present stories that relate to the holiday shopping frenzy. Reporters and their audiences love mob stories, especially when it comes to shopping and even a celebrity photo shoot.
Avoiding the crowd: Connect your product with an online retail story … think of the retail revolution or the recent 26% increase in online sales to interest journalists and your audience who want to avoid crowded stores and deceptive door robbers this summer.
Cutting: What are you doing to cut back this holiday season? Remember that the economy is still slow, and tips for doing more with less will generally attract an editor’s interest.
Party features:News editors are always looking for upbeat and original news to spice up the holidays on TV or on the news pages.
Animal related stories: Everyone loves a story with a fluffy poodle or a cute kitten! Linking your product with cute critters (or for that matter, toddlers) could get you that closing segment on Today Tonight.
There are also many holiday event dates in 2012 that present you with DIY PR opportunities that you need to start planning and presenting stories for, before hitting the beach.
Mark these dates on your PR calendar and get started:
Australia Day: January 26
Back to school: February 1
Valentine’s Day: February 14
Australia Cleanup Day: March 4
Labor Day (Vic): March 12
St. Patrick’s Day: March 17
Holy Week: April 6 to 9
ANZAC Day: April 25
Mother’s Day: May 13
