Pierson Grant Public Relations assists all kinds of businesses with securing earned placements in all types of print, broadcast and online media, while managing their time and relationships with media members in the process of gaining those opportunities.
Public relations is often also called “publicity,” and it’s a large part of what we do at Pierson Grant.
Technically, any type of visibility is “publicity,” but when exposure is gained through a strategized effort to channel a particular message or concept into the process of storytelling or reporting, it becomes publicity as a product of professional public relations efforts.
Because organizations are dynamic, they constantly generate news, whether purposeful or not. Organizational leadership may determine that seeking out media exposure is a beneficial part of its sales, marketing and operations plan, or conversely may need to manage an influx of reporter inquiries depending upon the situation at hand. For our clients, Pierson Grant expertly handles both, often simultaneously.
Reporters are primarily trained fact-finders by trade, not writers. When they call, they have questions and seek out potential objective interview sources from whom to gain perspective for their stories. They may have follow-up questions and ask for additional materials, such as high-quality images, infographics or other substantiation. When there’s a business that otherwise demands attention, managing media outreach and inquires can often be a time-consuming and disorienting process.
That’s where Pierson Grant Public Relations can help, by providing experienced media relations consulting services that frees up valuable time on your schedule, as well as provides a trusted proxy to help you navigate the complex media landscape.
Part of our job as professional publicists is to help the media tell your story. To do that, we assist media members and reporters in connecting with the right people—your people—to help get their questions answered and provide helpful information in keeping with the best practices of journalistic style, thus facilitating the best possible media outcome for you, our client.
Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front-page ad. – Richard Branson
Generating strategic messaging through the news media requires tactical thinking, persistence and knowledge of the media and how reporters work. Pierson Grant excels in this regard.
From national print and television to industry trade publications and regional media, we maintain strong, professional relationships with members of the media on behalf of our clients.
As we witness the downsizing of traditional newsrooms in response to the proliferation of digital content creation, it is more important than ever before to know which opportunities remain and capture them for our clients. We accomplish this by monitoring the media on a daily basis and providing precisely the information that specific reporters seek.
Experience has shown us that despite the digital revolution, the implied third-party endorsement of print and broadcast media can have a powerful effect on public opinion and consumer behavior. That is why publicity and media relations are important components of the marketing mix for Pierson Grant clients.
Knowing What’s Newsworthy
Although newspapers in their printed form are being replaced by scrolling digital templates, it’s still helpful to analyze how the front page of a traditional major newspaper or broadcast news show is typically organized according to newsworthiness.
On any given front page—respectively known as the “A-section”–you’ll see at least one story from each of the paper’s main sections. Now, look at the headline of each story. By simply scanning each headline, you should get a fast synopsis of the day’s news. Then, for further detail, read the first sentence of each story, which is also known as the lead (to prevent confusion with a Periodic Table element of the same name, “lead” is often deliberately misspelled as “lede.”)
Unlike academia, which begins with a thesis and builds toward a conclusion, writing for media consumption uses the “inverted pyramid” model, so the most important point, or the “lead” is right up front, thus leaving nothing to the chance of readers’ and viewers’ notoriously short attention spans.
Pierson Grant Public Relations helps our clients find “what’s news.” We work together with you to understand your organization and its goals in order to most effectively deliver your message and make it a point to stay abreast of relative business trends in your market so that the information in your press releases is deemed relevant and timely by the editors and reporters who evaluate it.
A journalist writes for readers, viewers and listeners. Remember, nothing can irk a media member faster than receiving a poorly crafted message that is more appropriately written for the advertising department than the newsroom.
Pierson Grant publicists understand how reporters evaluate news. We spend time not only becoming intimately familiar with all types of publications and broadcast outlets, but the people behind the scenes who create them. We know what their needs are and how they each define what’s “newsworthy.”
We also know how to help our clients strategize by constructing a story to pique media interest, saving valuable time, money and effort in helping to reach any particular audience.
Press Releases—The Primary PR Building Block
Like so many other professional public relations tools and terminologies used today, the press release traces its roots from a time in history when newspapers and other media were created and reproduced in mass quantity by using an actual Gutenberg printing press.
Today, over 100 years after the term was first coined, the press release remains one of the most fundamental and yet misused tools of the public relations business.
Ideally, a press release should be issued only when an organization or entity has legitimate news. Often, what seems like news to a public relations client is not even remotely news to a journalist. Editors meet throughout the day to decide on what to elevate as the day’s top story, based on a varying number of factors that define the term “newsworthiness.”
How Should a Good Press Release Be Written?
Simply, a press release is the primary building block used to rapidly and succinctly convey a message to a particular audience via the news media in a cost-effective manner. Its primary purpose is to quickly inform an editor or journalist about a newsworthy occurrence.
It should include the classic basics of who-what-where-when-why and how, with the intention of generating further interest and follow-up questions from a reporter.
It should be short—typically no more than 400 to 500 words and one page in length.
It should be written in newsroom style, also known as AP (short for Associated Press), with the goal of having its content and tone match that of the publication or broadcast. For major media, it should pique the interest of the reporter or editor, but not presume to write the story. That is the reporter’s job, using the information provided by the release.
And, to help catch a media member’s eye, make it as easy as possible to read your message, (known as your pitch).
Smaller media outlets with limited staff often will use a well-written press release in its entirety, which is ideal.
Most importantly, your press release should include where to contact someone immediately accessible who can answer further questions, connect the reporter with a source, or provide additional information. After all, newsrooms are busy places, even in their modern, online forms.
Repurposing the Basic Press Release to Build Out Your Message
As a building block, a press release can be repurposed to expand your message into many different forms, while still keeping its core purpose and focus.
Depending upon the timing and goals of your message, the professionals at Pierson Grant can help you turn your press release into a time-sensitive media advisory, a guest commentary with you identified as the author, a “ghostwritten” feature story, blog post, video news release, or even a series of social media posts and accompanying images.
When structured into a coordinated schedule to accompany a paid advertising or marketing program, these types of public relations tools can help create a credible and highly effective media campaign to reach your target audiences.
So while a press release may be the most basic of PR tools, it’s also one of the most powerful when properly applied.
Check out our case studies on this page and give us a call at Pierson Grant. We can help you gain publicity using media relations to make the most of your message.
