 |
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||
Tricks of the trade
Media releases that editors will really use The client's problem: News editors are flooded with media releases. The stack can be
a foot tall some days. This ocean of junk makes it hard to get a news editor's attention. The Cornerstone solution:
We use media releases sparingly, but when we do, we use direct mail principles that ensure that news editors catch the salient points of our message, even on a cursory glance through our materials. We underline key ideas or put them in bold, and we create snappy leads that are put in slightly larger type under catchy headlines.
We were recently part of a team assembled by Doucet, Jones & Partners (DJP) to promote the Great Canadian Geography Challenge, a national contest for high school students sponsored by the Royal Canadian
Geographical Society (RCGS). The Ottawa finals were hosted by Alex Trebek, the host of the TV show Jeopardy! There were good "media-genic" elements to this story already: a celebrity, a competition and the
public's concern with the quality of education. So our headline for the first release was "Alex Trebek To Host Great Canadian Geography Challenge!" while the lead read, "What do today's kids know about
geography?" DJP attached backgrounders and sample questions and sent the whole package to local and national media. The day of the event, we had another release ready, which DJP sent to media. They made a special
point of alerting media in communities that sent winning students Our results? The event had solid coverage in several cities, including an item in Maclean's, and won positive publicity for both RCGS and for
geographical education.
Cornerstone is a writing and editing firm that uses marketing and PR principles to create
"words you can build your business on." Call us from anywhere in the world for rush work.
|
|||