Gearheads: The Sterling Communications Blog

It’s Show Time, Folks: Studio TV Tours vs. Satellite Media Tours

I recently blogged on the top four questions people ask me about using Satellite Media Tours (SMTs) for product promotion. Today I’ll add a fifth:  How does an SMT differ from an in-studio media tour?

In-studio product promotional tours are just that – on site, in person, in TV studios in several cities. The company organizing the tour will solicit the products and hire the presenter, usually a product expert from print or online media, or a known face from a soap, talk show or reality program.

A typical tour will involve 10 appearances, but could involve as many as 30. If you can find a tour that costs $10,000 for ten in-studio appearances, you should consider that a good deal, as you will often see 10 for $12,000 or $15,000. A mini-tour might be five appearances for $5,000, but those are harder to find.

Tips From The Frontline at #SMOC

I had the opportunity to attend the MediaBistro Social Media Optimization Conference (SMOC) in San Francisco earlier this week.

The show was full of sound bytes, excellent social media tips and some sharp strategies for linking digital strategy to social and PR efforts.

Conference discussions provided interesting perspectives on social media, by examining the science and metrics that have made SEO and PPC such important parts of marketing budgets, and applying them back to social media, where appropriate.

I’ve compiled a few of the best tips from the conference (particularly those that are relevant to PR), and have attributed them to the presenter that introduced the idea.

When Tarn-X Won't Work

What does a company do when — through absolutely no fault of its own — its brand becomes associated with criminal acts, and it winds up a punch line on late-night talk shows? Think about the damaged reputations of Kool-Aid and Jonestown, Bruno Magli loafers and O.J., Nike Windrunner sneakers and the Heaven’s Gate cult, or Ryder trucks and the Oklahoma City bombing.

These companies were in no way associated with the malfeasance of their customers but their brand reputations became tarnished by association. Such a stain can take years to lift. In the case of Kool-Aid, it’s become synonymous with blind obedience and uncritical acceptance of faulty logic — even though evidence indicated it was another flavored drink and not Kool-Aid that was used at Jonestown. While Bruno Magli temporarily profited from the O.J. publicity with a spike in sales, Ryder sold its consumer truck rental division and changed its yellow trucks to white just one year after the bombing. (Oddly, a link not indicated on the company’s historical timeline.)

The latest to fall victim is Casio. Apparently, their budget model Casio F-91W is the casual sport watch preferred by 9 out of 10 Guantanamo detainees.

Secrets of Satellite Media Tours

I’m often asked, “How do I get my product on TV shows?” You’d be surprised how much product coverage on TV is vendor-sponsored or paid. That’s what “Promotional consideration furnished by Company X” means when you hear it at the end of a game show, or see it roll by in the credits of your favorite sitcom. That consumer gadget expert who appears on the morning chat shows? While he may not be paid directly by a company to hawk their products, it’s possible that the media company that organizes his studio appearances only secures “sponsored” products for him.

When I recommend my clients consider doing an SMT to get TV coverage, I usually get a puzzled, “an SM what????” Even when I explain that SMT is short for “Satellite Media Tour,” the fog doesn’t usually lift from their eyes. So herewith are my answers to the top four questions about SMTs:

1. What’s an SMT?
2. Why would you do one?
3. What’s the average cost?
4. Who are some of the vendors?

Six Key Elements to Successful, Effective Pitching

Having gone directly from DreamWorks Animation to Sterling Communications, I have found there’s a common element to getting both client news and movie ideas noticed that they don’t teach you in school: You have to be able to sell. In the same way that movies are pitched to a roomful of deep-pocketed bigwigs or a building full of animators and production staffers (as at DreamWorks), PR professionals have to know how to really sell an idea to media and analysts. Here are 6 key elements to effective pitching that are as pertinent on Madison Avenue as they are on Melrose Avenue.

 

Sterling Podcast Episode 1: The Customer Isn't Always Right

Sterling Podcast Episode 1

It goes without saying that Facebook probably regrets engaging Burson-Marsteller to conduct a whisper campaign against Google (especially Facebook's "adult supervisor" Sheryl Sandberg, yesterday's BusinessWeek cover story). And Burson probably regrets agreeing to do it. But what can agencies learn from this embarrassing episode?  What impact will it have on the reputation of the PR industry? Tune in to hear a conversation between Sterling Communications VPs Jay Nichols and Kevin Pedraja.

 

How Today's Number One Book on Amazon Started as a Dad's Lament on Facebook

Getting a child to go to sleep can be one of the most maddening tasks a parent faces, which is why this image from Facebook struck all the right nerves on my funny bone this morning.

(Warning: Clicking some of the links below will subject you to reading a dirty word that begins with the letter "F." You've been warned.")

When Adam Mansbach, author of “Angry Black White Boy” and “The End of the Jews,” posted on Facebook in June 2010 to “Look out for my forthcoming children’s book, ‘Go the F*** to Sleep,’ ” he was not serious. He was just tired. His then-2-year-old daughter refused to acknowledge bedtime. (I can relate. My 22-month-old daughter is learning the fine art of diversion to stay up past her bedtime.)

He drafted some sample verses, such as this:

Can Social Media Determine the Outcome of the Kentucky Derby?

Social media is a wonderful tool that allows us to capture the buzz and general sentiment of a snapshot in time.  Using the terms: “Kentucky Derby,” “Animal Kingdom,” injury, injuries, derby, hats, horse, jockey and race – I was able to analyze the general social media sentiment around the 137^th Kentucky Derby using Attensity360. (Full disclosure: Attensity is a client of ours.) Called the “Run for the Roses” and “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” the first leg of the Triple Crown of horse racing is the most watched of the three races. According to Forbes, the Kentucky Derby alone is the 10^th highest grossing sporting event in the world, bringing in $67 million in 2009. As one of the world’s most watched and highest grossing events, there is understandably a lot of social media activity around the race.

The results using Attensity’s social media analysis tools were mostly positive and neutral: 38.9% positive, 38.9% neutral and 14.3% negative. The negative sentiment can be explained by the high activity of animal rights activists, who are generally very vocal around the derby due to the high risk to the horses. We all witnessed live when Eight Belles was tragically euthanized on the derby track in 2008 promptly following the race. Luckily, this year, there was no such tragedy, so the negative buzz was minimal. 

Using SEO In “Traditional” PR Efforts

The more  things change, the more they stay the same. While this truism can be applied broadly, today, that phrase will apply to public relations.

The scope of good public relations is broadening and morphing. However, there will always be a place for certain aspects of the business. Finding new ways to extend “traditional” PR efforts and breathe new life into them is something any savvy agency must do, because the more exposure you get from a single effort, the better.

So, how can traditional PR gain more reach with already-established tactics?

The answer: Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

In a previous post, we talked about the strategy behind applying SEO to PR activities. Today, we’re going to delve into the tactics or the “how-tos.”

Evolution: Cautiously Ushering in the Era of PR 1.5

“History won’t be kind to PR 2.0, i.e. a moment in time when infatuation with tools replaced understanding of communications.”

--Amanda Chapel via Twitter

In part I agree with Ms. Chapel’s cynicism of PR 2.0, particularly as I look back on my career of over 13 years, and see how profoundly PR has changed. I also see the vast potential for these new resources.

That said, at this point, I don’t believe we have truly reached PR 2.0. Instead, I believe we are at more of a v1.5, as we determine how to effectively incorporate traditional methods with new tools (the Facebooks and Twitters of the world). Given the time to mature, and allowing that time for most of the Web narcissists to burn themselves out on self-congratulations and witty remarks reposted from Google searches, these platforms will undoubtedly be a boon for the PR profession.