How to Get a TV offer in 45 minutes

Case Study: Placing a Chocolatier on a TV talk show.

Wei of Chocolate is a chocolate company in Phoenix AZ, specializing in organic dark chocolates infused with spices and flower essences. Lisa Reinhardt, the CEO and chocolatier of Wei wanted some publicity for her products.

We discussed her products and the aspects of dark chocolate. A focus that became immediately obvious was the health benefits of dark chocolate: eaten in small amounts, it can help prevent cardiovascular disease.

At 1:00pm on Wednesday 1/20/10, I sent a press release to our local media pitching a story about how dark chocolate is good for the heart, and positioned Lisa as an expert who could talk about it. At 1:44pm that same day I heard back from the producer of Sonoran Living Live at Channel 15; Sonoran Living Live wanted to have Lisa do a segment on their show on 1/25/10.

The response from the TV studio took only 45 minutes. I think that’s a record response. Why did it happen so fast? Here’s what we did:

1. February is American Heart Month. Dark chocolate has anti-inflammatory properties that are good for the heart, therefore, this story fit in perfectly (I talked about using specific calendar days to help promote your products in a previous post). People in the media want to deliver solid and helpful information to their audience. We provided factual and usable information that fit Heart Month.

2. Sonoran Living Live’s audience is primarily women, so we made the title: “Chocolate: Medicine for a Woman’s Healthy Heart”. Reason: studies show that eating dark chocolate can help reduce a woman’s risk of heart problems by 33%. Therefore, we have a good reason to mention women.

3. Lisa has expertise in this area. Lisa has researched the effects of dark chocolate on women’s heart health, and can speak to it clearly and succinctly.

We had created a story that the media would find very interesting and helpful for their audience. That’s why they wanted Lisa to come in and talk. IMPORTANT NOTE: We provided expertise and a good topic. We did not just slap something together and hope they bought it. Lisa has expertise and the topic is timely. Therefore, Channel 15 was interested.

We provided an interesting story, an expert, and we fit it to the audience and a specific time. That sort of thing gets the attention of the media because we’re helping them get good usable information to their audience.

Would you like that kind of coverage that fast? Then do what we did with Lisa. It’s really that easy.

Not sure how to do it? (Shameless plug coming up) Consider investing in the “Get Started Now” Publicity Kit available at http://productivepr.com/special_reports.htm. This series of step-by-step action plans detail everything we did to create a story that grabbed media attention and let Lisa explain her products and the advantages of them on television. From evaluation of the products to developing the story to creating the press release, right down to anticipating and preparing for the questions that the host might ask, this series of reports covers everything you need to know to get your product into the media, whether local or national.

Special: If you order the reports and mention this blog post's title, I’ll add in my latest Special Report: “416 Food Holidays to Use to Get Media Coverage”. Holidays such as:

February 3: Carrot Cake Day
February 4: Homemade Soup Day
March 4: National Pound Cake Day
April 16: Eggs Benedict Day
December 16: Chocolate-Covered Anything Day (woo hoo!)

416 holidays is a lot of opportunities to contact the media! If you’re in the food or wine industry, you’ll want to know these holidays because they’ll give you a reason to send a press release. Check out the reports at http://productivepr.com/special_reports.htm.
(Note: this offer is good until Feb 10, 2010) (OK, shameless plug is finished)


Here’s the link to Lisa’s story on Channel 15:
http://www.abc15.com/content/sonoranliving/links/story/Chocolate-could-be-good-for-your-heart/X6ImS_rSskWDZR6OzaBF5A.cspx

If you’d like some excellent chocolate that’s delicious and good for your health, be sure to visit Lisa’s website at http://weiofchocolate.com/ . My favorite is Daily Gratitude! Delicious!

Congratulations Lisa! Great show, and great chocolate!

Two "Days" That You Can Use for Publicity

January 23rd and January 27 are two days you can use to promote yourself to the media.

January 23rd is National Pie Day.
January 27th is National Chocolate Cake Day.

Really. They are. So use them to get publicity for your wine or your restaurant.

"How?", you ask? Demonstrate your expertise!

How to Get Media Coverage for Wine:
If you work in the wine industry, come up with appropriate wines that go well with pie and chocolate cake and propose them to the media. Don't just say "Oh, any kind of wine...as long as you like it." That won't get you any publicity. Think of specific pies and specific wines.

For example, apple pie is the most popular pie in America. What wine would go well with it? A light and fruity white wine, for example? Cherry pie is the third most popular pie. What would go well with that? Those are the kinds of suggestions that the media is looking for. (For example: the La Quinta Syrah Port from San Antonio winery pairs perfectly with sweet potato pie).

And red wines go well with chocolate. Chocolate Cake Day ought to be easy!

How to Get Media Coverage for Food:
If you're in the food industry, these days are perfect for you! Create some interesting variations on the "pie" theme and let the media know. Different combinations of ingredients. New variations on crusts, new fillings, adding unusual spices or flavors to the old standards, 100-calorie pies for dieters, how to eat pie and still lose weight....on and on and on. Come up with some ideas and tell the media.

And don't forget: "pie" doesn't mean just "fruit". Many people eat pot pies (meat pies).

Purpose: Establish Your Expertise
The reason you're doing all of this is to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Media people like working with people who can share new and interesting ideas within the food and wine industry. Their audiences have a hunger for knowledge, and the media looks for people who provide that knowledge.

By providing unique ideas, little-known tidbits of information (like "chocolate cake day") and variations on the the ordinary, you'll catch the attention of the media and your own target audience.

So come up with some ideas for National Pie Day and National Chocolate Cake Day and tell the TV stations. You have almost two weeks to get your press release to them, so let them know your ideas, and you just might find yourself on one of their programs talking about your products.


Good luck! And by the way.....February is National All American Pie MONTH! Woo hoo! You might want to start prepping for that!

Gordon

Stories the Magazines Want in January

It’s the middle of winter. It’s cold outside. What do you suppose the food and wine magazines are thinking about now?

Grilling. Grilling and outdoor dining.

Yep! They’re thinking about the June issue of their magazine, and most June issues focus on grilling and outdoor cooking. Therefore, if you want a shot at getting coverage in one of the food and wine magazines, it’s to your advantage to propose stories about outdoor cooking and dining to them right now.

Magazines have a four-to-six month lead time; the planning, interviews, photos, layout, etc. all take time so they start early. Which means the sooner you propose an idea to them, the better.

Why do this? Well, considering that many food and wine articles are 5 – 7 pages long, contain 5 – 8 photos of the food/wine/business owners/and location, as well as your name, address, phone number, and email address, a little forward planning right now could result in a whole lot of coverage.

Story Examples:
Here’s a sampling of past June-issue stories, taken from four different magazines: Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Wine Spectator, and Wine Enthusiast:

• Great Wines for Grilled Food
• Five Easy Marinades
• Top Summer Wines
• From Starter to Dessert: Everything on the Grill
• Eight Refreshing Summer Wines
• Best Outdoor Restaurants and Wineries
  

Don't they all sound good? They sure do! That's the kind of stories the magazines like to carry in their June issues. So consider taking a moment and thinking about summer.

• If your business is wine, what wines would you serve with grilled food? Or summer salads? Or any outdoor meal? Do you know any “secrets” to enhance wine-tasting outdoors?
• If you’re a restaurateur, what meals/snacks/etc. would taste good outside? Do you, personally, make any finger-foods that are perfect for outdoor dining? Are there any secrets to preparing the meals so they taste just that much better? Can you improve grilling somehow; glazes, sauces, cooking it longer/shorter than usual?
  

Consider taking a moment to think about the best wines and foods for outdoors, and then propose it to the food and wine magazines. A little up-front thinking right now could result in a great article in the summertime when people are outdoors.

To "quote" or not to "quote"?

Most articles about how to “write a press release” suggest that you include a quote from a manager or authority figure in your company. “It adds a human element”, they say. Do I agree?

No. I don’t agree. Here’s why:

Reporters don’t read the entire press release. They don’t have the time! They scan it quickly to see if there’s an interesting story in it; if there is, they read a bit more. If there isn’t, they trash it.

Really. I was a TV news anchor for eight years, and I read a lot of press releases. During my first month on the job I read the entire release. By my sixth month, I was reading just the headlines before deciding to keep or trash it. I have many friends in the industry who do the same thing.

Get Attention!
A press release’s job is to get the reporter’s attention. That’s all. Media outlets get literally hundreds of news releases every day. In the bigger cities they can get up to five hundred releases per day. They can’t read all those, so it’s your job to cut through all the other releases and get the reporter’s attention.

Find the most noteworthy point of your news, and put that into the headline of your release. Don’t say “New Wine List at Bob’s Wines”. Say “New Rose-Flavored Wine at Bob’s Wines”.

Here are other examples of attention-getting headlines:

• Kendall-Jackson installs solar panels in Napa vineyards.
• Confirmed: Red Wine Adds Years to Your Life
• Twisted Oak Winery Reels in Value-Minded Buyers without lowering prices
  

Notice how they all catch attention? That’s what the reporters want to see.

So before you go asking for a quotation from the big boss, take the time to dig out the really newsworthy item in your release and put it into the headline. It’ll make a big difference.

And you can quote me on that.

Gordon

Wine and Food Stories the Newspapers Like

I've always stressed that you should come up with a creative angle for your products if you want the newspapers to show interest.

Last Wednesday's Arizona Republic's food section had an article with the headline: "A Toast to Champagne in Cooking". (Here's the article: "Champagne Recipes for New Year"). This article is a perfect example of a new and different use of a familiar product (Champagne) - cooking with it!

Suggest New and Unusual Uses for your Product
The root of the word "news" is new. The idea of COOKING with Champagne is new. Usually people drink toasts with it. But here's an article about cooking with it. The article includes three delicious-sounding recipes plus a profile of the chef who created them.

The reporters who write food stories want to give their readers new and interesting ideas and recipes. They want their readers to say "Wow! That sounds good!" and then tell their friends. When you suggest interesting food or wine ideas to the reporters, they'll take your suggestion into consideration.

Here's How to Come Up with Creative Story Ideas:
Write out everything that's involved with the preparation and serving of a dish (or a complete meal). Then think of all those elements and how you could change one or two of them in an unusual way. Two of the articles recipes are:

• Champagne POACHED Asian Pears
• Champage-and-Sage GLAZED Ham
  

Notice: Poached and Glazed. Not "Champagne with ham", but "Champagne GLAZED ham". That's new and different and therefore, interesting.

Take a moment to think about your food or your wines, and give a little thought to how they could be used to spice up an element of cooking. When you come up with something good, send a news release to the media. It could be just the story the reporter is looking for.

Gordon

P.S. Shameless plug: If you'd like to learn how to come up with interesting stories about your foods and wine and get them to the media, please take a look at a series of reports I have on my website: The 'Get Started Now' Publicity Package.


And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to make some Champagne-poached Asian pears with dark-chocolate ganache. Yum!