How to Pitch to Journalists During Covid-19

Here at Sunny Bird PR, we like to think we’re the experts in communicating to journalists; whether that’s a well thought out targeted email, or a straight to the point two minute phone call, we pride ourselves on getting great coverage for our clients. And what have we learnt from our years of experience in the industry, I hear you ask? It’s all in the pitch.

So, when Covid-19 hit we had to adapt to the new norm with journalists working from home, no longer could we jump on the phones and build a connection and meeting journalists are also a no-go at the moment with many still working from home.

As a result, we had to make sure our email pitches were even more on point than usual as this was the only way we could get in touch. At the start of lockdown, that dominated the media but now, it’s still being talked about, but journalists are looking for positive stories to share. If you have a story that could be seen as negative, try and add a happy ending, include that in your pitch, put a smile on the journalist’s face, and you could be on to a winner!

We’ve done some research and found some quotes from the journalists themselves who have given some advice and tips on pitching to them in this new ‘normal’ post lockdown.

Jane Hamilton – Journalist and Editor at The Sun

Jane wrote an article on what you should be doing to be sensitive to the situation but also to be successful during the pandemic:

“Should I still pitch at all? Yes, please do! Life goes on. Life WILL go back to normal (ish). In the meantime, most media outlets are looking for a balance of stories and need positives and heart-warming tales to combat the Covid-19 gloom.”

Read the full article here-

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-pitch-journalists-during-coronavirus-crisis-jane-hamilton/?trackingId=vJCAMQ7EHi7lfL9gtCmG2w%3D%3D

Angelica Malin, Editor-in-Chief at About Time Magazine

Angelica hosts #SheStartedIt podcast, here she gives lots of insight into the industry as well as discussing all things female empowerment. She says*:

 “Be personal. There has never been more of a need to be personal in your pitches. Generic press releases won’t land well and tailoring the first line of the pitch to the journalist is key. So spend time familiarising yourself with each journalist’s latest updates on social media and research the main topics that they cover.”

You may be thinking ‘but surely we’re getting back to normal and I can go back to what I was doing?’, unfortunately not. Journalists are still working from home (believe us, we’ve tried calling!) and will be for the foreseeable. They are often only contactable by email only, and you really don’t want to annoy a journalist by calling their mobile unexpectedly! So, for now, the email pitch is the best way to get yourself featured, so make sure it’s perfect!

If you’d like some help with your pitches and how to contact journalists, get in touch with the Sunny Bird PR team – hello@sunnybirdpr.com

*https://www.wavemakernorth.co.uk/how-to-pr-during-covid-19-according-to-journalists/

Clientversary: The Hampton Trust

The Sunny Bird PR team is celebrating its ‘clientversary’ with The Hampton Trust. Established in 1996, The Hampton Trust is an award-winning domestic abuse charity which delivers domestic violence perpetrator programs within the criminal justice system to reduce re-offending. The charity first approached the team with two objectives; to raise awareness of the work of The Hampton Trust in both regional and national press, educating those in the third sector industry and the wider public on their services and expertise, we’ve gone above and beyond securing 40 pieces of coverage for the charity over 12 months, reaching over 7.7 million people, with an advertising value equivalent of over £287,000!

To achieve these results , Sunny Bird PR ensured The Hampton Trust were considered experts in their field placed side-by-side with their competitors, other high profile domestic abuse charities. As well as this, we shone a light on the innovative work the charity are doing and we have made sure that the press are continually up to date with their program offerings. We are always scouring the press for reactive opportunities also, recently securing regular coverage in The Daily Express, with comments from Chantal Hughes, CEO of the Hampton Trust, on Coronation Streets coercive control story line, these pieces of coverage reached over 3.6 million people!

Here are some more examples of the work we’ve achieved for The Hampton Trust over the last 12 months:

CARA Workshop Press Visits

SBPR interviewed an attendee of one of The Hampton Trust’s CARA (Caution and Relationship Abuse) workshops and compiled a feature for the national press. This feature resulted in journalists from both Cosmopolitan Magazine and The Daily Telegraph visiting CARA workshops for themselves and compiling high-profile features in 2020, due to reach over 523,000 people.

CEO Profile

To ensure The Hampton Trust was positioned as the voice of authority in its sector, the SBPR team complied a feature on the CEO of the charity Chantal Hughes. This feature led to a series of exclusive opinion pieces running in Third Sector online, a coveted publication read by 123,000 voluntary sector workers.

Woman & Home Awards

SBPR nominated Chantal for the Woman & Home Awards, which champion women doing extraordinary things, in the ‘Changing our Country’ category. Chantal won the award in 2019, attending a photoshoot and a high-profile awards ceremony at London’s Claridge’s. This raised the profile of The Hampton Trust not only to the attendees, but to the 237,000 readers of Woman & Home Magazine.  To celebrate Chantal receiving this award SBPR complied a post event press-release, sharing the news with the regional press and achieving further coverage, which reached over 186,000 people.

Reacting to Television

The SBPR team know the importance of reactive media opportunities, and for The Hampton Trust we knew that prolific television storylines would bring domestic abuse into the public eye and into the news. Making sure we were up to date with the content of primetime soaps and dramas meant the team secured interview opportunities for Chantal in the Metro Online, the Daily Express Online and Tyla Online. These pieces of coverage reached over 4 million people, establishing The Hampton Trust as experts in the field and raising awareness of the charity as a go-to for comments on domestic abuse news for the national press.

Project White Ribbon Day

White Ribbon Day, and the 16 Days of Action is an annual event which raises awareness of domestic abuse against women. The SBPR team compiled press releases to highlight all of the work The Hampton Trust carried out during this time to raise awareness. The team also pitched Chantal as a spokesperson to target titles and broadcast media. The team’s PR activity secured 10 pieces of coverage for The Hampton Trust, including three features on the BBC South Today TV news programme, reaching over 2.7 million people.  

Regional Press

SBPR knew the importance of highlighting the work of The Hampton Trust to those who would need it the most, so the team ensured that regional press was given updates on essential news from The Hampton Trust. We secured 25 pieces of coverage for The Hampton Trust in Avon & Somerset, Hampshire, Dorset and the West Midlands, across broadcast, radio, online and print press raising awareness of the CARA workshops, the link up with the regional Police and the Hampton Trust’s ADAPT (Accredited Domestic Abuse Prevention Training) program. All of this coverage reached over 3.2 million people and would have cost over £29,000 in advertising!

We have loved working with The Hampton Trust over the last 12 months and are pleased to continue working with them in 2020.

Case Studies

In this blog post you will learn all about case studies. What they are, how they can help your business and how to find them.

What is a case study?

Case studies are people. People who have tried out, can vouch for or speak about your brand, product or service in a positive and interesting way. Journalists love them because they add the sparkle of human interest to even the most mundane story, helping the reader engage with the piece. Case studies can elevate even the most seemingly boring business. Putting a person with a compelling story behind a product makes the brand more relatable to the consumer and to a journalist. It’s important to have a case study ready to go when contacting journalists, it will look unprofessional and probably annoy the journalist if you say you have one and then don’t get back to them with it pronto!

Where do I find a case study?

Case studies can be people who:

a.       Already use or buy your product or service.

b.       Could be interested in using your product or service.

If they are already a customer you should be able to contact them via your existing customer database, but if you don’t already have something established you could reach them via your website. Do you have people who are already leaving testimonials on your website or through social media? Could you add a button onsite or a link to your blog asking for people who would be happy to talk about your product or brand?

Alternatively use your own social media feed to reach out and ask. It’s a good idea to create a bank of case studies, you never know when the right opportunity may come up in the media to pitch your case studies out.

Will I need to get them photographed?

There’s no doubt that a good photo can help a case study get placed, but in general editors will want a clear head-shot in the initial stages and will then arrange for further photography if they need it, so there’s no need to pay out on an expensive shoot. However, it is important to send relevant photography to the journalist. For example, If yours is a service or product in the health, diet, fitness or wellness industry where a ‘before’ and ‘after’ shot will be helpful, then you should absolutely ensure you have close ups and full body shots of your case study before pitching to an editor.

Dos and don’ts:

ALWAYS ensure you have the case study’s full permission in writing before proceeding.  They might have agreed to have their story featured but want to remain anonymous, so you could request a name change.  They may want parts of their personal details, such as the names of their children left out or they may or may not agree to a photograph being used. You should ensure you detail exactly what is expected of them and get them to agree in a signed, dated agreement.

ALWAYS ensure all parties involved in a feature give consent.

ALWAYS be extra careful when children are involved, to get the signed consent of all parents and or guardians involved in the child’s care.

ALWAYS ensure the case study is happy to be photographed. Journalists almost always require the case study to be identified, so ensure the case study is happy with that.

NEVER place a case study with more than one rival title. Editors hate to see identical or similar copy popping up in the competition as it devalues their content. You should avoid offering a case study to rival titles at the same time and state if a rival title has previously featured it.

NEVER ignore a journalist’s calls if a case study you have put forward lets you down or changes their mind. Let the journalist know as soon as possible and offer to help find someone else in order to maintain a good relationship.

At Sunny Bird PR we use case studies with pretty much all our clients. Whether that be for a domestic abuse charity, The Hampton Trust or for Just Shutters, a plantation window shutter company. Case studies have helped to propel our clients into the press with real life stories.

You can find our how Sunny Bird PR has used case studies to successfully get clients onto TV and radio as well as other media titles here!

If you would like to find out more how case studies could work for you and how to do your own PR, you can book onto our PR and Publicity Course on the 29th November at our Bournemouth offices - Sunny Bird PR, The Garden Studio, Pine Grange, Bath Road, Bournemouth, BH1 2PF

Follow this link to book your place!

Journalist of the Month

Gemma Ralph is the Deputy Editor at Hospitality Interiors magazine. A self-confessed foodie, fairy light fiend and lover of all things cosy, she has taken a few moments away from glam interiors to ask the infamous Sunny Bird PR questions for Journalist of the Month…

1. What are the 5 words that best describe you? Perceptive, odd, bookworm, nosy, romantic

2. What magazine do you love reading and why? Women’s Health – I sit and read it cover to cover every month because it has so many in-depth and inspiring articles.

3. What is your favourite book?  This question is my nemesis, I LOVE all books. I’d have to say Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf as she is my absolute hero, but if I could sneak a cheeky close second in it would be Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

4. Which song makes you dance?  Any song that comes on when I’m 5+ drinks down…I’m definitely not a natural when it comes to dancing!

5. What has been your best career moment?  I count myself lucky any time I get a sneak peak of new interiors, sometimes when they’re still building sites. A highlight would definitely be touring Mondrian London with Tom Dixon and hearing all about his inspiration and vision for the project – I’m so privileged to be part of such an interesting and creative industry.

6. What advice would you give your 20 year old self? Don’t devote so much of your headspace to other people and their opinions of you.

7. Where are you happiest?  Probably when I’m in a restaurant with good food and drink.

8. Who would be your number one dinner guest be and why? I’d say Bill Murray – he’s immensely talented, doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously, and I think he would have some epic stories to tell … also I might have a slight dad-crush on him!

9. If you could have any superpower, what power would it be and why?   I think I would choose the ability to time travel – I’ve always felt like I was born in the wrong era, so I’d love to travel back in time to experience different periods and historical events.

10. If you had to ask us one question what would it be? What would you say is the most rewarding element of your work?

The team all had the same answer – seeing the coverage they’ve achieved come out in publications and online – our favourite was of course in Hospitality Interiors!

Why Working By The Sea Can Boost Your Health, Happiness And Productivity

The Sunny Bird PR office is literally five minutes from the beautiful Bournemouth sea front. With seven miles of award-winning beach to choose from, its own micro-climate that provides us with smog-free, blue skies and a bustling atmosphere with lots of exciting start-ups. I’m going to try my hardest not to city bash (although a number of us are ex-city dwellers) but living in Dorset truly is a dream.

As a team, being based in Dorset helps us to achieve that elusive work/life balance, encourages us to get outside and exercise more and nothing beats a sun downer on your doorstop whilst taking in the stunning views of the Purbecks. All of these factors (and many more) contribute to happy, healthy staff members who come into work ready to smash our PR targets.

Being based on the costa del Dorset coastline may make us biased, but recent environmental research has found that living and working by the coast can improve the following:

1. You don’t have to get your feet wet to reap the health benefits – even just a view of the sea can promote reductions in heart rate and improvements in mood

2. You rate your health as significantly better if you live within 5km of the British coastline

3. You are more likely to exercise regularly if you live within 1km of the English coastline

4. You are more likely to have better mental health if you live within 5km of the British coastline

5. The UK economy could benefit to the tune of £176m of healthcare savings per year from water-based recreation alone.

Still not convinced? The team have compiled their favourite places to eat, drink and visit so that next time you consider a weekend away (or perhaps a PR company) Dorset will be front of mind.

Sunny (MD & Founder)

Eat: Koh Thai in Boscombe – The best 24hour ribs and they do an amazing Pad Thai. I love that it’s a Dorset company set to take over the world!

Drink: 1812 (Bournemouth) or The Kings Arms (Christchurch) – I love a cocktail or two and I’m completely torn between two places… the drinks in both are incredible.

Visit: The New Forest – Fall in love with the forest’s idyllic glades, ancient woodland and cliff top walks. You may even bump into a few ponies or donkeys that run wild near Lymington.

Why you love living in Dorset: Nothing beats being able to walk on the beach in your lunch break. Being just 2 hours away from London allows us to be able to work with regional, national and international clients without giving up on our wonderful lifestyle.

Lizzie  (Account Manager)

Eat: Urban Reef – 5 minutes’ walk from my flat, right on Bosombe’s award-winning beaches and undoubtedly serving the best Eggs Royale and Bloody Mary.

Drink: Chaplin’s – Quirky and cool, an award-winning bar and live music venue in Boscombe.

Visit: Worth Matravers – One of my favourite places in the Purbecks, the Square and Compass serves the best pints and pasties and there’s the beautiful walk down to Winspit caves and the sea. Perfect for any time of year.

Why you love living in Dorset: In my opinion it is the best place to live in the UK, best beaches, best nightlife, best countryside, best climate and the best people!

Rian (Senior Account Manager)

Eat: The Stables – Nestled on Weymouth’s harbour side in the old harbour master’s building it has a great atmosphere and a great selection of ciders. The company started in Dorset and now has restaurants in Cardiff, Bristol and London to name a few – definitely worth checking out. http://stablepizza.com/

Drink: The Cove House Inn – A bevvy at The Cove House Inn on Portland’s Chesil Beach can’t be beaten. In summer it boasts the BEST sunset and in winter you can hunker down by the fire and watch the crashing waves as they pound the pebbles.

Visit: West Bay – The home of Itv’s Broadchurch and not far from Bridport, which is worth a visit too. Stunning sheer cliffs and the perfect place for random celeb spotting (PJ Harvey and Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie have both been spotted in the last month).

Why you love living in Dorset: Nothing beats a walk down to the beach and being able to take a deep, breath of fresh sea air. When you hear the phrase “why do you need to go on holiday when you live in a place like this” then you know you’re on to a winner.

Lucy (Account Executive)

Eat: Vesuvio – If you take a stroll along the beachfront to get to Vesuvio, it offers a relaxed vibe and a range of pizzas and pastas.

Drink: Aruba – Right on the beachfront, you can walk out onto the balcony with a cocktail and enjoy the amazing views of the pier and beach.

Visit: Durdle Door – no matter if the sun is shining or if it’s slightly overcast, Durdle Door is the most beautiful place on the coast. The water is crystal blue and the views are breath-taking.

Why you love living in Dorset: Originally from Oxford, I’ve always known that I wanted to live near the south coast. The weather is 100 times better and it never takes any longer than 20 minutes to get somewhere. Places to visit and attractions to see are never far and come summer, the beach is just on our doorstep.

Darren(In-house Graphic designer)

Eat and Drink: Aruba – I often take clients or have internal meetings in Aruba, I love the fact you can eat and drink and look out on Bournemouth’s amazing beach. When the sun is shining you could be anywhere in the world.

Visit: Mudeford Spit – Is a lovely place to visit with great views of Christchurch on the harbour side. My kids will say “the best part is getting the noddy train” to the beach.

Why you love living in Dorset: I love working in Bournemouth, we are a stone’s throw from the amazing beaches and a 5 minute walk into the heart of Bournemouth town centre.

How to...Get the Most From Your PR Agency

First Date

You know all there is to know about you; now your agency needs to know all of that too. The more information you can give your agency the better, they need to know who you are, where you came from, what makes you tick, your story, your audience, your tone of voice, your likes and dislikes. It’s like starting a new relationship and staying up ‘til 3am swapping life stories – you need to do that with your new agency. And in the same way you’d bare your soul and tell your worst secrets to your new beau, you need to tell your new agency the bad bits too so they have the best chance of managing any future issues that might rear their ugly head. Once your agency knows you inside out and back to front then they can truly be an extension of you and your brand.

Meeting the Family

If there’s more to your company than just you then your agency needs to get to know them too, give them access to your company’s thought leaders. At Sunny Bird PR, we speak to the movers and shakers at your company, the product managers, marketers, customer service representatives, case studies, ambassadors, you name it, anyone that can give valuable insight or a juicy story to get your brand into press.

Plan for the Future

Together, you and your PR agency should agree on a strategy including timings and KPIs. This should be a document that you’re both happy with that you can each refer back to week by week, month by month so you know where you are and what’s happening. Life does get in the way of the best laid plans and agencies are flexible enough to work around your changing business needs so don’t feel that your timing strategy is set in stone. If you need to change your focuses or tactics just let them know and they will accommodate you and your needs.

Expect the Best

You can ask and expect creative ideas from your new PR agency, share yours, get their input and see where your fledging relationship goes from there. A PR agency should be open to your input and also not afraid to guide and advise you on how they can tweak your ideas to achieve more coverage, followers or engagement – or even break the news to you that your brilliant idea is not quite as brilliant as you thought. An agency will be built on a team of experts so always remember that you’re investing in the team’s creativity and industry knowledge – a bunch of heads are better than one!

Communication is Key

This really is a two way street, you need to keep your agency fully up to speed with all developments your end, you might not think something is press worthy but your agency might know the journalist who’s looking for that angle. Your agency should also be in regular contact with you so you know what they are working on each week. This goes back to being flexible, a weekly email gives you the perfect prompt to change your agency’s focus for that week.  Communication also keeps goals on track as agencies will communicate with you at the end of each week to let you know how they’ve spent your hours and what they’ve achieved with them.

Do More

PR agencies don’t just stop at writing media releases and meeting journalists for you. Most offer a wide array of services, including creative campaigns, press trips, social media management, blogger campaigns, case study management, event management, internal communications, videography and photography services, design, web content creation and award applications. So next time you’re faced with a challenge, don’t overlook your PR agency, chances are they can help.

Be Realistic

This needs to happen from the word go and is key in establishing a successful, long-term relationship with your PR agency. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is PR, the most realistic expectation is that the process takes time. The best news is that PR usually offers the best ROI from the marketing mix, it often makes up the smallest part of the marketing budget whilst delivering the best results.

PR works best when it is supported by other marketing disciplines but remember PR is different to advertising. An agency doesn’t pay the publications or TV channels for the media exposure it secures, hard work and relationship cultivation does. It’s that third-party endorsement that gives PR its power and credibility.

Set Objectives

Work with your agency to set short term and long term objectives, these need to be reviewed regularly (monthly/ quarterly/ six monthly). Status meetings at agreed intervals with you and your agency can make sure that these objectives are on track and reflecting your focuses.

Who’s Doing What

In an ideal world there should be just one person from your end that is responsible for managing the agency. Too many people working with the agency at once or having to gain approval or input into written materials will slow the process down and limit the results your agency can achieve. Equally, you should have one point of contact at your agency so there’s no risk of mixed messages or instructions.

Do Your Bit

One of the most frustrating stumbling blocks for PR agencies is sending out a press release to journalists only to discover that your company spokesperson isn’t available for interview. It’s up to you to ensure a spokesperson is on hand and available for interviews on the day the story is pitched to journalists. This can be tricky with work commitments and meetings, but if you want to get the most out of your PR agency, you need to be able to provide a spokesperson who is actually available for interview. Journalists are notoriously short on time so if they have to chase, follow up, wait or hassle someone to get their story the likelihood is they’ll move onto the next message in their inbox that does offer all assets at their fingertips.

Honesty is the Best Policy

If you don’t like something your agency has done or the way they have handled something, don’t bottle it up – tell them. There’s no way issues can get ironed out without airing them. A good PR agency will want to address this issue and remedy it immediately by finding a solution that everyone’s happy with.

If your relationship with your PR agency doesn't read like this then get in touch with us and we'll give you the Sunny Bird PR treatment!

Email us at hello@sunnybirdpr.com or give us a call on 01202 293095