Marketing
Positive
Spin
EN editor Saul Leese
connects with leading
industry professionals to get
their take on PR during and
after Covid-19
T
Paul Richardson, MD, Vividink PR
It seems tempting, during a time of
national emergency, to think of PR,
marketing and promotion as somehow
undignified or crass. “How can you
think of promoting yourself at a time
like this?”.
This can be followed by the temptation
to improve your short-term cash flow
situation by trimming back, or even
cutting your PR and marketing spend
altogether. This is a mistake. The
unvarnished truth is that businesses
must market themselves, particularly
if they want to emerge from this
pandemic period in a fit state to survive
the tough times to follow. And PR is
the one tool in your business survival
toolkit that, right now, is going to be
very effective.
The news media and the trade press
are thirsty for news all the time. The
big news for the event industry, in the
absence of any actual events, has been
the creation of the Nightingale hospitals
- and the involvement of the industry
has been well reported. But otherwise
the newswires are growing quieter, and
that makes now the perfect moment to
speak.
There’s a surfeit of gloom and doom
stories for editors to choose from, so
positive, industry-relevant news will
here’s no denying it, the
second half of the year
looks like mayhem. And while
it’s a ‘happy headache’ to have,
it’s still a headache, as event
marketers find themselves in a
very different situation, and in
some cases having to reinvent
the wheel. Marketers are reliant
on a myriad of challenges, but
perhaps the most significant, is
creating a compelling argument
that helps restore visitor
confidence, and get people back
and buying at shows. PR has
a key role to play in all of this
because people believe what they
read, now more than ever, and
it’s still one of the cheapest parts
of the marketing mix.
be a welcome alternative for putting
together the day’s web news or this
month’s magazine.
Naturally, you need to be aware of
the tone of your news - in spite of this
opportunity, these are not normal times
- but don’t be ashamed of your successes
and don’t keep quiet about your
developments and innovations. When
the industry does rumble back to life, as
it must, the competition for attention
will be intense, and the businesses that
have been steadily feeding the news
machine during the quiet times will be
in pole position.
Top five tips to getting the best PR in a
crowded event schedule for Q3/Q4
When the industry restarts there will
be a cacophony of news, pitches, op-eds
and everything in between, all of it
thrown at media channels and their
editors. The noise will be deafening.
1. Pick your stories wisely - your news
has to be relevant to the readers of
the media channel, it’s going to be
something that an editor or journalist
believes their readers want to see.
2. Is it a big story or idea? If it is, pitch
it. When targeting a single channel,
the telephone is your friend, as is
any editor looking for good, solid
content. However, the opposite is
true, pitching fluff and puffery pieces
will not sit well with any editor worth
their salt. Pick up the phone and talk
to them.
3. Writing a news release - make sure
that it’s well written, structured
correctly, grammatically correct and
there are no typos - if an editor has
two good stories and one is good
to go but the other needs a lot of
work, guess which one will get the
coverage?
4. Photograph - always, and I cannot
stress this enough, always provide hi-
res, well-composed and well-exposed
images to support your story. A great
image can sell a story, it can tip the
balance in your favour if there’s
competition for space.
5. Follow it up. Who covered the news,
who didn’t? Who got back to you
with further questions? Get a feel for
which publications are naturally more
suited to your news and try pitching
an exclusive.
Paul Richardson,
MD, Vividink PR
May — 43