Forbes. Associated Press. New York Times. Wall Street Journal. Do I have your attention? Of course I do! As the ‘golden goose’ of PR placements, unique features in these heavy-hitting, top-tier publications put your brand on the map, generate tremendous levels of brand awareness, brand recognition and cultivate a heightened level of consumer interest that can be felt across all marketing channels.
With that being said, it’s no surprise that every business actively seeks these opportunities – some even with a small army of PR enthusiasts dedicating their time solely to top tier outreach. Yet the vast majority fail to cut through the noise and efforts fall flat.
Give The Media A Reason To Care About Your Brand
While you might be saying to yourself: “This is easy! There’s nothing like us on the market – the media will love us!” The reality is that it’s probably time for you to take a step back, reevaluate your brand story and determine the biggest area of opportunity for your business within various media cycles. After all, if you’re so newsworthy and revolutionary, why haven’t you landed that top-tier media placement just yet?
Related: Not Getting PR Hits? Why the Media Doesn’t Care About Your Brand
Working closely with editors from these prestigious international outlets, I constantly hear how their inboxes are flooded with thousands of emails each and every day from brands all claiming to be innovators and disruptors. However, the hard truth is that very rarely is your product offering or service motivation enough to have the media cover you. What they’re really looking for is the untold story, the people-centric application, the emotional tug-at-your-heartstrings angle, the entrepreneurial perspective.
Ideal Top-Tier Placement Examples:
Check out a few stellar examples of unique and compelling storylines that resonated with top-tier media below – How does your business story stack up?
Outlet: Bloomberg
Headline:Sleep Soundly in the Great Outdoors With These Vintage-Inspired Cocoons
Why it worked: The small business featured here tapped into the publication’s human and emotional side by crafting and packaging a storyline that stirs up feelings of nostalgia in the reader. Drawing the connection between vintage trailers of decades past and people’s increasing desire to disconnect from their constantly connected lives, the brand was able to insert themselves into the media conversation while subtly communicating their personal brand.
Takeaway: What experiential parallels and connections can your brand make? Making your business and product offerings speak to your target audience on an emotional level through shared and common experiences is a surefire way to successfully pitch and snag the attention of a top-tier editor.
Outlet: Forbes
Headline:How This Millennial CEO Taps Into The True Power of Work-Life Balance
Why it worked: The brand featured here is none other than Power Digital Marketing! We secured this placement with a non-conventional entrepreneurial storyline that challenges people’s typical expectations and presents an alternative take on how to effectively lead and manage your company, as told by our CEO, Grayson.
Takeaway: What unconventional corporate and entrepreneurial methods does your executive team utilize? This can be anything from employee development initiatives to leadership tactics and advice to ongoing company perks – the point is to position your company in a unique and thoughtful way that cements your leadership brand.
Related: How to Write an Effective Media Pitch – Helpful Tips & Tricks
Placements focused on your company culture and business leadership style are an effective way to highlight your key brand messaging while subtly infusing and plugging your core product, service or offering. These types of top-tier opportunities and placements also enable you to showcase the human-side of your business, which builds an emotional connection to your personal brand; something people naturally gravitate towards and want to work with.
Outlet: New York Times
Headline:A Men’s Label, Born on Instagram
Why it worked: The brand featured here leveraged the media’s growing infatuation with Instagram and the emergence of new business opportunities that the platform and social media, in general, have created. Not only do they tap this industry trend, but they include celebrity endorsements and brand ambassadors to substantiate their offering and ultimately tell their brand story.
Takeaway: Do you have a roster of heavy-hitting clients that you can tap into? Naming industry-leading customers and brand ambassadors in your pitch tend to pique journalist’s interest and get them on the hook, opening the lines of communication and enabling you to tell your brand’s story to a highly qualified audience from A to Z.
Outlet: USA Today
Headline:In the Future We May Wave at our Smartphones
Why it worked: The brand featured here uncovered an emerging industry trend and offered bold predictions discussing the implications and transformative potential the trend possesses on a vast and futuristic scale. While the brand’s core product is discussed in the write-up, the true hook was the company’s ability to intelligently connect the dots and take a bold, authoritative stance.
Related: Why You Should Stop Sending Press Releases ASAP
Takeaway: What existing or emerging trends can your business become synonymously known for? The media is constantly looking for future gazing story ideas that draw connections between budding industry themes and large, impactful trends that have the potential to transform our lives and the world around us. Trend-based placements position your brand as an industry thought leader, trusted resource and a true innovator in the eyes of the consumer.
Wrapping Up
All in all, it’s critical that you transform yourself into a master storyteller when looking to secure these highly coveted top-tier placements, or at least begin thinking like one! Put yourself in the shoes of the journalist and their target audience. Determine the key elements your brand can deliver – commentary, customers, experts, trends and more. This way when you ultimately pitch the media you offer a thoughtful, comprehensive and compelling story wrapped with a pretty red bow; something no journalist can resist!
Granted this is easier said than done, yet the PR professionals here at Power Digital Marketing land these content placements on a regular basis. If you find yourself hitting a wall with unresponsive media, we would love to connect and help tell your brand’s unique story.
