Marketing Happy Hour - BONUS! Q+A Panel: Public Relations

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi everyone, thank you so much for joining us for our PR panel today. We're super excited to have Christine and Aaron with us. They're PR experts in their field and you're going to learn a lot from them. But since this is Marketing Happy Hour, we do just need to know quickly your favorite go-to happy hour drink. Right now I am obsessed with any kind of a spritz, a Negroni's Baleato or a Limoncello spritz. I feel like Aperol had its moment. I'm moving past it. And right now I'm going for the more niche ones. I was wondering if you were going to say the same answer as me because it is spritz season.

Starting point is 00:00:38 Is Aperol or Hugo spritz is really my go-to now. I've switched teams. I love those. Aren't the, is that like St. Germain, uh, elderflower. Okay. I love that so much. And there's also now people are doing limoncello spritzes, which is like, Oh, I could just have that every single day. I am a, uh, spritz major spritz fan. It's hilarious. Like anyone who's listened to this podcast, even a couple of times may know that. Um, and even during the winter, I used to live in New York city, Christine. So even in the winter, I would order spritz and get heavily made fun of by my friends, but it's okay.

Starting point is 00:01:15 You know, funnily enough, Aperol spritz becoming such a thing here in the U S was a PR campaign. I believe it was by Wunderman Thompson. And they basically seeded that out in the Hamptons with influencers, creators, and making sure it was talked about everywhere. So that was actually a result of PR campaigns. It's a perfect segue to our topic today. Oh my gosh. I love that. It's an absolutely perfect segue. So on that, because we are talking about all things PR, I have to know from both of you, just kind of an example of a successful PR campaign you've worked on, whether it's recently or just, you know, in the past in any of your positions you've held, tell us all about those.

Starting point is 00:01:57 Sure. So actually for the podcast that I co-host with Yanni and Melissa, who are both creatives over at the creative agency TWHA at DLA. We, when we were launching our podcast this spring, it's called House of Content. You can find it on all the socials at it's House of Content. And we talk about creator economy and viral trends, TikTok, all that good stuff. And so when, when we were launching, I thought to myself, you know, I've done PR for a while. And again, right now or at that time, I was freelancing. So I wasn't really associated with any company. So I just decided to put together a little pitch around not just the podcast, but also us as creatives, as advertising professionals.

Starting point is 00:02:41 And I sent it to maybe a half a dozen industry outlets, you know, the ad weeks, the ad ages, the drum. And we got a hit with News by Clio and they actually came back to us and asked if we would be, if we would like to be part of their five minutes with creatives interview series, where they send these really fun,

Starting point is 00:02:59 quirky, different types of questions. And, you know, a lot of the people in the industry that I really admire, like super high up creative professionals quirky different types of questions. And, you know, a lot of the people in the industry that I really admire, like super high up creative professionals and leaders have been on that series. So I was blown away by the fact that our little, you know, I sent it from our little Gmail and was able to place that story on Muse by Clio, which has been one of my career bucket lists of getting it on. So that's, that's a recent example of successful PR that I've been able to place in the industry media. Oh my goodness, I love that. In my role for press PR and marketing, I lead PR for

Starting point is 00:03:30 Outback Steakhouse. And so lead PR nationally, they just had a launch for their new sweet heat season menu on July 26. But the PR for that started months in advance before anyone knew about it or could enjoy it in restaurant. We were setting up tastings all across the U.S. with media friends, new and old. We were setting up interviews to talk about how hot honey is just a trend taking over the food and beverage industry right now. We all have a taste for that. And it was really exciting to see that once that embargo was lifted, which just means that we were able to let the news be live to everyone else. In about a week, we had 31 placements. We had them in a variety of

Starting point is 00:04:12 publications, which is always good to see. So we had those lifestyle publications like People and Today, Parade, Yahoo. We also had a lot of those trade industry publications like All Recipes, Tasting Table, Restaurant Business. So a lot of different perspectives on the same news, a lot of different angles and a lot of excitement. So. That is so, so cool. And Erin, I didn't know that you ran PR for Outback. We have a little tie in there. I used to intern for their parent company, Bloomin' Brands there in Tampa. So very familiar with the brand and that's really, really cool. Okay. Both of you, I'm curious to hear, this is kind of a broad question, but I'm excited to hear your

Starting point is 00:04:51 answers. What advice do you have for brands that are looking to land PR placements for their products just in general? Erin, how about you go first? So what I would say is to think of what you can do for them, not what they can do for you. That's the best place to start is just by putting yourself in their shoes and getting to know them, really immersing yourself and familiarizing yourself with the media landscape, with those within your industry and what topics they're covering, what the trends are right now, what's happening in the world, and how your product relates to that and how you can add value. That's excellent advice. And I think also, and this is maybe a little bit

Starting point is 00:05:30 of a hot take or harsh advice, but your story as a brand is probably not as interesting as you think it is. I think that, and it's great that especially if you look at smaller companies and brands and even with bigger brands where you've had marketers working there for a long time, everybody drinks the Kool-Aid and not always questions if the narrative, if your story is really interesting from a press and more importantly, from a consumer point of view. So that's the first point. You can have the best relationships with reporters, but if you don't have a compelling story to tell, then you don't have a lot. And I think that, you know, the hot honey example that you mentioned is fantastic, because there then it's not all about you. But it's also you tying your story into something that is topical. And I think that something that I'm seeing really becoming a huge trend in the area of PR right now is partnerships. So how can you bring in maybe another non-competing brand and work together with them and do something out of the box?

Starting point is 00:06:34 You know, for example, Adidas partnering with Simpsons on doing that shoe where Homer Simpson is coming out of that bush. Right. And that that's actually in that shoe. So again, just one example of how you can bring these unexpected collaborations and bringing those to market. And also I think that working with creators is a really interesting new avenue for a lot of brands to get that press. Everybody's talking about Alex Earl and the likes.

Starting point is 00:07:03 And so if you're able to get into that world, I think creators are very much becoming, they used to be looked at as a media buy, right? You're buying a placement on social with a person who has a following. And now I actually think it's more of an awareness play. And it's more of a PR play for a lot of brands too. Oh, I totally agree with that. And that is so topical to things that we've been talking about, even on this show, we just had a couple of weeks ago, someone who's open for hire in that creator celebrity influencer space. And then we also had on the media relations supervisor from McDonald's, his name is Jacob. We had him on the show earlier this year, and he was talking all about their

Starting point is 00:07:43 experiences with that. Like he was able to create messaging around that menu item or the Cardi B and Offset menu item and things like that. And those are just so impactful and tie into different moments that are going on in pop culture or just regular, you know, everyday life for people. Along those lines, I would love to know what do typical lead times look like for placements in different publications. So I kind of want to know the differences between like a small publication, a medium or large scale, and then also the differences between like print, you know, just, you know, social media mentions or online articles and things like that. So whoever has a good way to sum that up, let me know. I don't think there is a simple way to

Starting point is 00:08:35 answer that question, just because it really depends on the season on the industry. Like, I've done a lot of tech PR, a lot of agency PR, a lot of B2B PR. And so when we are working with stories where, for example, a reporter is looking for a quote on, let's say, Meta just came out with their earnings call and they said that they're looking forward to a strong quarter. What does this mean for brands? And let's say you have a Digiday or an Adweek reporter writing an article about it. The lead time could be as fast as you have to give us a quote within the next few hours. I've been in that situation for many times. And then that article comes out the next day. But then if you are building out for a, you know, you're pitching,

Starting point is 00:09:16 for example, your company story, let's say you're a new CPG brand, it could take three to six months just to build out that familiarity with the reporters and getting your founders in front of these reporters for informational interviews. And if they don't have a specific task to write up about a certain industry, then they're just going to fit it in whenever they feel comfortable enough or it fits in the editorial calendar. So it really, really depends on what the agenda of the publication, the reporter is, and also where you are in terms of the overall awareness as a brand. Absolutely. That is, I'm so glad for how you brought that

Starting point is 00:09:56 to everyone's attention because it's so true. And I'm glad you brought up the difference between reactive and proactive PR because that really makes such a difference in the timeframe. Reactive is that joke about the PR, it's PR, not the ER kind of situation. It's going to be quick. We're going to need that quote, turnaround would be like a day, sometimes less. It can be really pretty crazy. But when it's proactive and you're the one reaching out for those opportunities, it'll be a bit longer. I'd say for just so that you have something to go off of as a listener, typically we aim for at least two weeks. At least two weeks lead time is what I would give my clients. Please, please, please help me help you. Let's go for at least two weeks. But like you said, there's so many factors, not just the size of the publication. I would actually more say the format. So if that's print versus broadcast or online radio and podcast.

Starting point is 00:10:56 Also, whether it's news that you're sharing under embargo, like it's secret and you have some time to work on it before it goes out there, or if it's real time, um, real time news. Uh, and even if you're looking at freelancers, say it is for online, if you're looking at freelancers versus, um, standard publication. Yeah, I completely agree. Thank you for that. That's, um, really important to know the differences between those different types of, uh, PR, those avenues that you can take with your stories. So thanks so much for sharing that.

Starting point is 00:11:29 So I have a question as a lot of brands are probably thinking coming up is holiday, right? And there's a lot of buzz around holiday gift guides. In the past, I've done pitching and I've been on the receiving end of tons of pitches for a media company, just talking about new products and product inclusions on things like gift guides.

Starting point is 00:11:50 Do you have any advice for people who want to stand out, you know, in that area and how to kind of approach the timeline on that? Because I know that people are already looking and it's August. So I think there's such a discrepancy between how companies view when the holiday season starts and when it actually starts and when reporters start to write about it. And especially in my world of the world of like B2B and marketing and advertising, a lot of the agencies and tech providers and also brands, you know, you start thinking and producing your holiday campaigns like in May, June, like getting everything ready.

Starting point is 00:12:34 But reporters in the industry aren't really going to start talking about them until I want to say like October, sometimes even just like after Halloween. And so I think that you have to, first of all, you have to be mindful of and maybe look at the publications, your target publications where you want to be featured in and see what's the timeline, when did they start talking about it last year? And who are the reporters that typically cover that? And again, I think it's about tying your story, not just this is a great gift, but actually tying that back into what's happening

Starting point is 00:13:10 in the world and in the culture overall. Like, can you pull in a TikTok trend that's really hot right now? And does your product fit into that? And will it again serve the reporter? Will it serve the consumer? And I think that's great. The fact that you were bringing in that online element, since I know that this podcast is

Starting point is 00:13:31 typically geared towards marketers, that's something that they can do to think with a PR hat on is thinking of how the online conversation that they're seeing and taking part in, how that can lead to media, how that then shows that your product is trending in this way or with these consumers. I'd say some practical tools that you can have for those gift guide opportunities that we know are coming up and so sought after would be through those resources like Harrow and Quoted that can bring you those opportunities. But more so even than that, I would really urge everyone, like we said, of doing your homework and getting to know the media landscape and who your best writers would be that match up with what you're looking for. Follow them on

Starting point is 00:14:16 their Substack newsletters. That's where they're, that's where they migrated to. That's where they're looking for those opportunities and welcoming pitches on different topics, the gift guides, and also on LinkedIn. Editorial calendars can also be helpful. That's a longer lead time. So these would be for the quicker turnarounds. Other than that, I would say, look at what was done last year. Even reach out to that person. Say, are you planning to replicate that this year? Because my product fits in XYZ way. And really give them everything that you can to make their lives easier. It's always, how can I make the life easier for the media person?

Starting point is 00:14:56 So if you can tie everything up with a nice bow of the photos, videos, the copy that goes along with it, that'll really increase your odds as well. And I would also add to that, you should be engineering domain authority around the holiday and the gifting stories across your own and operated channels. So don't just have a great story packaged up in a nice little PR pitch,

Starting point is 00:15:20 but then you're not talking about it to your audience at all. You could actually be building out that story, let's say on TikTok, on your social media, through your newsletters. And so building out to that story moment. And so then when you're reaching out to your, to the reporters, you can link back to your your social media or TikTok, like, hey, this is the story that we're telling around our product for the holidays. And that's also giving the reporter something more tangible and digestible other than just five bullet points on why your product is great for the holidays.

Starting point is 00:15:54 Yeah, I also think that speaks to the fact that when you're pitching on a specific topic, making sure that when these reporters land on your own channels, as you mentioned, there's relevant information that kind of backs up those claims or information on the product or service. So that's a great piece of advice there. Erin, I also love that you mentioned Harrow, which is a favorite platform of mine. And I know Erica and we all talk about it all the time on this podcast.

Starting point is 00:16:20 Along those lines, because Harrow is a free resource that is available to really any outlet or brand to use and to connect with potential reporters speaking on different topics that are relevant to your brand. Are there any other resources or tips that you all have for low budget PR options? Is it monitoring Twitter or X I should say now to kind of engage in some conversations with the reporters? Do you have any tips for just low cost options for stuff like that and gaining placements? I would, unfortunately, I'm probably a broken record, but I would, you know, just urge people to get to know the writers and follow them where they prefer to be followed.

Starting point is 00:17:00 You can even actually as another free workaround, if you look up a writer and you find them on muckrack yes muckrack is something that you have to pay for to actually get their email address and everything but a lot of times you can still see their pitch preferences so it'll tell you like time of day that they want to be contacted and different platforms to follow them on and so reaching them there is a workaround for people that are just getting into the PR landscape following them on those newsletters is where they're asking to be contacted. So that is going to be an incredible resource for everyone to take them up on that. And LinkedIn as well. Yes, Twitter, but they also

Starting point is 00:17:36 have their journal requests, hashtag on LinkedIn. And I would also say that when you're reaching out, sometimes it's actually easier to get in the door through the junior staff, junior editors, junior writers, because again, they have a little bit more time on their hands than the editor in chief or the more or their managers. And so I've had success in reaching out to them first, and then they would put me in touch with the person actually writing or in charge of deciding whether this is going to be featured or not. So that's an easy way. And then I would also say, rethink what you classify as PR. Again, working at an influencer agency, I work at Billion Dollar Boy. Obviously, I'm going to be preaching all about the creator economy.

Starting point is 00:18:22 But there is truth to that. So if you think about where you first go these days, so let's say you're interested in trialing out a new hair product as a consumer, I don't think you're going to allure.com anymore and searching and seeing if they've written about it. Yeah, you might Google. A lot of us go on TikTok these days, and we're going to see if people are making content and doing reviews and trialing out different products there on that platform. So I would look at user-generated content as an additional support, and it can be pretty low cost, especially if you're going with

Starting point is 00:18:56 micro with smaller influencers and creators. And that's a great way to actually also amplify your PR message. You just have to think about it in a different way, a different lens. Absolutely. Because that can establish consumer demand a lot of times and the timely and trendiness of it, which is a big question of like, why should I care? Which is on the minds of all media people and their readership, why should they care? So I love incorporating what's going on with marketing and social media in my pitches to give me that credibility. So linking to whatever influencer work was going on or letting them know that, you know, such and such term is going viral right now on like search term on TikTok,

Starting point is 00:19:38 anything that you can do there. And I would also, I mean, any chance that you have for looking into reports that are going on in the industry, even like Pinterest's report of like, what's, what's the conversation and how can you join it? And like you said, with reaching out to maybe not always going to the editorial director, you know, diversifying who you're speaking to. But even in addition to that, I would just, I would encourage everyone to approach PR with authenticity and really give a genuine compliment every once in a while.

Starting point is 00:20:10 Don't ask for anything in return. Just tell them that I'm a reader and I really enjoyed this and this meant something to me. And if I can ever be a resource for you, let me know. That is one of those longer leads. But it really makes you stand out and is a positive relationship building moment there. Fantastic. Well, you both have already kind of mentioned a couple of tips around this question, but what are some additional steps that us marketers can take to help the brands we work for stand out to editors and journalists? You know, you mentioned making

Starting point is 00:20:43 sure there's content, tangible, creative on social to kind of back up some of these topics we're speaking to, but anything else around, you know, website content, social media content, blogs, really anything else you can speak to in terms of making sure that partnership between marketing and PR is really infused and tight knit. It's all about the value offer. And again, reporters, regardless of the industry, they love data and insights. So if you're able to bring in an original data backed angle on your product, on a consumer behavior, whether it's like how, I don't know how the types of beauty products that women are buying this season, whatever it may be. And if you're able to offer something that can help the publication or reporter write a unique story, that's really

Starting point is 00:21:30 going to garner the audience's interest. I think that's something that works really well. And again, it needs to whatever data or insights you're offering, always think through how it ties back into your brand story and supports it. So don't just go and commission research just for the sake of it. Like make sure that it really supports your brand story as a whole. I just preach. I literally love that. It's a tough, it's a tough ask a lot of times to ask someone to be willing to share some kind of data point like that, but numbers get you so far. So if there is something that you're proud of and you feel comfortable sharing, that will always increase your odds.

Starting point is 00:22:15 And then if you can't do that, a workaround, like you said, would be any kind of industry or consumer insights. People want to know what's trending. It's what makes you curious too. What have I been learning through my brand? What am I seeing? Why am I making some of the choices that I'm making? Am I pivoting in a really interesting way that others might learn from? But even beyond that, I would say, ask yourselves early and often, is this newsworthy? Just, you said it earlier, and it is probably like the number one thing PR people just want to like scream from the rooftops, is just not forgetting

Starting point is 00:22:53 when you're in the weeds, to take a step back every once in a while and just say, is this newsworthy? And be honest with yourself and open to that answer potentially not being what you want it to be, because it still gives you the opportunity to find a way to make it newsworthy. Sometimes it's adding on an influencer or partnership, like you were saying, that can make all the difference and is a nice compliment to what you've already been working on. But just trying to find that story and, you know, thinking in terms of the people that you're speaking to. I want that on a t-shirt, by the way. Literally.

Starting point is 00:23:31 Yes. T-shirts coming soon. I love it. Oh my gosh. Well, this conversation has gone by so fast, but we're so grateful to you both for all of the wonderful answers that you shared. Where can listeners find you both and follow along with what you're up to? Christine, how about you go first? Sure. So you can find me obviously on LinkedIn, you can find a Christine Goose on on TikTok and Instagram. But my podcast house of content, it's on all of the regular podcasting platforms. We're on Spotify, we're on Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. And we're also on social media at it's house of content. You just got to follow for me, I would say, you know, follow me on, send me a, you know, a connection on LinkedIn. I love having creators improve my feed there and get to experience their brilliance. So my name is Erin Murphy, check me out on LinkedIn. Otherwise,

Starting point is 00:24:23 if you want more frequent updates about me and my clients you can go to at this is press on Instagram see what my company's up to otherwise it's my personal Instagram for if you want to know what happy hours I'm at three r-i-n murphy on Instagram the three is a play on the cursive e amazing and we'll link everything in the show notes below so people don't have to scribble it down and they know where to go to just click and get right to you guys. So thanks again for joining us. This has been great.

Marketing Happy Hour - BONUS! Q+A Panel: Public Relations

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