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National Business Media, PR And Newtonian Theory

01/08/2014 By Jayme Soulati

If you’ve kept abreast of news about national business media of late, you’d know a few are on the auction block while others are undergoing close scrutiny about revenue and future performance. Still more venerable brands are splitting partnerships.

What does this have to do with media relations, the arm of the public relations discipline oriented to earned media – getting stories to appear in news outlets based on the strength of clients’ news?
It is turning the entire media chain on its head; let’s take a closer look:

  • National media need owners with deep pockets.
  • Business leaders in the executive suite are leaving in droves.
  • Journalists writing for the publication know their necks are on the chopping block, too.
  • Editors are trying for business as usual, while crooking the head over the shoulder to see what’s coming.
  • Media relations experts who have built strong relationships with these business reporters now find these relationships drying up with uncertainty and the inability to say “maybe” to a national news story.
  • Clients who shell out oodles of retainer fees to agencies that promise results by way of earned media now may be seeing less positive confirmed responses about media relations projects.

I bet you didn’t know that Newtonian theory applied to national business media and PR did you?

So, what’s a guy to do? I’m just going to come clean and say, “Run, and take cover!”

Forbes is for sale. Fortune is splitting from CNNMoney.com due to a Time Warner divestiture, and Bloomberg Businessweek is under review in spite of its new found success being owned by Bloomberg Media. Time, Inc. is seeking new ways to improve its bottom line while Money magazine is also part of the split from CNNMoney.

Why The Shift in National Business Magazines?

The reason is quite simple; digital. Advertisers are truly hungry for more reach for the dollar, and the way to make this happen is by making websites work on higher digital scale than in the past.
Everyone knows how critical advertising revenue has been for journalism. It’s the elephant in the room. With now playing strong, business media executives are becoming hot commodities for this expertise so magazines can strengthen revenue.

Online publications designed for smart devices create opportunities for media to build new ad streams, too. If these, sometimes archaically thinking executives don’t get on board with digital and online publishing, then opportunities are weak to maintain a healthy bottom line.
I subscribe to about 25 different news outlets and other magazines monthly. The majority come via hard copy to my door because the deals I get are too good to pass up; something like $10 for the year with a gift subscription. Sadly, I’ve seen the ‘zines I rely on get thinner and thinner and then consolidate with sister publications. So, this shift in media is not just happening with the national business press; it’s happening in the verticals, too.

Media Relations Professionals

What this means for we who pitch media is the need to absolutely be on the money with stories reporters can’t refuse. Have you ever seen HARO lists of the queries reporters are seeking to write stories? They’re so bizarre and unconventional I’ve nearly stopped scanning for pitching opportunities.

It’s no wonder journalists are complaining every more forcefully about we who pitch stories. If you’re being paid by a client to pitch a story regardless of whether there’s news value, then please push back on the client and take a look at other ways to get that story some air time.

It will save your reputation; trust me. Meanwhile, media relations and public relations professionals need to and identify outlets, content marketing strategies, and other communication vehicles to share client news.

Because we come from a creative profession, this shouldn’t be too hard to do. I would look to content marketing and digital marketing as an opportunity to get some creative legs on client stories; it’s the next big thing in PR.

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Filed Under: Media Relations Tagged With: Bloomberg Businessweek, Content Marketing, Earned Media, Journalist, Marketing and Advertising, Media, Media Relations, Public Relations, Sir Isaac Newton, Theory of Motion

Using Comics In Annual Reports To Cut Clutter

04/22/2013 By Jayme Soulati

Credit: Loew's Annual Report via BusinessWeek.com

Credit: Loew’s Annual Report via BusinessWeek.com

In Bloomberg Businessweek April 22 – 28, 2013, a story about a comic book as an annual report was fetching enough to inspire this morning’s article. 

 The funny thing was, I read the name of the corporation using a comic book to inform shareholders as Lowe’s, my favorite giant hardware, lawn and garden store. Alas, the brand is Loews, just a transposition error.

 Loews is a holding company for hotels, sells business insurance, and produces energy. Imagine writing an annual report for a company as diverse as this.

 Its comic book annual report, also being called a graphic novel, stars Lotta Value, an investment hunter, who gallivants around Loews’s holdings and business units on adventures.

The creative team obviously had to think harder for this one. One critic of comic books in the article said the illustrations are “dead.” I’m impressed, but who am I?

Earned Media

Actually, I’m most impressed with the public relations team that earned nearly a two-page spread in Bloomberg Businessweek for Loews’s first foray into comic books as an annual report; complete with all the illustrations used in the “13-page graphic novel.”  

Corporate communications teams that write annual reports need to dig up inspired creativity to cut through communications clutter for shareholders, stakeholders and other interested audiences.  

 Using comics, however, is a crapshoot. Just the drawings alone have to be remarkable. For a corporation as diverse as Loews, the illustrations and copywriting have to be way above on the creatosphere.  It boils down to whether the concept appeals or if the communications team just doesn’t care.

 Bloomberg Businessweek’s take on all this is pretty believable, so I’m going with that:

 “The bottom line: Loews wants to attract more individual investors to its stock, which has returned an average of 16 percent annually for the past 50 years.”

 Using drawings and stories for annual reports means the company is ready to take a few risks and keep on going. With the birth of PI Lotta Value, the corporate communications team has a whole lotta (heh) opportunity to develop more communications vehicles featuring these cartoons. 

 I wonder if Lotta Value will become the next inspiration for a new TV series ala The Walking Dead? 

 The-Walking-Dead-Michonne.jpg

Michonne of The Walking Dead
By Jayme Soulati
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Filed Under: Planning & Strategy, Public Relations Tagged With: annual report, Art, Bloomberg Businessweek, Comic book, Comics, corporate communications, Earned Media, Graphic novel, Loew, Lowe, Public Relations, Retailers

What Is Owned Media And Why Publish?

08/03/2012 By Jayme Soulati

Credit: Juicy Agency blog

Everywhere the terms owned media, earned media and paid media are popping up. If you’re not familiar with these as a b-to-b marketer, it’s time to understand why these types of media are a necessary part of your strategy.

Earned Media

As a public relations practitioner with media relations expertise, we get coverage or stories for businesses in media. This is called earned media. For business-to-business marketing, PR is a critical strategy for campaign results. If you’d like to learn why, please ask in comments.

Paid Media

This is the coverage and ink you buy, like advertising. Everyone knows the value this brings, especially when larger budgets are available.

Owned Media

When you create and publish your own content, you own it. It’s called owned media. Think of the blog you write for your company, client or yourself. The words are yours, and you publish them on a self-hosted website (hopefully). The ideation to create these inspiring words is yours, too.

Ownership of your words; it sounds so pizzazzy and smart.

In the chaotic world that is social business and social marketing today, there is one pathway tried and true – owned media. No one says it’s easy street to publish content, but it’s a surefire way to garner attention for your smart words.

And, with a consistent publishing schedule, you can develop a rich archive of owned media – stories you’ve written with your byline.

 For Small-to-Medium Business

Owned media for small business is a way to level the playing field. You have a chance to differentiate your products and services in a nimble and expedient way. You can take an industry issue and get out front with counsel to clients and peers. You can become a thought leader with refreshed content that can only boost your presence, brand and positioning.

Level of difficulty? For sure, you need to know what you’re doing before you launch. Blogging, publishing regular newsletters and becoming a thought leader is not for the faint of heart – being consistent with content marketing is critical to success.

Larger Business

There are a variety of social marketing channels to engage with customers; as a larger business, you’re likely aware and already engaging.

If you’re not already owning content and pushing it on a blog or news center on your site, then you’re missing an opportunity to be an authority. There are many, many blog posts written “proving” blogs are dead. Heck, everything dies and comes back to life with inspiration and creativity. Look at bell bottom jeans, for goodness sake!

Marketing departments are often hard pressed to publish consistently; yet, when it happens, brands benefit. This type of strategic approach to owned media and content marketing is exactly what the doctor orders.

Your business-to-business marketing strategy is incomplete without it. Ask me why.

 

Filed Under: Blogging 101, Marketing Tagged With: B-to-B, Earned Media, Owned Media

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