I studied postmodern American literature in college (have a degree focusing on it, actually) and so the idea of recycling historical content and putting a new spin, or voice, on it rings a lot of familiar bells for me. It seems that advertising has started to catch up to other industries in its efforts to recycle and reuse the gold mine of existing content at their disposal to trigger attention with a wave of nostalgia.
The latest example comes from Gatorade which has recently started airing a refreshed version of its classic “Be Like Mike” commercial to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sports drink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r5Jf_ZU9eA&w=560&h=315
Watching this commercial got me thinking about potential lessons PR pros could learn or strategies we could adopt that we put to bed a while ago. After all, as reporters’ inboxes flood with competing pitches and voicemail boxes overflow and remain unchecked, it seems like a good time to look to the past to see what we can pull out, dust off and put to good use. Here are a few examples:
Letters and press kits – for the most part, these have gone electronic for the sake of speed and convenience. Sure, it saves a journalist’s time when they can simply copy and paste from an email or word doc, but if the goal is to get their attention, maybe it’s time we send a good ol’ fashioned hard copy of the release on letterhead with a hand-written or signed pitch. Just be sure to include a link to a digital version of the release, or, if you’ve got an overflowing stash of cheap USB drives, drop one in the envelope containing the release and any supporting artwork or materials.
Faxes – OK, admittedly, we buried faxing pitches and press releases because they were the worst of all worlds. Sure, they arrived quickly, but they were often hard to read, they couldn’t be copied and pasted, and fax machines made terrible noises. But hey, we’re trying to get creative with old ideas, right? With that in mind, if you find a fax number listed for a reporter or media outlet and you’ve tried emails and phone calls without success, why not try an exploratory fax? It should at least get somebody’s attention, should the machine still be hooked up.
Grab lunch, or a drink, or go to a baseball game – a lot of media outlets don’t allow their reporters to accept lunches, sports tickets, etc., for fear of conflicts of interest; but for those that do, reach out to a reporter and offer to meet them outside of the office. Reporters are people too, and getting away from a hectic job for even a little while can be a nice respite. Here’s the key, business should only be a small part of the discussion; cover the news, story angles, what the reporter needs for upcoming stories, etc.; just don’t expect coverage in return. Treat these opportunities as a way to build relationships, trust and knowledge – if you do it right, the reporter is much more likely to take your email or phone call down the road.
These are just a few of the ideas which could be revisited from the past but I’m sure there are more. Feel free to share yours with us.