Pokèmon GO and PR: Both Take Lots of Balls

By Julie Wright, President & Founder, (W)right On Communications, Inc. and Level 17 Pokémon GO Trainer

Pokémon GO has swept the world and I have not been immune. These days, I’m either hustling for my client partners or capturing Pokémon and increasing my experience points (XP). As I move up to each new level in Pokémon GO or capture another rare or high combat power (CP) critter, I can’t escape the feeling that being a Pokémon trainer is a lot like being a publicist.

1. Trainers are always hatching eggs while PR pros are always hatching ideas

As a Pokémon GO trainer, you should always be incubating at least two or three eggs, which will hatch into new Pokémon. You basically place a 2-km, 5-km or 10-km egg in an incubator and while you’re in hot pursuit of Pokémon, the app records your walking distance notifying you when your eggs are ready to hatch into a new Pokémon for your collection.

This is no different from a publicist’s continual pursuit of new ideas and angles to pitch. While you’re driving, in the shower or waiting for Pokémon GO’s servers to come back online (right?!), a good publicist is always thinking of new ideas for how to win exposure for their clients or brand.

2. Always on the hunt

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The Pokémon hunter has to be equipped with the tools to do the job (like Pokéballs, raspberries, lures, incense and stuff). Then they go out to target-rich environments—like malls, parks, points of interest and, yes, cemeteries–looking for Pokéstops with active lures and seeking out the highest CP Pokémon they can capture.

The publicist is armed with tools too—like their media database, reading and research, relationships and storytelling skills–as they hunt out the highest value media hit they can. While the Pokémon trainer covets a Snorlax or Dragonite in their Pokédex, the publicist wants that Wall Street Journal or Today Show in their clippings report.

3. Luck (kind of) plays a part

In Pokémon GO, players get a lucky egg. It’s one that you can activate and during the next 30 minutes receive twice the XP when you evolve your Pokémon or capture one. Really, a player should hold off evolving anything until a lucky egg is activated. Lucky egg is a bit of a misnomer because there’s really no luck involved—just common sense and a game plan. Well, a good publicist knows that there really is no such thing as luck in this business. Luck is just what happens when opportunity meets preparation. When you’ve got your messaging, materials and spokesperson all lined up and then you bump into the right opportunity at the right time, that’s not luck. That’s just how it’s supposed to work when you’ve done your job.

While the clock on the lucky egg is continually winding down, the publicist’s window of opportunity is always closing. Being lucky just means being ready.

4. Increasing your XP through street smarts

Pokémon GO has no user guide or playbook. If you want to advance in the game, you’ve got to figure it out for yourself. Use your street smarts, be resourceful by researching what other players have learned and grow your skills and ranking through experience. Basically, the more Pokéballs you toss out there, the better you’re going to get. Eventually, as your tosses get better and better, you’ll earn extra XP for Nice, Great and Excellent tosses. Curve balls will also get you more points and typically are better at catching rare and high CP Pokémon.

The publicist isn’t getting scored like this, but if you’re a PR pro, you’ll recognize immediately how similar the augmented reality game is to the real-world principles that apply to your professional growth. You can only learn to pitch media by doing it. You can only get better at it by doing more of it. When your pitches get good, you start scoring higher hits. (Hmm. Maybe publicists should develop “Experience Points” just like Pokémon GO to measure their expertise. Anyone?) And if you can master that curve ball – a perfect man bites dog, counter-intuitive pitch with a compelling story arc – then you’re at the top of your game.

5. Do the legwork!

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Another feature of the game is that you must walk. A lot. You will find more Pokémon when you’re on the move. In addition, walking is how you incubate your eggs. Two, five and 10 kilometer walks are required to hatch new Pokémon or tools. So too does legwork define success in PR. You’ve got to seek out information on your media targets – what kinds of stories do they do, what have they covered lately, how is your client or brand’s story of interest to them and their audience, and most importantly, what’s their contact info?

If you haven’t played Pokémon GO, it’s probably hard to understand some of these comparisons.

It can be the same way with non-PR people who don’t get the legwork part. They think publicists write press releases and then just push a magic button to blast them off to an enormous list of media who are hungry to read and parse their every word. (And because of this, they’re often surprised that the results they seek will take many hours and an accompanying budget to produce.) But, here’s the thing, if you don’t do the legwork as a publicist, you’ll piss off journalists and be ineffective. Really, the entire raison d’etre of the @SmugJourno Twitter feed and Bad Pitch Blog could be attributed to the short-cutters in our field who can’t be bothered to put in the legwork.

So, my PR friends, I urge you to get out there and hatch ideas like Pokémon eggs, catch those high CP media hits while building up your XP, be prepared to get lucky and put in the legwork to do it right and make our profession look its best!

And, two more pieces of advice. First, don’t forget to restore yourself. Be sure to visit the gym so you’re ready for battle (in Pokémon GO and in real life) and make time to hit up whatever bar, or Pokéstop, stocks your preferred potion. And, second, don’t forget that both PR and Pokémon GO reward those who put their balls out there.

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Hospitality PR 101: How to Nail that TV Interview

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By Shae Geary, Senior Communications Strategist

Working with local TV stations is a great way to promote hospitality client partners. From special events to staycation specials, hotels and destinations often produce interesting fodder for morning news programs that want to share unique local personalities and fun activities with their viewers. Getting the attention of TV producers and reporters requires the right pitch, and there’s more than one way to do it. For a chance at an on-camera spotlight, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Visuals! Movement!

One of my most memorable segments involved a reporter broadcasting from a plush hotel bed on the deck of a newly opened ocean view hotel pool. It was not only quirky and fun, but also succeeded in showing off both the hotel pool and its world-famous bedding in a way that was more visually interesting than a bed in a hotel room. TV is a visual medium, so anything that plays to the camera, whether interesting, unexpected, unusual or just bright and colorful, has a better chance of nabbing a reporter’s interest. It’s equally important for segments to have movement and activity, such as a chef cooking up a signature dish or guests playing in the pool. In your pitch, offer some ideas for the types of activities that can be featured on camera. The more likely a reporter is to visualize the segment, the better your chances of securing coverage.

Bring The Hotel to The Studio

In-studio TV appearances are a great alternative when a TV station can’t come to you. In your pitch, offer ideas for bringing a destination experience to the studio. We recently had success working with a local TV station to promote a romantic sunset beach picnic program. The picnic scene was recreated on the studio’s back lot and paired with a live chef’s demonstration of making an easy, aphrodisiac inspired salad. It was a pretty close second to actually doing the segment on the beach and succeeded in conveying the program’s dreamy, coastal vibe.

Exclusive Access

Viewers love to go behind the scenes, so seize the day when the opportunity arises. To generate excitement and positive community buzz for a new TV show filmed in Oceanside, (one of our destination client partners), we invited a local reporter to spend a day on-set with special access to wardrobe, props, cast trailers and show producers. The segments were a hit because the audience was able to experience the show from a perspective usually limited to cast and crew. For a hotel client, ideas for segments could include access to an exclusive Presidential Suite or over-the-top guest experience.

Partnerships

If a hospitality client partner doesn’t have a particularly compelling story to tell, all is not lost! Linking up with complementary non-profits or local businesses can be just the ticket for nabbing some airtime. A good example is the recent partnership between Cape Rey Carlsbad resort and Project Mermaid. The ocean view hotel pool was the perfect backdrop for a live TV remote that highlighted special mermaid photo sessions, where a local TV personality joined in on the fun. The project helps raise money for ocean conservation, a cause also supported by the hotel. In each segment, the hotel was identified by beautiful shots of the pool and surrounding coastal view. The TV segments drew huge interest, as did social media posts from the shoot.

If you are looking to get your business on TV, let us help! We’d love to chat, so give us a call or visit us here.

Hospitality PR Pros: Interview, Don’t Pitch, Travel Writers

By Julie Wright, President

Twitter: @juliewright

What happens when 25 travel media and an equal number of hospitality PR professionals are put in a room together for lunch? First, it gets really loud.

Second, if those 25 travel media are from Vancouver and the travel PR pros are from California (including destination marketing professionals from San Diego and Palm Springs), they’ll quickly find a lot in common.

For example, Vancouver media like sunshine: we have a ready supply! They like active outdoor fun: we make great hiking, surfing and cycling buddies. They’re into fresh, healthy and creative dining washed down with a delicious craft beer: all are abundant in San Diego and California.

A couple weeks ago was National Tourism and Travel Week in the U.S., and I spent Tuesday at a Visit California luncheon at the Vancouver Art Gallery talking with Canadian travel media about our client partner Visit Oceanside.

The format of the event was a progressive luncheon where the media stayed at one of five tables and the hospitality PR representatives rotated to a new table with each course. It was a fast, fun way to make sure everyone got a chance to connect and enjoy quality time.

I have attended similar events in Vancouver and the Bay Area about a year to a year and a half ago. At those events I was representing all of our hospitality PR clients – from Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to hotel and resort properties in Carlsbad, Del Mar, North Park, the Gaslamp, Coronado and Borrego Springs. Each has unique qualities (natural splendor, historic preservation, beach fun, desert serenity, hipster chic, family escapes, spas, wellness, fantastic dining and stargazing) and I felt such pressure to get each of their stories out and cram all of the information I could into every encounter I had. At the conclusion of those prior events, I felt like I hadn’t really made the connections or created the opportunities that I had set out to build.

With that in mind, I changed my approach for this luncheon. Instead of trying to get my story out, I focused first on the travel writer’s stories. I learned as much as I could in the time available–what do you write about, who do you write for, what drew you to travel writing, what have you written about most recently, what kinds of stories do you like to tell, what do you think of San Diego and California?

And a funny thing happened. I learned enough about each writer and TV producer to know which travel experiences and story angles would resonate with them. I now know who wants to cover skate parks and extreme sports spotlighting Oceanside’s active lifestyle opportunities. I know who wants to pursue the perfect fish taco. I know who might like to drive the Hops Highway (or at least sit shotgun for a North County beer tour). More than that, I also felt like I made some new friends and sincerely hope to welcome these folks to Oceanside over the coming year and share a future meal or drink with them.

All that is left to do now is ask them what time of year they’d like to make the trip, follow up and get it on everyone’s calendar.

At (W)right On Communications, we’re always evaluating and evolving our approach to getting our clients’ stories out. If you have a hospitality story you want promoted, we’ve got the perfect connection. Get in touch and we’ll match your story with the ideal storyteller.

Essential Tips for Producing Effective Digital Content

By Joaquín Enríquez, Communications Specialist

Whether a seasoned writer or an aspiring blogger, crafting noteworthy digital content requires more than technique: it requires a unique mixture of the right tools with a strategy that is unique to your personality or brand. Web copy is scanned or glanced at. Not read. So using the appropriate writing techniques can make the difference between your story being a hit or total flop. Consider adding the following digital tools to your toolkit, they will act as the cornerstone of your digital media strategy:

WRITE CATCHY HEADLINES

You’re busy, we’re all busy. When you write your headline, think about writing for people who are in a hurry. To grab optimal audience interest, it’s imperative to write a compelling headline. Consider incorporating the following attention grabbing techniques to better engage the reader:

  • Give the reader a reason to read/click
  • Create emotion in the reader (tug on their heartstrings)
  • Make an audacious promise
  • Use numbers (Readers don’t want to be kept guessing, so why not set expectations for your content?)
  • Include trending text

You should also avoid using complicated jargon, keep your headline short, and most importantly, write it last–you want to be able to ensure your content is living up to your headline’s promise.

The following example is brief, concise, uses a number, avoids using complicated words, and promises to help improve reader productivity:

WANT YOUR MESSAGE TO STICK?

Now that you’ve grabbed the attention of the audience, interaction and engagement are the keys to maintaining it. Effective interaction asks questions of the reader, uses lists, uses all available resources including hyperlinks and uses the chunking method where the story is broken into parts. To assist your storytelling efforts:

  • Use images: When it comes to visual story telling in new age media, the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words,” still rings true, as is powerfully demonstrated in the following image:

Digital Media

  • Have a point: NPR’s Scott Simon reminds journalists of something that is easy to overlook- every story must have a point. People should be able to walk away from a story and tell it to others, as he explains in the following video:

SQUEEZE EVERY OUNCE OF VALUE OUT OF THOSE 140 CHARACTERS

Twitter has created a quick and easy way to share information, but with its 140 character limit, it can be tricky to be heard above the crowd. To maximize your tweet’s potential and increase brand visibility, you must be current, use strategic and timely hashtags, add images and not be afraid to share links.

This tweet by Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, is both current and relevant, uses an eye-catching image, includes a hyperlink and encourages fan interaction with the use of hashtags:

“Video of the 20-man squad list for the match against Málaga.”

These essentials should help writers of all levels build a solid understanding of the ways that the Internet has introduced new opportunities for dynamic storytelling. Does your tool box have the power of persuasion, visibility, navigability, objectivity and the focus of writing for a specific web audience? If not, adding these tools should lead to a more flourishing digital career.

Don’t Be Guilty of the Two Worst PR Writing Habits

By: President, Julie Wright

Twitter: @juliewright

If I read another Tweet, Facebook post or quote in a press release that starts with “We are excited…,” I’m going to shoot myself.

There’s only one person in the world who is excited by your excitement, and that’s your mom.

What I need to know is why I should care. Why is this at least interesting to me?

Call it WIFM (What’s In It For Me) or just common sense, but your communication—be it 140 characters, a 10-minute speech or an entire campaign—must meet some basic need in your target audience for it to be effective.

The only sin worse than “We are excited…” or “We are pleased…” in a press release quote is to open your release with the awesomely redundant lede, “XYZ Company announces today that…”

A press release is an announcement so it’s quite unnecessary, Captain Obvious, to tell the reader you’re announcing something. That is assumed. Seeing this laziness makes me want to put a stick in my eye.

What if every press release followed this mundane structure? Then, I beg you, put two sticks in my eyes. (I’m sure journalists who look at hundreds of press releases each day feel the same way. If you’re a journalist, I’d love to hear your press release beefs in the comments section below!)

Sadly, a search of PRWeb’s news feed showed over 20 releases with quotes containing “We are pleased…” in just one day!

These are the bane of even mediocre, let alone good, PR writing.

So fight the urge to boast.

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Add a touch of creativity to stand out.

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And avoid stating the obvious.

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How can you avoid these writing traps? First, just try harder and think before you write!

If you are stumped, an easy fix is to pay attention to the verbs. They are the most important element of speech in your communications. What is the action you are announcing? Winning an award, reporting financials, signing a major contract, acquiring a company, advancing a cure for cancer?

Replace “announce” with that action so that the lede is focused on the newsworthy action.

Here’s another essential writing tip: Always put your audience’s needs first. This is the first commandment of good communication. And when you live by it, you’ll avoid the sin of self-serving excitement—a.k.a. press release masturbation.

Put your audience’s pleasure ahead of your own if you want a loving and lasting relationship with your target market.

This is particularly helpful when you must write about events of questionable newsworthiness but great C-suite excitement. These include industry awards, new executive hires or partnerships.

Try applying these strategies:

  • Does your news meet an emotional need in your customer? Share it in a way that makes them feel good or better. “Even Grumpy Cat nearly broke a smile when he learned about our Super Duper industry award!”
  • Tweeting about a new CEO? Rather than “Our company is excited to welcome…” try engaging your followers to welcome her. “What do you want new CEO Juanita Doe to know about our products and service? #welcomejuanita.” Share responses and show your new CEO that the company’s social media network is a source of important feedback and input from customers and employees.
  • Did you win an award thanks to the support of your loyal customers or the work of your dedicated employees? Make that your message and instead of saying “we are excited,” try “we are grateful.”

Instead of a one-off post about the award on social media, plan a series of posts over a few weeks that profile an employee or a customer who contributed to your success. Create a campaign to raise awareness about the honor as well as grow your community and build goodwill with your most important stakeholders.

This could work for a tech company’s Most Innovative Product award or a resort’s success in reaching #1 on TripAdvisor. Who helped you get there?

What creative or strategic approaches have you had success with?

Sometimes the challenge is convincing decision makers at your client or company that being engaging and interesting is more important and productive than chest beating. Ask them to share the news with mothers and then with their teenage kids. Somewhere between those two extremes is the true indicator of whether anyone cares.

I will concede there are times when your audience may be just as excited about some news as you are, and it’s valid to share in that. A San Diego company might Tweet, “We’re excited that the San Diego Chargers are going to Super Bowl.” That would be legitimately exciting to people in the local market.

Just resist the urge to Tweet, post or speak like a cheerleader—particularly if you’re cheering for yourself—unless conditions really call for a cheerleader.

And never, under any circumstances, announce an announcement. Announce your news.