Prior to 2008, one of the chief obstacles of the Iams Home 4 the Holidays (IH4TH) campaign was breaking through the media clutter. “That was a frustrating challenge because we had one of the world’s most successful adoption drives but no one knew about it,” explains Kris Parlett, external relations specialist at P&G Pet Care. However, once the IH4TH team secured TV/film actress Felicity Huffman to act as a spokesperson for the initiative, media attention was immediately piqued. Courtesy of John Gogarty, senior vice president of Coyne PR, whose clients include Kraft Foods and Mary Kay Cosmetics, here are some questions that every PR team needs to address and answer if they’re having problems securing national media coverage:
• What is the media moment? For the IH4TH effort, Huffman appearing with her adopted dog Tucker on The Oprah Winfrey Show was the turning point (in addition to being the kickoff of the media outreach) that transformed the campaign from an unsung effort to a larger campaign garnering national recognition;
• Can our spokesperson talk to the issue? Huffman’s experience, as an owner of an adopted dog and her passion for the subject, served the effort well. In addition, her flexibility and enthusiastic willingness in conveying the message of the campaign to media outlets were key assets; and,
• Is the cause overplayed? Although many reporters had been reluctant to cover the IH4TH campaign due to their feelings that the topic—pet adoption—had been exhausted, having Huffman on board as the face of the campaign helped drive the media relations efforts forward.