It's difficult enough to get reporters to hear you out, but what about dropping in unannounced at their offices to hand-deliver press kits? Such an approach, though not widely employed, worked for New York-based PR firm David S. Wachsman Associates.
To promote the launch of a specialty magazine, PR executives earlier this month approached editors at major outlets in Manhattan, including the New York Post, The New York Times and Associated Press. In an age when information is often delivered electronically, such a tack served to personalize the PR role and resulted in at least a half-dozen articles about the magazine, as of last week.
Wachsman staffers undertook the launch for publisher Adams Media Inc., Cathedral City, Calif., publisher of Beer Connoisseur, which will launch in June.
The press kits are the first phase of a $400,000-plus roll-out campaign that will end with the premiere issue this summer.
"I've already had about 40 calls from writers and today [Feb. 17] an article appeared in MediaWeek magazine and the New York Post, there was a write-up in the international Alcoholic Beverage newsletter on Feb. 14 and we received a mention in The Chicago Tribune," said editor Anthony Giglio. "And it's because of Wachsman and Associates that we took the approach we did - subtle and without a lot of bells and whistles."
Or in other words, they avoided dishing up a lot of hype backed by nothing - a fatal flaw made too often by those in the PR industry.
For PR executives working to strengthen their media relations, experts say it's understanding what editors and reporters need that builds lasting relationships.
What David Wachsman hit on in developing the simple press kit was giving editors fodder for their stories. The kit was made up of a slick black folder with the words "Beer Connoisseur" flagged in orange; releases chock full of background information on Adams; a guide to beer styles; and information about today's burgeoning brew industry.
"This wasn't a glitzy approach," said Giglio. "David told us [when Adams was deciding on how the PR campaign would be introduced] that he knew exactly what the press would want and he gave them everything they needed for an article so they didn't have to call and hear the typical dog-and-pony spiel."
Wachsman, who for 12 years headed the PR campaign for Absolut Vodka, now imported by The House of Seagram, New York, was able to bring together a strange mix - both traditional and modern - of PR tools.
The Press Kit
The kit is captivating yet far from being too cutting edge. It contains a four-color photo (a mock up of the magazine cover) of a blond model, dressed in black, holding up a glass of beer with the words, "Big Blonde Brews," emblazoned nearby. In other words, Wachsman hit a bull's-eye by giving editors art. And it was sexy art to boot.
The kit also tells Adams' story in full. Even though it gives competitors a heads-up, Wachsman wanted to give journalists as much information as possible. Too often, PR professionals end up being too general in their attempt to not tell too much. Yet it's details, not fluff, that editors need in the end.
"We wanted the world to know that the publisher isn't making a speculative announcement," Wachsman said. "Overall, we sent out (or delivered) about 500 press kits to wire services, major daily newspapers, to syndicates and to those overseeing trade publications...But we focused on that personal delivery - what has become the hallmark of our agency."
Door-To-Door Promotion
Then there was the old-school PR approach - reminiscent of when publicists buddied up to editors - with staffers, armed with releases, going door-to-door.
The logic behind delivering the press releases was that Wahsman staffers wanted to make sure the kits landed in the right hands. And if an editor wasn't available, they attached a personal note.
Members of Wachsman's PR team (for the Adams campaign) spent several hours delivering the kits to about 12 media outlets. But in addition to their visits, overnight delivery and commercial messenger services were used to deliver an additional 30 press kits nationwide.
Wachsman said there is a lesson in all of this - a message for others who wonder what really makes up a unique PR campaign that generates good media.
"What we do is give editors real stories, stories of interest, stories that are newsworthy. And we try to tell the truth in an interesting way by trying to educate and inform and not to promote," he said.
And it's a hook that seems to have merit. Patricia Kennedy, editor and publisher of the Alcoholic Beverage newsletter (which ran a piece on the entrepreneurial endeavor), said she was impressed with Wachsman's PR approach.
"I liked it because it brought out the facts and gave me some extra information - such as industry spending. It gave me the who, what, when and where and not the flowery stuff."
(Adams Media Inc., Anthony Giglio, 212/827-4732; David Wachsman, 212/750-7770; Alcoholic Beverage Newsletter, 402/397-5514)