For timely, provocative, push-the-envelope client exposure, ink in the op-ed pages of newspapers can punch up almost any PR campaign. But such "sounding board" communications opportunities are often overlooked by PR professionals, according to Marilyn Ross, who authored the National Directory of Newspaper Op-Ed Pages (published by Communication Creativity in 1994; $19.95).
Much like pitching a story to any other newspaper section, there is an art to getting your client's perspective published in the Op-eds, where passionate, straight-to-the-point positions reign supreme and well-read, intelligent readers soak them up like a sponge. "This is not milque-toast stuff, [op-ed pieces] are either for or against an issue," said Ross, emphasizing the power of op-eds to inform and persuade.
Pitching Op-Ed Stories
Figuring out whether your client is best served by national and local exposure or one or the other is crucial to pitch strategy. Targeting the big three: USA Today, Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor, usually means giving these papers exclusivity on your work (but given the one-shot national exposure, that might not be a bad trade-off) according to Ross. In addition, most big-city dailies require territorial exclusivity (within the paper's circulation area). Which means, for instance, that you shouldn't submit the same work to the Chicago Tribune that you pitched to the Chicago Sun Times.
But if your client/company is best served by national and local exposure, taking a template approach that involves PR folks on the national and local levels can be a effective alternative. The national op-ed piece should discuss the company's "big picture" point of view which would appeal to a mass audience, while the local story can be tweaked to represent the client's voice from a particular branch office. But both the national and local angles have to make salient points, it can't read as though it's a watered down format written for local PR folks to "fill in the blanks" with powerful positions. Since most op-ed pitches wind up in an editor's waste basket, articulating controversy will give your piece a competitive edge.
Getting Ink
Op-ed editors throughout the country seem to chime in on one key piece of advice, "Be passionate!" In Ross's directory, which surveyed op-ed editors in every state and Canada, they make it very clear that boring essays are a waste of their time and the PR professionals who write them.
Marcia Lythcott, op-ed editor with the Chicago Tribune, echoes this point. "Most op-ed stories submitted by companies are sterile and don't really hold an opinion, probably because it has to be signed off on by multiple layers of management. I'll take a letter from an old man whose writing is more heartfelt than work from a company that doesn't have anything to say."
Presentation
When submitting work, make sure the cover letter briefly outlines the subject matter, your credentials, the company (client) and location. Writing should be tight and succinct, no more than 800 words. In fact, Lythcott advises if it can be said in 500 words, that's even better because it shows that the writer can "get to the point without rambling on for another 300 or so words just because they know that's the limit."
The Ins and Outs of Op-Eds
Dos:
Don'ts:
Source: PR NEWS |
Subject matter can range across the board as long as it affects people's lives on some level. The aim is to provoke and stimulate thought on an issue. But editors are quick to nix any hint of self-aggrandizing, soap box-prose.
Due to the quick turnaround, most editors like to have op-ed submissions faxed to them, and depending on the size of the newspaper, some will accommodate brief phone calls on what has been faxed. E-mail submissions are definitely unpopular among these editors.
Response is usually fast; Ross advises waiting at least a week before following up. And if the piece is used, most editors call to inform when it will run.
Ghostwriting for CEOs
For communications campaigns that have share-of-mind objectives, op-ed exposure can be an awesome vehicle for CEOs to exploit (along with key speaking engagements at industry events). But half the battle is selling CEOs on this often untapped resource and convincing the powers that be that you can lead the effort, according to Robert Duffy, a consultant with Strategic Communications, an Annapolis, Md.-based corporate communications consulting firm that has worked with such high profile companies as AT&T, American Management Systems and The Corp. for Public Broadcasting.
The ghostwriting proposal should be done in person and target not only your CEO but the communications director as well, since both will have key input. Be prepared to argue why this exercise is beneficial. Duffy highlights the following ghostwriting benefits:
- It enhances the value of the PR professional to employers;
- Varies the "on the job" PR routine; and
- Op-eds generate favorable CEO exposure, especially among other industry "luminaries."
Also, to convince higher ups of your ghostwriting talents, Duffy suggest preparing a package that includes examples of the newspaper(s) you would target, especially if direct competitors have been published. Know the newspapers' circulation and become familiar with likely themes that could appeal to them. Finally, be ready to discuss the issue or issues with confidence, citing powerful statistics and descriptive analogies.
(Communication Creativity, 800/331-8355; Chicago Tribune Op-Ed section, 312/222-4198; Strategic Communications, 301/596-2169)