Headline Grabbers - Great PR Opportunities

Gaining publicity these days can be challenging. Unless there is a tragedy or controversy, your news may just be one of hundreds of pieces of information recieved by reporters daily. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to PR. For those of you not in the biz, PR does not stand for publicity - which is uncontrolled, but free media coverage. It does not stand for press release. It does stand for Public Relations. Many people get that mixed up. I've heard many people incorrectly say, "We'd like to get some PR on this item. Can you get the press here to cover it?"

Why worry about semantics? Because one local company took the concept of PR and creatively used it to their advantage. How? By scouring the headlines and making their idea relevant to today's news. The company? GrubCab.com. The idea - a $2 discount for anyone who donates a non-perishable food item when they order from GrubCab. GrubCab is a meal delivery service that allows you to go online, order from one of many popular restaurants and have the food delivered to you hot and fresh at a reasonable cost. During the month of October, they are asking for food donations in return for a discount.

Today's headlines in the local newspaper described a food shortage crisis in Lee County. Many food banks are empty or struggling. GrubCab seized the opportunity to help the community. But they accomplished more than that. They built their public relations standing in the community. They are not seeking publicity - in other words, they are not saying, "Hey, look at this great thing we're doing - will the media cover it?" Instead, they are building up good will with their primary public - their customers.

By utilizing social media to spread the word, they are gaining even more recognition as locals who read the headlines today know how important it is to help get these food banks filled again. It's a win-win situation and not one press release had to be sent out. What do you think the chances are of a media person or blogger seeing this act of good will and reporting about it. (Uh, really good as evidenced by this post, I would say)

But even if they don't get any publicity, the positive P.R. they are getting is priceless. Even if someone doesn't buy today, they will have a good feeling about GrubCab and may buy tomorrow.

Today's lesson:

1. Grab headlines and support causes that gain publicity and are near to your heart.
2. Understand the difference between publicity and public relations.
3. Recognize opportunities that can help the community and build positive public relations.
   

Oh, and if you want to get a great lunch or dinner delivered to your door for just a few dollars for delivery, go to www.grubcab.com and place an order. Have a non-perishable food item ready and it will cost you even less - AND you can feel good about feeding someone less fortunate.

Pizza, Sweating and PR - A perfect combination

This sounds like the beginning of a really sick joke. What do pizza, excessive sweating and public relations have to do with each other? While you may think this is going to be a ding on Dominoes - think again. This is actually a good news story and an opportunity to think about how positive PR can affect you or your client's business.

Let's start with some background. Gulfcoast Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons offers a surgical intervention called sympathectomy that helps eliminate or reduce excessive sweating from the armpits, hands and feet. This does not apply to overall body sweating or the normal sweating most of us humans do. This is for a group of people who have suffered through their entire life having terribly sweaty palms - to the point where they could not shake hands, couldn't try on shoes in a shoe store, or changed shirts several times a day, even when they weren't exerting themselves. We ran a marketing campaign on the radio and apparently, this is really big news. Over 300 phone calls in one month.

Sounded like a news story to me, so I spoke with a reporter who also found it interesting. She did a big feature story on the subject.

Good news right? Yes... but there is a major caveat. If you score a great story like this, it is IMPERATIVE that you clearly communicate with the people answering the phones. Prepare them for an onslaught of calls and tell them exactly what to do. In this case, callers were scheduled for free screenings. The staff was well aware of the date the story was scheduled to run and they were ready.

Now where in the world does the pizza come in? Well, it has been my experience that when a major story hits, the phones don't stop ringing. Getting away for lunch is a pretty tough prospect. Show the staff how much you appreciate their courteous and professional telephone answering skills. A big coup for a PR person can really be a big pain for the staff - even if it DOES mean more business. The cost of a few pizzas can buy a boatload of goodwill and will encourage the staff when they get weary.