As most PR experts know, pitching to the media can sometimes be a daunting task. But at Clairemont, we try to bypass typical roadblocks and adopt a spicier approach with creative media kits. Not only does it make the mission more fun, we also have much greater success garnering media attention! Take a gander at these two media kits that we created for Briar Chapel’s 7th Annual Pepper Festival in 2014 and Triangle Family Services’ 2012 Gingerbread Benefit.
The Briar Chapel Pepper Festival: Spice up your stories this fall!
Instead of presenting a run-of-the-mill media kit to secure coverage for the Briar Chapel Pepper Festival, Clairemont chose a different tactic. In an email-saturated media market, we crafted a quirky approach to nab the attention of on-the-go reporters. Our “pepper-themed” media kit that showcased pepper-themed foods and accessories, all from Clairemont clients, including the following:
- Cape Fear Salsa Verde, Jalapeno Cheddar Crackers and Ghost Pepper Sauce from Lowes Foods made by local food artisans
- Fresh, local peppers from Papa Spud’s
- Annual Pepper Festival t-shirt provided by Briar Chapel and Abundance NC
- Pint glass and gift card from T.MAC Restaurants
- Free shake coupon and “Shake Out Cancer” t-shirt courtesy of PDQ
The coordinating news release, fact sheets, media alerts and community calendar postings incorporated highly themed verbiage, inviting the media to “spice up” the weekend and “heat up” their fall stories with the Pepper Festival. Clairemont incorporated the media kit as part of an overall strategy to secure at least seven blogs and 10 local news stories about the Pepper Festival, to boost the festival attendance by 30 percent and to increase Briar Chapel’s online visibility.
The 7th Annual Pepper Festival proved to be a spicy hot success, an event that surpassed expectations. In addition to meeting each objective, we also revitalized the Pepper Festival, garnered top attendance and placed Briar Chapel back on the map for media coverage.
Triangle Family Services 10th Annual Gingerbread Benefit: Christmas in July!
The Annual Gingerbread Benefit is the main fundraising event for Triangle Family Services, a United Way of the Greater Triangle partner agency with the mission of “Building a Stronger Community by Strengthening the Family.” As 2012 welcomed the 10th annual benefit and Clairemont’s third consecutive year working with the organization, our team knew we had to make it more successful than ever. Much like the Pepper Festival media kit, Clairemont chose to take advantage of the delicious gingerbread theme to snag media attention.
Taking a proactive approach to media pitching, we celebrated “Christmas in July” by targeting long-lead regional outlets with the creative media kits. The gingerbread-themed kits featured a custom 10th Annual Gingerbread Benefit canvas tote bag filled with goodies, including gingerbread man lollipops, make your own gingerbread man stickers and a “recipe” providing facts about Triangle Family Services.
Clairemont successfully got the media into the holiday spirit with a distinctive gingerbread-themed pitch. The team secured a wide range of local and regional news stories, including Southern Living Magazine, Our State Magazine and Carolina Parent Magazine, strengthening the brand of Triangle Family Services and the Gingerbread Benefit. Triangle Family Services was pleased with the results, and Executive Director Alice Lutz said, “People kept telling us that everywhere they turned, they saw news coverage of the Gingerbread Benefit.”
What’s in your media kit? Instead of providing the media with an everyday pitch, considering “spicing up” your presentation to get noticed!