The answer is, yes and no.
Securing favourable editorial coverage involves a good understanding of media, the news process, and a solid understanding of what makes news.
Many former journalist colleagues who trained as cadets with newspapers or TV networks would often agree that any decent journalist or PR consultant with nous must have “a good nose for news.”
For a thought leader, a business or an organisation to secure editorial media coverage, they typically need a news story, and this can be classified as:
Journalists also describe news as:
Good stories must have a news hook which makes the story interesting and relevant to the audience. This may include:
We live in an age where there are few journalists and those lucky enough to be working are typically very time poor due to tight deadlines. Did you know that most print, tv and radio newsrooms receive in excess of 300 media releases and/or media pitches per day? This means your story needs to be clear, succinct and relevant to secure media coverage.
Therefore, it’s vital that marketers and media spokespeople understand the media process and the importance of clear and succinct messages.
Media training often helps a thought leader reflect upon and refine how they will speak and present to media, and this can include recommendations on presentation.
Some news stories that Conquest Ink is proud to have helped secure for clients include:
While some PR firms will tell clients they have all the media contacts to ensure a story gets media coverage, at Conquest Ink we focus on crafting a “newsworthy” story that tends to create the best outcome for clients and media alike.
All brands can buy media, whether it’s via traditional media outlets or digital media. Every day we see paid advertisements via newspapers, television, radio and digital media channels.
The beauty of a digital media campaign is there are myriad platforms and the geo targeting opportunities are extensive, whereby a brand can slice and dice its creative to target exactly the customers they are seeking.
However, recipients are generally aware that it’s paid media coverage and therefore it doesn’t typically generate the same credibility as an article or interview prepared by a qualified journalist.
The upside of paid media is that it’s also very easy to measure and evaluate the return on investment. The downside is that many paid campaigns demand hefty budgets. They also rely on strong creative in order to get cut through and good creative also requires strategic consideration and exceptional creativity.
Recent example of beautiful creative advertising campaigns include the Australian Fashion Council’s world first Australian Fashion Trade Mark ‘Down Under In Front’ campaign. Another recent impactful campaign is the ‘History is Calling’ campaign which encourages Australians to Vote Yes to support a Voice to Parliament, so that First Nations peoples can have a say on matters.
The Conquest Ink team has been helping leading brands attract and secure positive media coverage for several decades. For further enquiries, please contact hello@conquestink.com.au
Photo credit: Ajeet Mestry on Unsplash
