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Getting a job in PR/marketing

Posted on by Brian Lee
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I receive requests for information interviews on a regular basis. I enjoy helping students, recent grads, people who moved recently, former reporters and the like. However, “help” is the operative word.

It saddens me to find out that after laying a complete roadmap–where to network, who the players are, how to build experience, etc.–some of the people I meet with don’t follow any of my advice and consequently don’t end up working in PR/marketing.

I thought about this after reading an anecdote about golf in the John O’Hurley interview in Tactics. I can teach you how to golf, but you’re the one who has to actually swing the clubs at the end of the day–the ball isn’t going to move itself, and no one is going to hit it for you.

Sure, it may take you a few more swings than someone else, but eventually, you’ll get the ball in the hole. So don’t just sit there and hope a job falls in your lap–go hit the links!

Plan ample time for marketing and PR

Posted on by Brian Lee

We’ve been hired last-minute to generate publicity for numerous projects and events–for example, we were brought in to do PR only a few days before a restaurant’s grand opening–so we know it is challenging, but not impossible, to work under such a short timeline. However, individuals and businesses should do themselves a favor and plan well ahead to lay the groundwork for marketing and PR.

For earned media relations, especially TV or radio, don’t expect to contact a producer two days before your event and then get scheduled. We typically try to schedule live interviews at least a month out. Meanwhile, daily newspapers are at least one week out, and magazines are at least three months out. Don’t forget the time required for developing a messaging strategy and performing media training.

For marketing, remember that it takes time to build awareness and repetition with your target audience. It also takes time to develop (and place) ads, promotions, newsletters, collateral, etc.

Twitter marketing during TV events

Posted on by Brian Lee

I feel bad for the people who have to manage the Twitter accounts of major brands during live events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars because it can’t be easy to stay on your toes for 3+ hours.

For example, you never know about the spontaneous things that happen, such as the safety during the first quarter of the Super Bowl or Ellen ordering pizza during the Oscars.

Here are my recommendations for tweeting during TV events:

  • Prepare tweets for every scenario. For example, “tweet XYZ if team 1 leads at halftime,” or “tweet XYZ if movie 3 wins best picture.”
  • Monitor trending tweets, hashtags and Twitter accounts relevant to the event (e.g. actors during the Oscars).
  • Like in crisis communications, create a list of everything else that could happen, from loss of power (2013 Super Bowl) to wardrobe malfunctions to flubbed lines to inadvertent product mentions, and then prepare tweets for them.
  • Have a small team accessible (e.g. same room, conference call, Skype, etc.) that can make quick decisions on what to tweet for everything else that happens.

Now here’s a list of some of the good and bad tweets during these recent TV events:

  • I wasn’t impressed with JCPenney’s tweeting with mittens stunt, in which the company purposely put out tweets with typos before revealing that it had been wearing mittens while typing. Sure it got people talking about the brand, but I’m anxious to see Q1 results if sales of mittens actually increased, because that’s the true measurement.
  • On a related note, congrats to Kia, Snickers and Doritos for tweeting back at JCPenney on the fly (e.g. Kia’s “Hey @jcpenney need a designated driver?”).
  • Ready for a shameless tweet? Try Papa John’s “Frozen wins, only at the movies. Our fresh, NEVER Frozen hand-tossed original crust pizza wins every time. #betteringredients.” I mean, really?
  • I liked Pizza Hut’s “Did someone say pizza? We got you” in response to Ellen wanting a pizza delivered.

Here’s my favorite tweet, although it did occur two days after the Oscars. This comes from @TheSimpsons, who wrote “.@TheEllenShow Oscar® Selfie: A wider view. #thesimpsons”