|
Exclusively Yours;
A Guide to the Strategic Use of Exclusives
By Mark Devaney
Director of Public Relations, GráficaGroup
February 15, 2002
 In gambling, there's no such thing as a sure thing. The same can be said about PR, but if there's one way to come close to the elusive sure thing, it's through offering an exclusive.
The subject of exclusives is hot now after last month's obvious exclusive coup by Apple Computer. They snagged the cover of Time, turning it into an incredibly credible brochure delivered free of charge to billions of people worldwide. Granted, not all news is worthy of high-profile cover stories (or coverage at all for that matter), but as long as there are reporters with beats to cover, using the exclusive as a tool is a great way to gain traction with the media.
The exclusive reminds reporters and editors that they are in a business, which means that they too are not immune to the pressures of competition. It often suspends the knee-jerk, negative reaction reporters have when they hear a story pitch. They are more willing to bend an ear to an exclusive, when previously they could not care less about the products and services being touted in news releases.
Granted, an exclusive must still be newsworthy. Schlock is still schlock whether you send it to one or one hundred editors. Problem is that too often clients think everything they do is news, and they want to shout that "news" to everyone. Executing an exclusive strategy requires convincing the client that aiming laser-like at one key news outlet is better than shotgun spraying the news to all outlets at the same time. Once you show them that less can be more, they'll understand and respect the way you think.
Here are some tips to help justify and execute exclusives:
Everywhere could mean nowhere
More often than not, efforts to get your story published everywhere wind up nowhere. What good is that? By securing coverage in one publication with good circulation numbers and the proper demographics, you will have done far more to advance awareness about your cause or client than if you spent more time trying to get the story in every possible pub. Time, like money, is limited. Few stories run everywhere, and even fewer people read everything. Better to focus on one publication and woo the writer with a story that you know will be read by your target audience.
Relationship building
If you want to establish yourself as a source of information for a reporter, what better way than to give that reporter something that you alone know before anyone else? She'll appreciate the lead and will more than likely reach out to you again in the future and almost definitely return your phone calls.
Rile the rivals
Whether it's Forbes vs. Fortune, InfoWorld vs. Internet World or Adweek vs. Ad Age, letting a reporter from one of these pubs know that you'd be willing to shut out their rival is one way to get their attention. And for those who fear being snubbed in the future by one reporter because you snubbed him in the past, consider that it's a reporter's job to uncover news. If the snubbed reporter refuses to cover your client the next time out, simply go back to his rival again. Enough of that and he'll learn the hard way the exact price of being scooped.
Take control
Reporters and editors deserve respect. They have a difficult job, and it's our job to make their job easier. PR people, however, often feel that they are at the mercy of reporters. The power of an exclusive puts PR people in control. It's not us saying, "please cover my client." It's them showing interest in the exclusiveness of your story.
Show some strategy
Sending out the news using wire services and blast fax technology has automated press release distribution, standardizing what should be more art than science. PR people should be paid to think, whether it's writing or sharing the news embodied in a press release. An exclusive strategy puts thinking back into our craft. It's not about pressing buttons on a machine as much as it is about pressing buttons on the people we want to pick up our story. That's a skill few people have, and it's a skill that will be lost if we stop doing it.
Mark Devaney is the Director of Public Relations of GráficaGroup, an integrated marketing-communications agency based in Chester, New Jersey. Gráfica specializes in multichannel marketing campaigns for its clients in industries ranging from telecommunications to utilities to finance to healthcare. He's a Board Member of the PRSA of New Jersey and a published commentator on interactive communications, high-technology, and manufacturing. Devaney has also taught writing and literature at Rutgers University.
|
