Once you have Your Story you may wish to share it more widely with the media e.g. magazines, newspapers, radio and television. Jacquie can advise if she thinks that the media may find Your Story of interest. She can work with you to present your story in the most compelling way to the media. This process is called pitching to the media.
Jacquie has ‘pitched’ many hundreds of stories to the media during her 30-year career. She has gained extensive television, magazine, radio, and newspaper coverage for her clients, including working closely with Michael Holland on Seven Sharp on more than 25 items presented by him on the show on TVNZ since 2012. For the past 13 years Jacquie has led her award-winning PR consultancy WPR.
How does pitching a story work?
Jacquie considers the angles of interest within Your Story that may appeal to the media. Using Your Story she writes a personal email to her media contacts presenting the aspects of your story that she believes will be of most interest to them and their readers/viewers/listeners. She has an ongoing conversation with her media contacts about where there is an opportunity for the media outlet to run a story about you.
What happens if the media are interested in covering the story?
Jacquie works as an intermediary between you and the media to set up an opportunity to interview or film you. She also provides additional written material or photos as requested by the media. She helps you get ready for an interview and attends the interview with you to introduce you to the journalist and ensure that you are comfortable and that the media have what they need.
What does the PR and marketing service cost?
Jacquie charges an hourly rate for this service and can give you a quote for your approval before she starts approaching the media on your behalf. The time the process takes will depend on how many media contacts are approached and whether you need support prior to or doing an interview with the media.
What is the difference between media pitching and placing an advertisement?
When you place an advertisement you pay for the space in the publication or for the time on air. This guarantees that the advertisement will appear in the media.
When you pitch to the media you are attempting to gain their interest and have them run your story without paying for the space or time in the publication or on air. You pay for the professional skills of the person pitching the story (Jacquie). Whether the story is picked up or not is at the discretion of the media. The advantage of this kind of ‘earned’ rather than ‘paid’ coverage is that readers, viewers, and listeners typically find it more trustworthy, genuine, and engaging and more likely to be motivated to act e.g. make a booking as a result. It is typically much less expensive to pay for a PR person to do this process than it is to book an advertisement.
Can you show me an example of how this process works?
Jacquie worked with Scott and Jocelyn Hendry, the owners of Abel Tasman Lodge to write their story and to pitch it to the media. The news angle that was used when approaching the media was the fact that the business had won two Trip Advisor awards.
At the same time, Cyclone Gita had had a huge impact on the business and the surrounding community in Mārahau.
Jacquie approached Seven Sharp about a story that showcased the business’ success, touching on the impact of Cyclone Gita (which was of national interest at the time). The aim of this was to help the business to attract new visitors, show that the area was recovering, and also promote the way in which Scott and Jocelyn had continued to look after their guests and be amazing hosts during a really difficult time.
The television segment had a very significant positive impact for the business. There was a direct correlation between it and ongoing and increased bookings for the business. People chose to stay at Abel Tasman Lodge specifically because they had seen the story and the story continued to be mentioned by guests for more than a year after it went to air.
You can watch the piece here:
