Pitch to the trend...

The latest issue of the Journalists Speak Out e-newsletter featured some great tips on how to pitch a trend rather than a product. Kristen Gerencher, a reporter and healthcare columnist at MarketWatch, suggests tapping researchers as trend spotters for greater success when pitching national media outlets.

“I look at larger trends, like a snapshot of how nano-technology will be impacting healthcare. When I do that, I’m looking for products that really are viable in this particular space — and how they fit into the big picture. That’s where most PR people miss their opportunity. They’re so focused on telling us about the product by itself that they forget we need a wider hook.”
Her tips:

1. Tap researchers, R&D and other departments for data and ideas indicating trends. “Really great PR people can contribute ideas we hadn’t thought of — and they’re worth their weight in gold if the timing is right,” Gerencher encourages. “For example, instead of pitching us products and hoping we’re working on a larger trend story in your area, it’s better to alert us to the larger trends you’re seeing,” she reiterates.

More specifically: “Provide some numbers or proof that this is a trend. If you know people working on research reports that support your trend idea, let us know before the report comes out and put us in touch with them,” she adds. “Those types of people often have a really good idea about the trends going on in your market and how what they’re doing fits into it — so start there. Then you can follow up by suggesting how you fit into the trend — and not the other way around.”

WHAT JOURNALISTS ARE COVERING NOW
Broadcast Coverage by Minutes (ABC, CBS, NBC)*.

1. Hurricane Katrina aftermath on Gulf Coast: 22 mins.
2. Airline travel: Security precautions tightened: 19 mins.
3. Little Miss Colorado murder mystery: 16 mins.
4. Iraq combat: Baghdad security crackdown: 14 mins.
5. TransAtlantic jetliners bomb plot investigated: 13 mins.
6. Contraceptive morning-after pill sale OK’d: 13 mins.
7. Real estate housing market prices stall: 12 mins.
8. Israel-Lebanon fighting: UN ceasefire holds: 12 mins.
9. Iran nuclear program: UN diplomacy: 10 mins.
10. President Bush holds press conference: 8 mins.

* Coverage for the week of August 21 - August 25, 2006. For more media analysis by Andrew Tyndall, please visit: http://www.tyndallreport.com/

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