The start of a new year is traditionally manic for PR agencies – there are press leads to pick up on from Christmas, and putting together comms overviews for the year ahead. And on top of this, there is the pressure to go after new business to start the year with momentum.
We’ve all been there before, sat in front of a blank screen, under pressure to put together a pitch quickly – often just days or even hours before the meeting begins. And while there are so many avenues to explore with a PR campaign these days, it can feel overwhelming to know where to start and what to include.
Here at GingerComms, we talk regulary to PR agencies ahead of their new business pitches – whether it’s to find out more about how news gen works, or to discuss research angles that they can fold into their campaign plan. And we are happy to provide free advice and research ideas for new business pitches – it’s part of our service.
Whether you’re a dab hand at news gen or just tipping your toe in for the first time, here is our guide on why you SHOULD make newsgen part of your new business pitch.
1. Simple – it secures coverage
Whatever your creative platform, and however many exciting strands it has – i.e. influencer campaigns, brand partnerships, celeb ambassadors, competitions and experiential events – exposure it what you’ll be measured on. There’s no point in splashing out the cash on a celeb photoshoot if no one publishes the pictures. Effective news gen works – either as a stand alone way of getting your brand into the news media, or as a way of signposting other activity.
Every full sell in project we runs has a KPI of two national hits as a minimum, and we usually secure more than this. So rather than biting your nails over whether your brilliant creative ideas will actually get the coverage you need. weave in news gen as a foolproof way to secure national and lifestyle coverage for your client.
2. It’s a tried and tested method
We are a team of PRs and journalists who understand what will get cut through, even within a news agenda that’s busier than ever. We’ll never agree to sell in a story we don’t believe will get coverage, and we know what our contacts want to cover. It’s a great way to secure that pesky ROI and guarantee news coverage for a brand.
3. It’s tailored to suit your client
We understand that no brand is the same, which is why we’ll always craft a story which is going to be relevant and link back to their specific activity. We don’t write up random releases which have nothing to do with the client, we know the sweet spot for what our contacts are after, without going into boring or sales copy.
4. It’s traditional but not boring
The world of PR has definitely moved on from the days of doing traditional press office work and nothing else. While news gen has been part of the PR world for a many years, it still feels fresh and fun if you get the story right.
5. There are plenty of ways to enhance a research based story and get extra assets
There’s so many ways to build on a news gen story and make it even more enticing to traditional and social media platforms. Working with a psychologist, scientist or even etiquette expert can be brilliant – like when we worked with an academic come up with the formula for the perfect boiled eggs and soldiers for British Lion Eggs, using our consumer research as a springboard.
We also find photoshoots can be brilliant too for securing coverage, especially online, such as our Good Life inspired shoot with Denise Van Outen for a research led story on the Uswitch Green Accreditation scheme. Whatever you’re looking to achieve, we can help you build out research to get the coverage you want.
And graphics, animations, videos and radio days are a perfect way to make the research work really hard. Use the research to create a bank of assets that work on various platforms, and you’ll have a cohesive campaign programme that works on multiple platforms.
