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CP Knowhow LLC
Jan. 10, 2015
Your charge: Public awareness
What channel(s) are best?
What makes the news?
Putting together a pitch
Finding the right place for it
Casting the spell: Bewitching producers &
editors
Experienced story teller• 25 years in journalism and PR
Track record• Have placed stories and experts on every TV
network & cable news station, every major U.S.
daily and wire service
Insider• PR for U.S. News & World Report
• Reporter at daily newspapers/wires
Furthering ASLA’s broader goals
Communication
FellowshipEducation
Advocacy
To advance landscape
architecture through:
Position landscape architects as leaders and advocates for active living, sustainability and stewardship of the land
Underscore the profession’s pro bono community service
Showcase landscape architecture as a career option for young people of all backgrounds
Policy makers – national, state, local
Young people and their parents
considering career options• Especially Latinos and African Americans
Potential clients for ASLA members
General public
The case for media relations
Option A: Yell as loud as you can
Option B: Paid advertising
Option C: Media relations
Public relations
Media relations
Websites
Newsletters
Internal communi-
cationsSpeech writing
Branding
Special events
Crisis comms
“Public relations is a strategic communication process
that builds mutually beneficialrelationships between organizations and their publics.”
“What public relations does is to attract
attention, preferably from news
media, since the media will eventually tell
many more people than the PR person
could reach individually.”
Eliminate Option A.
What about Option B?
ADVERTISING MEDIA RELATIONS
$$$ / “paid”
Biased
/subjective
Creative control
Sure thing
Free / “earned”
Credible /
objective
Less control
Gamble with big
payoff
“Public relations is possibly the
most organic, central part of
branding, one that will help make
the campaign successful or doom
it to failure.”
Eliminate Option B.
“Public relations is possibly the most organic, central part
of branding, one that will help make the campaign
successful or doom it to failure.”
Raising awareness of the
profession leads to more influence
and respect for landscape
architecture. And more clients.
72% of adults follow local news and
information
1/3 of those said local news sources
give them all the info that matters
32% of local news enthusiasts: A “major impact” if local newspaper folded
71% of adults watch local TV news in a given month
Over national• 65% viewing network newscasts
• 38% cable news
The audience for local TV
news grew in 2013, according
to Pew Research. • Up 6% in the morning (5 to 7 a.m.)
• Up 3% in the early evening (5 to 7 p.m.)
It’s not called “the olds”
Current events, hot off the press, the latest updates
Yesterday
HISTORY
Today
TOO LATE
Tomorrow
DEADLINE
STORY WHEN TO PITCH
2015 landscaping trends
Backyard heater
technology
Christmas gift ideas
Special event in your town
Dead of winter
The summer solstice
When Halloween candy
hits CVS shelves
At least 3 weeks out
Sending photos to a news outlet after an
event = throwing them away
ASLA’s PR office may use photos to gear
up for next year, but not for making news
this year
Keep photos from this year’s event to pitch
next year’s
Visualize the story, then compile the elements
Problem / solution
Peg
Proof / data
People: Professionals
and public
Pictures
•What societal need does an LA project meet?
•What crisis is resolved?
•What improves, lessens, increases or stops?Problem/solution
•What’s the news hook?
•Why air this story now?
•Can we peg to a related national news story or crisis? A ribbon cutting?Peg
•Visuals make TV. A 2-minute segment needs lots of graphics
•Consider photos, pre-packaged b-roll footage, and live action shots for TV crew to film
•How can we include people in the visuals?Pictures
•Project manager: Who identified, developed and implemented the solution?
•Professional expert: Who can offer neutral expert opinion?
•Public: Who is affected? How has their situation improved due to the solution?People
•Data or statistics to quantify the problem’s scope and/or the solution’s effectiveness
•Can be specific to the project or a national study supporting problem/solution concept
•Before and after data are idealProof
Lavish gardens sprout up on luxury
penthouse roofs, Wall Street Journal (June
12, 2014)
“At its most basic, a green roof consists of a carpet of hard-to-kill plants in a
thin layer of soil. Luxury homeowners, however, are opting for bespoke
greenscapes as carefully curated—and sometimes as costly—as art
collections. With the right design, these eco-chic gardens also add
insulation, absorb storm water runoff and deflect heat from the sun.”
Public: “Thirty-five stories above New York Harbor, Fred
Rich can stroll through his groves of Japanese maple, spruce and pine trees or sit under a pergola hung with grape vines, where wild strawberries and thyme grow between the paving stones.”
Pullout quote: I like nature and the presence of nature—I don't like a sterile wood deck. —Homeowner Michael Gerstner
Professional: “With landscape architect Mark Morrison and a
team of engineers, fabricators and organic farmers, Mr. Rich has created a 2,000-square-foot garden …”
“Residential demand for
planted rooftops has grown between 15% to 20% each year
over the past decade, according to
Ed Jarger, general sales and
marketing manager for American
Hydrotech, a manufacturer of green-
roofing systems.”
Pictures• Still shots
• Video footage of rooftop gardens
Environment
Low/no impact
Mitigate cities’ impact/pollution
Resiliency, disaster
mitigation
Protect ecology
Health
Active living
Reduce stress
Enhance treatment or
therapy
“Community”
Society/population
Foster well-being,
Ease transportation
Undo social inequality
Residential
Eco-friendly
Cost-efficiency
Outdoor kitchen, lifestyle
Raises property value
Career
Art & science
Outdoors
Trends (45%)
• Lavish gardens sprout up on luxury penthouse
roofs, WSJ
• Community garden mixes beauty with
conservation, Houston Chronicle
• Green space is sparse amid boom in Uptown,
Dallas Morning News
Soft “how-to” features
(30%)
• Going on vacation?
Prepare your garden first,
Associated Press
• Building a pool is just the
beginning of elaborate
backyard transformations,
Washington Post
Surveys and rankings (10%)
• ASLA with AARP: Pedestrian safety, “Dangerous by Design 2014.”
• National: EPA’s ranking of top energy star cities
• Sasaki: “What makes a city great?” Summer 2014
Top-10 lists (5%)
• 10 ways to make an
outdoor space that your
friends will envy, Business
Insider
• 10 top outdoor design
trends for 2014, San
Antonio Express-News
Events, business news, job (5%)• Austin architecture firm makes Dallas deal;
local firms angle for market share, Austin Business Journal
Miscellaneous (5%)• When at the Versailles palace, don’t miss
Trianon, San Antonio Express-News
• Book Lover’s Corner: The Gravity of Birds, WTNH News 8 (New Haven, CT)
Landscape Architecture in the News
LA projects / trends
How-to
Surveys
Top 10 lists
Events, job posting, biznews
Miscellaneous
Where does your story belong?
There's a place for us, Somewhere a place for us…
There’s a time for us,Some day a time for us
Breaking news vs. features
Hard vs. soft news
Expert for comment
Issues, public affairs, taxpayer concerns
Peg your story to national news
Make your own news• Special events
• Surveys
Guest columns
Op-eds and letters to the editor
“How-to” stories (living, style)
Top-10 lists
From Patch.com to Huffington Post
On-air experts on talk shows
Issues, public affairs, taxpayer concerns
(Inter)national news• Climate change accord, US-China (Nov ‘14)
• California drought (Summer ‘14)
National ranking or survey• Energy Star rankings every April
EPA’s rankings of cities with Energy Star buildingsThursday, April 9, 2015?Top 10, Top 25Top small, Top mid-sizedBiggest change or “for Nth year in a row”
PEG = rankingOFFER: People, proof, pictures, problem
(solution)
Community newspapers
Online hyperlocal news sites
Broadcast newscasts & talk shows
Business paper
Associated Press bureau
College newspapers
Time to bewitch producers & editors
Short staffed
24/7 news cycle
Advertising
revenues diluted
Inundated with PR
pitch emails
Jack of all topics
Reporter or
producer
Timing: News cycle & producer
schedule
Media savvy expert who is
available
Pictures: People to film, still
photos, animated renderings
Peg: News hook
Project: Problem/solution
Geographically convenient for camera crew
SUBJECT LINE
Makes or breaks a pitch
Be brief or key words will trail off the
screen (e.g., smartphone)
GREETING
Get the name(s) right!
Identify yourself
Get to the point quickly
CLEAR OPENER
Open with a short & informative hook
1 to 2 sentences
The 5 Ws
Why relevant to this journalist’s audience?
Entice the reader to continue
Details follow…
ALL RELEVANT DETAILS
Use bullets• The eye = the only body part that loves bullets
Customize bullets for each pitch• TV? Visuals.
• Call-in radio talk show? Why listeners would want
to voice their opinion.
A call of action: Close with what should
happen next• “I would love to set up a phone call”
• “I will follow up early next week”
Contact info: So important!• Your phone number should be up top
• Then put details down below
Follow up
Do what you said
you would do
Journalists get
thousands of emails
Move quickly if
interest
Be Wayne Gretzky
“What is a lobby boy? A lobby boy is completely invisible, yet always in sight. A lobby boy remembers what people hate. A lobby boy anticipates the client's needs before the needs are needed.”
-- M. Gustave
Twitter, Facebook
Alert ASLA PR
Connect to reporter on social media
Write an old-fashioned “thank you”
note
Be a resource
“Be well, do good work, keep in touch.”
ASLA PR offers resources:
http://www.asla.org/ChapterOutreac
h.aspx
Thank you!