The Momentum at Hand

Now that you’ve basked in your fifteen minutes of fame (and yes, why not?), it’s time to get back to the momentum at hand. This is the most important part of media relations. Turning one piece of coverage into a small national phenomenon is a real skill. To do it like a pro, think fast, think tactical, and try to spot all the trends swirling around you.

You can start ramping up your coverage by getting some more local groundswell so that your story doesn’t make you a one-hit wonder. Let’s walk through a typical scenario so you can see how it’s done. In today’s San Francisco Examiner, on page seven, is a glowing story about a local sporting goods store—your sporting goods store. Featured is the new hybrid skateboard you and your coworkers have created. It uses a sophisticated suspension and axle system borrowed from a luxury car company to create the ultimate skateboard—the “Street Coupe.” At $400, it isn’t child’s play, but it is revolutionizing transportation for the locals who have the dollars and the thirst for something different.

As we said, we’re in the momentum business now. Momentum is a little more sophisticated than speed. Speed is simply doing something fast. Momentum gains strength as it chugs along and makes a healthy impact when it finally gets to wherever it’s going.

You’ve got to evaluate the landscape quickly to give impetus to your Street Coupe story. To do so, you keep it local at first, saturating the town in any way possible, to make sure that now everyone in the city knows that the best way to part with $400 is to … get the Coupe. But you need to alert the national media and “the suits” that you’re running a business that’s worth watching. That’s the first milestone in building strength and creating PR momentum—and national buzz.

When it comes to local press, big splashes can be done on the cheap. Perhaps there’s a local skate park that you can commandeer for the afternoon. Bring a truckload of Street Coupes, hand them out to the kids, let them test the ride out, and, of course, invite your local TV station to give your invention a whirl, too. The ability to film a gaggle of unbiased kids ready and willing to say just how good—or bad—the ride was is a bonus for any camera crew.

But you need to plan ahead, because you should follow up any outdoor shenanigans with a local press tour and product briefing with all the local reporters. In this case, you’d need to zero in on technology, sports, automotive (the suspension and axle angle), and entertainment writers. That would help you maximize any PR possibilities you have in your favor.

If you don’t have a park or some other logical location at your disposal, choose an empty parking lot close to your local newspaper or broadcast center. Of course, proximity doesn’t equal coverage, but it doesn’t hurt to make it easier. Make sure that all the planning directors, writers, and producers know exactly what you will be doing, and where and when. A demo model of your skateboard for their own riding pleasure wouldn’t hurt, either.

Now, you’ve already had your first taste of press coverage with the Examiner story. Let’s consider the rest of the print landscape. The other big paper in town is the San Francisco Chronicle. But the Chronicle isn’t going to be interested in running a story their competitor printed a day earlier. As a matter of fact, it’s pointless for them. What’s more, a pitch to the Chronicle will earn you little more than a journalist disliking you and wondering if you think he’s an idiot.

Okay, what about the other local papers? There’s the San Francisco Weekly, San Francisco Business Journal, and so many others—the Bay Guardian even—but they all go to press once a week, and we don’t have time to let our news cool off. Regional newspapers will pick it up eventually, and local newspapers will always be able to track down news that’s, well, local. Let them find you, in this case.

Option number two is the big time: namely, a TV broadcast. Broadcast is important for many reasons, and here is reason number one: Newspapers don’t consider broadcast news to be a competitor. In fact, the daily local news shows rely on the day’s papers for the source of their reporting. And the converse is true, too—producers spend the wee hours of the morning scanning the local press to see which stories would make good visuals for a segment. Odds are that if you made it to the San Francisco Examiner or any local paper, the news desk at your local broadcast channel has already read your story. They’re not going to say “Who?” when you call.

But the key to converting your story from the printer to the airwaves is making it look good. A camera crew isn’t going to shoot your assembly line—or you, for that matter, a talking head with some bright idea. What they will shoot is something interesting to look at, a “thing” that gives viewers more information about the idea or product that can’t be seen on a gray page of newsprint. The Street Coupe has visual appeal and won’t take too much creative packaging for the press.