Transcript jschoolpitching

The “Twitter” Approach to
Media Pitching
Is It “Newsworthy?”
Kevin Brett
May 7, 2013
Pitching the Media 2013
•3.6 to 1 flack-to-media ratio
•Stressed media
•Skeptical, adversarial
•Resistant to message
•You have 15 seconds
Pick Your Battles
Ask yourself why the story is newsworthy?
Does it pass the “giggle test?”
Never presume interest
To whom are you pitching to?
◦ Metropolitan dailies – Wall Street Journal, USA
Today, NY Times, Washington Post
◦ Regional papers – Oregonian, Register-Guard
◦ Electronic Media – CNBC, Fox News, CNN
◦ Trade media – Red Herring, EE Times
◦ Financial or Industry Analysts – Gartner Dataquest
◦ Bloggers – Gizmodo, Silicon Valley Watcher, Tech
Crunch
Write the pitch to match your audience
Think About Your End
Audience

Embargoed Until Monday, November 15 at 8 am EST
This coming Monday, LFoundry, the customer-specific manufacturer of choice for analog, mixedsignal and specialized technologies, will announce additional options to the advanced 0,15µm process
design kit ‘LF150’ to further enable their customers to build complex SoC (system on chip) designs.
In addition to the existing modules, LFoundry’s More-than-Moore strategy adds CMOS extensions
such as High Voltage-CMOS, Opto-CMOS and CMOS-based MEMS to the standard LF150 CMOS
process.
To serve the field of Optoelectronics, CMOS integrated photodiodes as well as CMOS integrated
optical filters are being developed for the advanced 0,15µm technology platform, giving the customer
the option to transition from 0,35µm to the next generation of 0,15µm.
To meet future automotive, industry and energy saving applications, LFoundry is now working on an
extension to their high voltage LDMOS technology. The current industry leading process which is
capable of operating at Vdd=40,60,80V will now be further extended by the inclusion of an additional
LDMOS device offering a breakdown of up to 150V.
I will contact you shortly to arrange a time for you to interview Gerhard Spitzlsperger, CTO of
LFoundry, to discuss the impact of LFoundry's 0.15-micron process design kit ‘LF 150.’ We appreciate
that you will honor the embargo on this story. Talk to you soon.
“Twitter”-Style
Approach
Dear Don:
Morris Chang, founder, chairman and CEO of TSMC
is receiving the semiconductor industry’s highest honor, the
Robert N. Noyce Award, on November 9 for his role in
founding the $10 billion global semiconductor foundry
industry.
Would you be interested in interviewing Morris
before the dinner and attending the presentation?
I will call you soon to determine your level of
interest. Thank you for your consideration.
Who, When, What, Why, How and
Who Cares?
•
Dear Don:
•
Morris Chang, founder, chairman and
CEO of TSMC is receiving the semiconductor
industry’s highest honor, the Robert N. Noyce
Award, on November 9 for his role in founding
the $10 billion global semiconductor foundry
industry.
•
Would you be interested in interviewing
Morris before the dinner and attending the
presentation?
•
I will call you soon to determine your level
of interest. Thank you for your consideration.
•
Don't Cry “Wolf!”
•Is it better to pitch a non-newsworthy story or
tell a client that their item is not newsworthy?
•Never cry “Wolf”
•Rewrite the pitch?
•Can you target the pitch for a more likely
candidate: EE Times instead of WSJ?
Develop Your Relationships/
Maintain Your Credibility
Reporters, editors, bloggers, analysts are not
looking for friends (and they are not your friends)
They are looking for news/information
Do you have a track record of delivering news?
Or do you have a track record of delivering fluff?
Make every pitch count
If not, then simply don’t pitch the “story”
Almost Forgot…
•Never raise the issue of an embargo
•Avoid using the word “pitch” in the presence of
reporters/editors/analysts
•As a whole, rattlesnakes have a better sense
of humor
The Best PR “Pitchers” are…
•Respectful of media
•Good news sources
•Understand newsworthiness
•Known for integrity; Avoid fluff; Get to the story
•Understand the “Twitter” approach to pitching
•Make every pitch count
Pitch Your Financial
Conference
• Write a Pitch to Don of the Wall Street
Journal
• Invite Him to Your Financial Conference
• Offer Him On-the-Record Access to the CEO