Business/Product Publicity: Market To The Media First

Copyright (c) 2006 Todd Brabender

When starting a successful business venture or launching a
new product, most entrepreneurs or business owners conduct
some type of marketing research to determine the extent of
their prospective customer base. And when getting the word
out to that customer base, many entrepreneurs may turn to
the media to help generate a buzz for them. However, as
detailed as their marketing research might have been, very
few business owners are as meticulous at determining their
proper "media market" - that is, all those media outlets
whose editorial profiles are a match to a product/business
profile and would be appropriate for generating media
exposure and publicity.

One of my favorite things to do is educate my clients about
their "media market." Consider this, in North America there
are more than 75,000 media outlets and almost one million
reporters, editors & producers in the entire media market.
However, only a small percentage of those may be
appropriate and applicable to your business/product. But
which ones? Unfortunately, too many well-intentioned
entrepreneurs are either uninformed or misinformed
regarding what it takes to attract media attention for
their business. I recently surveyed 100 business owners and
entrepreneurs who contacted my business about a
publicity/media exposure campaign. Here's what I found:

11% - "Are Admittedly Media Market Clueless"
19% - "Have Unrealistic Media Market Perceptions"
29% - "Think Local & Large Media Are The ONLY Media"
41% - "Have A Good Grasp On Their Potential Media Market
And Its Benefits"

Here are the descriptions of these categories and the
lessons I try to teach those who fall into each category:

11% - "Are Admittedly Media Market Clueless" These are the
business owners who know their product and market inside
and out, BUT they have never thought about launching a
publicity/media exposure campaign before now. They know
very little about their potential media market or how to
generate publicity therein.

The Lesson: For these types of business owners I recommend
asking for help from a smaller PR agency or publicity
specialist who is willing to "hand hold" to get the client
educated. Research to find one who doesn't mind spending
the time to educate you about what should be included in
your specific media market and the pitch. Make sure the
agency or publicist understands the product/business as
well as you do and can in turn educate you about your media
market - one that will be able to benefit your business for
years to come.

--

19% - "Have Unrealistic Media Perceptions" These are the
business owners who are CONVINCED that EVERY newspaper,
consumer interest magazine and TV show will run a feature
on their new products when they launch a publicity campaign.

The Lesson: No product or business, no matter how big or
great can be assured media coverage in every outlet in a
media market. But you can get coverage in a good number of
them given the right media tending. Every media pitch will
be weighed against the media outlet's editorial lead-time,
its available editorial space, and availability of an
editorial staff member to cover your pitch. It is totally
up to the discretion of each media outlet as to whether
your pitch makes it to the pages or on air. It can be an
uphill battle if you target the wrong media with the wrong
message. But you can greatly increase the chances
generating those media placements with a little expertise
and media market know-how.

--

29% - "Think Local & Large Media Are The ONLY Media" These
are the ones who think of their media market in two simple
terms: LOCAL & LARGE LOCAL, as you might imagine, means the
media outlets in their city or surrounding geographic
region -- the local newspaper, a regional business magazine
or two, a few shows at local radio/TV stations. LARGE, on
the other hand, are media outlets like The Wall Street
Journal, Newsweek, Good Morning America, Oprah or your
other favorite large circulation, trade specific media
outlet.

The Lesson: The reality is local and large are indeed part
of your media market, but not the only ones. The best media
market opportunities may well be the dozens of other
smaller scale papers, magazines, newsletters or
TV/radio/cable shows that may generate more customer
interest and sales than a placement in the big media might.
Because of a lack of media market knowledge, many business
owners don't even know these smaller, more targeted media
outlets exist. This is where a PR agency or publicity
specialist can be integral in your publicity campaign. They
know the media market very well and will be able to find
those media members who will be the best for generating
editorial features on your business or product. They also
have great media contacts that can turn one feature into a
syndicated story that runs in multiple media outlets
nationwide.

--

41% - "Have A Good Grasp On Their Potential Media Market
And Its Benefits" These are media-savvy entrepreneurs and
business owners who are realistic and knowledgeable about
how the media can benefit their business. They know that
they have to narrowcast their media pitch to a select
segment of the media in order to get coverage that will
increase exposure for the business.

The Lesson: Don't let a PR agency or publicity specialist
tell you they will send your pitch to 20,000, 30,000 or
50,000 media outlets. The reality is, of the 8,000 daily &
weekly newspapers, 11,000 magazines & newsletters, 15,000
radio/TV/cable stations and 7,000 Internet news sites in
North America, only about 25% of those accept press
releases from outside their geographic area. They cover
only LOCAL issues, businesses and products, and it is a
waste of time to target them. The key is researching to
discover which media outlets will be receptive to your
pitch and knowing how to parlay those media contacts into
positive consumer interest features that will educate and
entice customers about your product or business.

Just like marketing to find the right customers, one should
be equally diligent about finding and pitching the right
media market. Bottom line - whether you have a general
interest product that has widespread consumer appeal or a
trade specific business with a very narrow customer base,
knowing your appropriate media market can mean the
difference between product/business publicity or
product/business obscurity.

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Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public
Relations, Inc. His business specializes in generating
media exposure and publicity for innovative products,
businesses, experts and inventions.
http://www.spreadthenewspr.com
mailto:todd@spreadthenewspr.com
(785) 842-8909