Account Lead Allyson Otey Shares Tips for Leveraging Today’s News in Pitches
August 9, 2016
Led by Account Lead Allyson Otey, the All Points team lunched and learned together earlier this month, gathering as a group to hear how to leverage the news of the day in pitch development.
As Allyson pointed out in her seminar, we’re in the midst of a headline-driven news cycle at the moment – between the Olympics, the election and global economic issues that are constantly localized to the U.S., it can be difficult to break into these big conversations on behalf of our clients.
Using relevant case studies from our clients, Allyson demonstrated the importance of research, timeliness and flexibility when it comes to news-centric pitching. Not every pitch is a home run, but the relationships we build with reporters during the pitching process can often turn a “no” into a future “yes.”
For example, Allyson shared a pitch she wrote about head lice in schools, positioning our client, an educational childcare provider, as an expert. While the pitch wasn’t successful, Allyson went back to the reporter with a different topic and ended up getting a story on how to establish a proper sleep pattern during back-to-school time. This is a great example of how a little flexibility goes a long way when it comes to pitching.
Comprised of news junkies and media addicts, our team enjoyed the opportunity to think creatively about the ways we can break into the news cycle on behalf of our clients, whose valuable opinions and perspectives can easily act as expert sources for media of all varieties. Allyson reminded us to think outside the box and remain flexible during pitching for the most success.
