Many franchises have offers and good news stories around the festive season so have you thought about what you might pitch to the media this Christmas? Or have you left it too late?
Different types of media have different deadlines
You’ve probably missed the sleigh when it comes to the national monthly magazines whose December issues would have been published in November and planned since July. But you can still hitch a ride with Rudolph if you want to get into their online portals or your local and regional daily press. So get that magic working and brainstorm some fun ideas.
Get your Captain Hook into a story
One of the best ways to get your company mentioned is by hooking on to an existing story in the media. Imagine the great expert comment you could make as a franchisee or franchisor in the senior care industry linked to the new John Lewis TV ad?
All you need to do is keep an eye out for the stories coming up and contact the journalists who have written them. Do your prep, know your subject, select some facts and figures to support what you are saying and link your business to the subject or solution.
Don’t miss a day
Ever been surprised at the “and finally” stories on the news? Quite often these are fed from those special events such as Ice Cream Week or Hug a Bear Day and it is a PR agency like us who has pitched a fun idea to the programme planners weeks in advance.
Do you know all the special days over Winter that would work for your business? Here are a few to get you started:
• December is Human Rights Month and 10th December is Human Rights Day
• 3rd December is Make a Gift Day
• 8th December is Pretend to be a Time Traveller Day
And one we can all get involved is Ugly Christmas Jumper Day on 18th December!
Like the idea of festive PR but simply don’t have the time? Ask us about our PR retainers.
P.S. We apologise for the gratuitous festive references and pantomiming around in this blog but it simply has to be done on a cold Winter’s day in Oxford!