The Wind Up & The Pitch

Successfully pitching a story idea to the media is just good marketing. Follow a few simple marketing rules, then wind up and let ‘er rip.
Just as in marketing, we first need to develop a positioning statement for the product: our story idea. Write a brief outline, including the proposed angle for the story, possible news hooks and the people who would be appropriate to interview for the piece. Any supporting statistics would be a bonus.
So, let’s say your story idea is about the changing face of advertising, which has not kept up with market changes like the Internet, the downsizing of corporate America and the decline of the mass media.
Your angle is focused on a new type of marketing firm that is made up of independent freelancers, who have left the agency world. The firm has low overhead because it assembles only the highly experienced freelance experts it needs for the project and then disbands once the project is complete. Corporations are hiring the firm because they have downsized and gone lean, so they understand and appreciate the firm’s model.
News hooks include a recent layoff at mega-agency Cambell Mithun and the loss of the GM account at McCann-Erickson. Additionally, what little growth there has been in ad revenues is moving away from traditional media - where old-line agencies are comfortable - toward the online environment.
Who to interview? Why, My Creative Team’s partners, of course, and Stuart Elliott, advertising columnist at the New York Times.
Got supporting statistics? “U.S. advertising spending will rise less this year than forecast earlier by TNS Media Intelligence, climbing 1.7 percent, to $152.3 billion, as small businesses limit spending and bigger companies shift money to the Internet and away from traditional mass media.”
Now, we need to define our audience. This is a story for a business reporter at a daily newspaper or a business publication. In my market, it would be The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Business Journal or Business North Carolina Magazine.
Identify the appropriate reporters or editors, do a little research on their interests, how they prefer to be contacted, and recent stories they have covered. With this knowledge in hand, pitch away.