Get PR Coverage by “Piggybacking”

 

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Another place to find a high concentration of reporters is at a hot press conference sponsored by an industry leader. Go to the press conference’s location, but don’t go inside – that’s bad form. Stand in the hallway and wait for the press to leave. When they’re walking back to the show, you can approach them to see if they’re interested in your product. Talking with reporters while they’re returning to the show makes their time productive without interfering with any other scheduled activities on their agendas.

This strategy has the advantage of letting someone else collect the reporters for you. You piggyback on their appeal. For this strategy to be effective you must:

• Know the press by sight. You should be able to call out their names to catch their attention.

• Know what pitch will interest them. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll know the right reporters to approach and what benefits your product has for their audience.

You can find out about major press conferences by asking the show office for a list of scheduled conferences, or by asking reporters that you’re familiar with.