March 2010
We share our communications secrets all the time, and some are more elusive than others. For instance, the secret of a successful media pitch? Find a great angle for your story. This might not be a secret, exactly, but it’s also not as simple as it sounds.
The best pitches are those that hand the reporter a fully packaged story that is timely, relevant and interesting. A great story is about actual news, with both a compelling hook and the weight of real significance. Ideally you’ll also have experts opinions or solid statistics backing it up. It can be complex and delicate work putting this package together, but you get the results you want.
Our client the American Lung Association in California released its annual State of Tobacco Control report in January, in which it graded more than 370 Californian cities on their tobacco control policies. The city of Richmond, which received all D’s and F’s in 2008, enacted ordinances that raised its grades to straight A’s in one year. This success story stood out against the majority of California cities – and the state of California itself – that still have significant room for improvement.
As we constructed our pitch, we knew the statewide and local grades, both positive and negative, made the story relevant in every corner of the state. Furthermore, the issue of tobacco control has health and environmental as well as political implications, and attracted a wide range of editors and reporters across departments.
Finally, the story had a resounding call to action, under which we framed our entire outreach effort: Raise the Grade. Readers can visit www.californialung.org to learn how to advocate for policy change in their communities, donate to the American Lung Association, and support the California Cancer Research Act to raise cigarette taxes. The $1 increase will discourage young people from starting to smoke, while also significantly increasing funding for cancer research by $500 million annually.
We developed a campaign-branded media kit complete with easy-to-read data on the grades and grading criteria. We armed volunteers with the tools they needed to rally support for the tax increase legislation. On the date of the report’s release, we held a press conference in Richmond, and provided an online bank of photos and b-roll to reporters we pitched across the state.
During the week of the report’s release, it was covered by more than 186 media outlets including more than 40 national, regional and local print outlets, 20 television stations, 15 radio stations and more than 90 online media outlets, including USA Today. This was a 300 percent increase in media coverage over the previous year’s report, and reached more than 21 million people.
As you pursue your own perfect pitch, remember the right angle balances many considerations: