Why PR campaigns often don’t work and how to make them more media friendly

There are many reasons why certain pitches don't end up making news. Arthur Solomon, a former journalist who switched to the PR side, wrote about those reasons in a contributing article for Agilitypr.com.

• What was pitched turned out to be entirely promotional 

• The proposed story lacked both hard and feature news elements 

• Neither the PR person nor the interview source would answer questions or provide the requested backup that confirmed what they said 

• Instead of proposing a story that would work for both the client and the media, the offerings were entirely client-centric 

• Often, PR practitioners fail to remember that “new” is the essential part of “news” for major media journalists 

• Also, on occasion, when a pitch was rejected, some PR people would ask the journalists to offer suggestions that would make the pitch usable 

Solomon also writes about ways to make them more media-friendly. 

• Creating a program that might work for both the client and the media is not that difficult. Account teams can accomplish this by tailoring specific facets of programs to specific media they approach 

• Too often account teams fall back on past successful programs, but account handlers must remember that “new” or “different” must be the essential part of programs to gain the attention of major media journalists 

• PR account teams too often think that having a prominent spokesperson deliver the client's message will assure major coverage. The suggestion is to hire a personality with expertise in the subject being pitched 

• It is a mistake to offer the same individual for interviews to all reporters, editors, and producers, but it is better to offer diverse interlocutors depending on their role 

You can read what else Solomon has to say on this topic here.