Lisa Zlotnick senior VP, media at Lippe Taylor, knows a thing or two about working with media outlets. Her company was recently named one of PR News' Agency Elite for media relations.
One standout example of Lippe Taylor's expertise was its work turning Wayfair.com, a relatively unknown high-potential retailer, into a household name via placements across all media venues, most notably on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show". Results from that show included a 50.5% increase in visitors to Wayfair.com on the day the segment aired, a 17% spike the following day and more than 158,000 views of "Lisa Jarmon Sees Her New Home" on EllenTV.com and YouTube. Not to mention "an emotional connection of a brand associated with a single mom’s joyful, tearful reaction to getting a fully furnished new home," Zlotnick said.
We asked Zlotnick about some of the worst media relations advice she'd ever been given. Here’s what she had to say:
“Something that I hear all too often is to never pitch on a Friday. This is bad advice. Some of my best bookings have come from picking up the phone on a Friday and talking with my contacts. Friday tends to be one of the best days to have longer conversations since people are more relaxed because the weekend is on the horizon.
Another bad piece of advice that I’ve been hearing more and more lately is that an email pitch is sufficient. The phone is your best tool to create relationships. Some of my best contacts I talk to on the phone. We discuss their kids, their weddings, their after-work activities and, of course, work. The phone is your friend in media relations.”
Follow Lucia Davis: @LKCDavis.
I agree with both of those points, although first if you’re talking to a weekly or monthly publication then finding out which are their frantic press days will win you a lot of brownie points.
The second point, picking up the phone, is a good one – as long as your client has given you something decent to say. Only this morning I had a call from a PR person telling me her client was coming over to the UK and asking whether I’d like to meet them. She forgot to mention what they did, why they might be interesting, any of that stuff…