CP Knowhow LLC

Jan. 10, 2015

Your charge: Public awareness

What channel(s) are best?

What makes the news?

Putting together a pitch

Finding the right place for it

Casting the spell: Bewitching producers &

editors

Experienced story teller• 25 years in journalism and PR

Track record• Have placed stories and experts on every TV

network & cable news station, every major U.S.

daily and wire service

Insider• PR for U.S. News & World Report

• Reporter at daily newspapers/wires

Furthering ASLA’s broader goals

Communication

FellowshipEducation

Advocacy

To advance landscape

architecture through:

Position landscape architects as leaders and advocates for active living, sustainability and stewardship of the land

Underscore the profession’s pro bono community service

Showcase landscape architecture as a career option for young people of all backgrounds

Policy makers – national, state, local

Young people and their parents

considering career options• Especially Latinos and African Americans

Potential clients for ASLA members

General public

The case for media relations

Option A: Yell as loud as you can

Option B: Paid advertising

Option C: Media relations

Public relations

Media relations

Websites

Newsletters

Internal communi-

cationsSpeech writing

Branding

Special events

Crisis comms

“Public relations is a strategic communication process

that builds mutually beneficialrelationships between organizations and their publics.”

“What public relations does is to attract

attention, preferably from news

media, since the media will eventually tell

many more people than the PR person

could reach individually.”

Eliminate Option A.

What about Option B?

ADVERTISING MEDIA RELATIONS

$$$ / “paid”

Biased

/subjective

Creative control

Sure thing

Free / “earned”

Credible /

objective

Less control

Gamble with big

payoff

“Public relations is possibly the

most organic, central part of

branding, one that will help make

the campaign successful or doom

it to failure.”

Eliminate Option B.

“Public relations is possibly the most organic, central part

of branding, one that will help make the campaign

successful or doom it to failure.”

Raising awareness of the

profession leads to more influence

and respect for landscape

architecture. And more clients.

72% of adults follow local news and

information

1/3 of those said local news sources

give them all the info that matters

32% of local news enthusiasts: A “major impact” if local newspaper folded

71% of adults watch local TV news in a given month

Over national• 65% viewing network newscasts

• 38% cable news

The audience for local TV

news grew in 2013, according

to Pew Research. • Up 6% in the morning (5 to 7 a.m.)

• Up 3% in the early evening (5 to 7 p.m.)

It’s not called “the olds”

Current events, hot off the press, the latest updates

Yesterday

HISTORY

Today

TOO LATE

Tomorrow

DEADLINE

STORY WHEN TO PITCH

2015 landscaping trends

Backyard heater

technology

Christmas gift ideas

Special event in your town

Dead of winter

The summer solstice

When Halloween candy

hits CVS shelves

At least 3 weeks out

Sending photos to a news outlet after an

event = throwing them away

ASLA’s PR office may use photos to gear

up for next year, but not for making news

this year

Keep photos from this year’s event to pitch

next year’s

Visualize the story, then compile the elements

Problem / solution

Peg

Proof / data

People: Professionals

and public

Pictures

•What societal need does an LA project meet?

•What crisis is resolved?

•What improves, lessens, increases or stops?Problem/solution

•What’s the news hook?

•Why air this story now?

•Can we peg to a related national news story or crisis? A ribbon cutting?Peg

•Visuals make TV. A 2-minute segment needs lots of graphics

•Consider photos, pre-packaged b-roll footage, and live action shots for TV crew to film

•How can we include people in the visuals?Pictures

•Project manager: Who identified, developed and implemented the solution?

•Professional expert: Who can offer neutral expert opinion?

•Public: Who is affected? How has their situation improved due to the solution?People

•Data or statistics to quantify the problem’s scope and/or the solution’s effectiveness

•Can be specific to the project or a national study supporting problem/solution concept

•Before and after data are idealProof

Lavish gardens sprout up on luxury

penthouse roofs, Wall Street Journal (June

12, 2014)

“At its most basic, a green roof consists of a carpet of hard-to-kill plants in a

thin layer of soil. Luxury homeowners, however, are opting for bespoke

greenscapes as carefully curated—and sometimes as costly—as art

collections. With the right design, these eco-chic gardens also add

insulation, absorb storm water runoff and deflect heat from the sun.”

Public: “Thirty-five stories above New York Harbor, Fred

Rich can stroll through his groves of Japanese maple, spruce and pine trees or sit under a pergola hung with grape vines, where wild strawberries and thyme grow between the paving stones.”

Pullout quote: I like nature and the presence of nature—I don't like a sterile wood deck. —Homeowner Michael Gerstner

Professional: “With landscape architect Mark Morrison and a

team of engineers, fabricators and organic farmers, Mr. Rich has created a 2,000-square-foot garden …”

“Residential demand for

planted rooftops has grown between 15% to 20% each year

over the past decade, according to

Ed Jarger, general sales and

marketing manager for American

Hydrotech, a manufacturer of green-

roofing systems.”

Pictures• Still shots

• Video footage of rooftop gardens

Environment

Low/no impact

Mitigate cities’ impact/pollution

Resiliency, disaster

mitigation

Protect ecology

Health

Active living

Reduce stress

Enhance treatment or

therapy

“Community”

Society/population

Foster well-being,

Ease transportation

Undo social inequality

Residential

Eco-friendly

Cost-efficiency

Outdoor kitchen, lifestyle

Raises property value

Career

Art & science

Outdoors

Trends (45%)

• Lavish gardens sprout up on luxury penthouse

roofs, WSJ

• Community garden mixes beauty with

conservation, Houston Chronicle

• Green space is sparse amid boom in Uptown,

Dallas Morning News

Soft “how-to” features

(30%)

• Going on vacation?

Prepare your garden first,

Associated Press

• Building a pool is just the

beginning of elaborate

backyard transformations,

Washington Post

Surveys and rankings (10%)

• ASLA with AARP: Pedestrian safety, “Dangerous by Design 2014.”

• National: EPA’s ranking of top energy star cities

• Sasaki: “What makes a city great?” Summer 2014

Top-10 lists (5%)

• 10 ways to make an

outdoor space that your

friends will envy, Business

Insider

• 10 top outdoor design

trends for 2014, San

Antonio Express-News

Events, business news, job (5%)• Austin architecture firm makes Dallas deal;

local firms angle for market share, Austin Business Journal

Miscellaneous (5%)• When at the Versailles palace, don’t miss

Trianon, San Antonio Express-News

• Book Lover’s Corner: The Gravity of Birds, WTNH News 8 (New Haven, CT)

Landscape Architecture in the News

LA projects / trends

How-to

Surveys

Top 10 lists

Events, job posting, biznews

Miscellaneous

Where does your story belong?

There's a place for us, Somewhere a place for us…

There’s a time for us,Some day a time for us

Breaking news vs. features

Hard vs. soft news

Expert for comment

Issues, public affairs, taxpayer concerns

Peg your story to national news

Make your own news• Special events

• Surveys

Guest columns

Op-eds and letters to the editor

“How-to” stories (living, style)

Top-10 lists

From Patch.com to Huffington Post

On-air experts on talk shows

Issues, public affairs, taxpayer concerns

(Inter)national news• Climate change accord, US-China (Nov ‘14)

• California drought (Summer ‘14)

National ranking or survey• Energy Star rankings every April

EPA’s rankings of cities with Energy Star buildingsThursday, April 9, 2015?Top 10, Top 25Top small, Top mid-sizedBiggest change or “for Nth year in a row”

PEG = rankingOFFER: People, proof, pictures, problem

(solution)

Community newspapers

Online hyperlocal news sites

Broadcast newscasts & talk shows

Business paper

Associated Press bureau

College newspapers

Time to bewitch producers & editors

Short staffed

24/7 news cycle

Advertising

revenues diluted

Inundated with PR

pitch emails

Jack of all topics

Reporter or

producer

Timing: News cycle & producer

schedule

Media savvy expert who is

available

Pictures: People to film, still

photos, animated renderings

Peg: News hook

Project: Problem/solution

Geographically convenient for camera crew

SUBJECT LINE

Makes or breaks a pitch

Be brief or key words will trail off the

screen (e.g., smartphone)

GREETING

Get the name(s) right!

Identify yourself

Get to the point quickly

CLEAR OPENER

Open with a short & informative hook

1 to 2 sentences

The 5 Ws

Why relevant to this journalist’s audience?

Entice the reader to continue

Details follow…

ALL RELEVANT DETAILS

Use bullets• The eye = the only body part that loves bullets

Customize bullets for each pitch• TV? Visuals.

• Call-in radio talk show? Why listeners would want

to voice their opinion.

A call of action: Close with what should

happen next• “I would love to set up a phone call”

• “I will follow up early next week”

Contact info: So important!• Your phone number should be up top

• Then put details down below

Follow up

Do what you said

you would do

Journalists get

thousands of emails

Move quickly if

interest

Be Wayne Gretzky

“What is a lobby boy? A lobby boy is completely invisible, yet always in sight. A lobby boy remembers what people hate. A lobby boy anticipates the client's needs before the needs are needed.”

-- M. Gustave

Twitter, Facebook

Alert ASLA PR

Connect to reporter on social media

Write an old-fashioned “thank you”

note

Be a resource

“Be well, do good work, keep in touch.”

ASLA PR offers resources:

http://www.asla.org/ChapterOutreac

h.aspx

Thank you!