Nurturing Creativity in PR: Getting Coverage Without Hard News

Greenough Favicon
Emily Fang
February 7, 2024
Nurturing Creativity in PR: Getting Coverage Without Hard News

In our fast-paced field of PR, adapting and innovating are paramount to success. While securing media coverage with hard news stories often takes center stage, there are times when the news cycle slows down. A client might not have many press releases in the pipeline or new customer wins to announce, but the need to remain front and center with target audiences remains. This is where skilled PR teams thrive – making moments in between these landmarks that allow us to dive deeper into storytelling and building a client’s narrative.

During these lulls, opportunities for traditional PR may seem scarce, but it is our responsibility to ensure we work to keep them coming. My team motto for clients has always been relentless momentum, and a valuable skill that keeps the trains going is the ability to think creatively to secure coverage without hard news. In this blog post, I’ll share some insights and strategies for nurturing creativity and making the most of the quieter moments in PR.

Embracing the Quiet Periods

Public relations can be cyclical, with peaks and troughs in media activity. During the quieter periods, it's imperative to view them as opportunities rather than challenges. Embracing the quiet periods allows PR professionals to regroup, refocus, and get creative without the pressure of breaking news.

One way to use this time productively is to set up an internal team brainstorm to tease out new storylines, refer back to Subject Matter Expert (SME) interview notes, and consider hitting different or new key audiences. It’s also a good time to closely monitor for HAROs and Qwoted requests, or reach back out to journalists we’ve worked with in the past to see how we can support any new reporting. Sometimes there’s still the opportunity to comment on a customer announcement or share a critical perspective for an emerging industry story.

For instance, one of my clients was a global leader in entertainment design solutions – they designed everything from rollercoaster rides to casino layouts. But they rarely published any press releases of their own. Instead, our agency would look for trending industry stories, such as Disney theme park upgrades or other major external milestones to capitalize on. We’d position the CEO as a third-party industry source with decades of experience and were able to secure coverage using this strategy with CNBC, Forbes, The Los Angeles Times, Fox News, and more.

Doubling Down on Thought Leadership

The Disney example leads me to this next key insight, which involves doubling down on subject matter experts. It’s an excellent way to stay relevant and engage key audiences without relying on hard news. Position your client as an authority in their field by producing high-quality and timely content that showcases their expertise. This can be in the form of in-depth bylines, Q&As, or rapid response commentary on industry-specific challenges and trending topics. It’s also a great time to revisit upcoming editorial calendar opportunities with trades and look to pair publications’ themes with relevant SMEs who can speak to them.

Moreover, there is an ever-growing list of corporate and industry podcasts that are being produced. This is a great form of media to turn to when hard news isn’t readily available. Our team at Greenough is constantly in touch with production teams that oversee the creation of multiple podcasts. This media strategy has resulted in many interview opportunities across our client base and has helped us diversify our clients’ SME benches beyond CEOs with opportunities for CMOs, CROs, and other key business leaders.

Harnessing the Power of Social Media

In addition to media outreach, social media platforms are ideal for staying engaged with your target reporters and core audiences during quieter periods. Create a content calendar that includes a mix of informative, entertaining, and interactive posts to maintain a consistent online presence, and be sure to tag, comment on, and reshare “wish list” reporters’ articles via corporate and thought leader social media platforms.

By contributing to relevant online conversations within your client’s industry and highlighting reporters’ work, this strategy will not only engage followers and attract new ones but also draw attention from the authors themselves as well as other reporters in the space. This online attention might make a reporter more amenable to making time in their busy schedules for an introductory briefing with a CEO or consider commentary from an SME of that company in the long term. While it might not have an immediate effect, these thoughtful touchpoints matter and can lead to secured opportunities down the line.

In Conclusion

Getting creative without relying on hard news is not only achievable but can also be a rewarding aspect of a public relations practitioner’s role. Embrace the quiet periods as opportunities for reflection, storytelling, and relationship-building. By harnessing industry trends, thought leadership, and the power of social media, your teams can continue to garner media opportunities and keep a client's relentless momentum going, even when hard news is in short supply.

Prev post
Next Post
Greenough Communications

What our clients say

Ameresco

Ameresco

Leila Dillon, SVP, Corporate Marketing and Communications

It's clear that the Greenough Communications team has a deep understanding of the clean tech and climate transition spaces. Within the first month of working together, they were able to land interviews with The Washington Post, The New York Times and Canary Media, just to name a few! Since working together, we've seen our media coverage and quality increase significantly across the board. We value Greenough's partnership are looking forward to our continued work together.

Boston Micro Fabrication

Boston Micro Fabrication

Laura Galloway, Marketing Director

As a small marketing team, having an agency partner that feels like a true extension of my team is invaluable. The Greenough Communications team is professional, responsive and has taken the time to understand our business, putting our brand in front of the customers who matter for our growth. I’ve been very happy with our first year of partnership and look forward to future success.

Acrolinx

Acrolinx

Mariana Just, Vice President, Marketing

We started working with Greenough Communications over a year ago, and it's been a fantastic journey. They really understand who we are at Acrolinx and what we want to say. Their ability to amplify our message in a crowded AI space has been impressive, delivering solid media results in the outlets that matter, securing the AI Breakthrough Award, and boosting our executive team's social media presence. As we continue our partnership, we're excited about expanding our reach and market presence, building upon our refreshed positioning and messaging with Greenough's expertise guiding us every step of the way.

IQE

IQE

Steven Curwood, Director of Corporate Marketing

At IQE, one of our goals is to demystify the vital role compound semiconductors play in the industry and the future of innovation. As we aim to broaden our brand's reach in the U.S. market, finding an agency that understands our technology and the intricacies of our work is crucial. Greenough Communications stood out as that agency from the start. In the short time we've worked together, they've already validated our choice with opportunities in key media, including CNBC, NPR, and the U.S. trade media that will move the needle for our brand and message. There's much ahead for us, and we're excited to have the Greenough team by our side.

Arbella Insurance

Arbella Insurance

John Donohue, CEO

Our Greenough team has excelled in learning our business and our challenges and has been extremely effective in developing and executing a PR strategy that helps drive our success.

Wolters Kluwer Health

Wolters Kluwer Health

André Rebelo, Global Marketing Communications & Public Relations

Our Greenough team has been a strategic asset in sustaining targeted growth in our PR and external communications. The team really operates like an extension of our internal team, aligned and effective. They've deftly balanced the needs of multiple sub-groups' objectives and needs, getting great results in the publications our customers read.

GlobalFoundries

GlobalFoundries

Laurie Kelly, Chief Communications Officer

Greenough Communications has been more than just a PR agency for us at GlobalFoundries; they've been true partners. From navigating our IPO to driving impactful education campaigns like the one leading up to the passage of the CHIPS Act, they've been instrumental in showing the world our leadership role in this new technology era. Their knack for building connections with the industry and our team, including our executives, has been impressive. Every year, we throw new challenges their way, and they keep delivering. As we move ahead together, we're excited to keep pushing the boundaries, sharpening our brand narrative, and taking our brand awareness to the next level.

Greenough - Integrated Marketing

Integrated Marketing

Content Development

Public Relations

Brand Strategy

Integrated Marketing

Content Development

Public Relations

Brand Strategy

Public Relations

Brand Strategy

Integrated Marketing

Content Development

Public Relations

Brand Strategy

Integrated Marketing

Content Development

Let's start a project together.

Greenough - Brand Strategy