By Ivet Contreras, IC Media Strategy Founder
I spent several years on the receiving end of hundreds, if not thousands, of press releases and media pitches as a TV reporter, producer, and assignment desk editor. Most of my news career was in Spanish media, so if I wanted to cover a story suggested by these PR people I had to come up with an angle that could appeal to our main audience: Spanish-speaking Latinos. But most of the time those pitches were ignored. Why? Because their angle or topic did not resonate with our target audience. [Sigh] So many missed opportunities.
Well, isn’t that the job of the reporter to find the angle? Yes, but reporters don’t know the whole story…we don’t know that there is a Latino connection/angle.
Shouldn’t the reporter find out? Well, yes but let’s just put it this way “ain’t nobody got time for that.” You want to improve the chances that your event, your business, your organization gets the most press? Your PR people should be aware of the audience of the media outlet they are pitching the story to and make it as easy as possible.
So many missed opportunities:
Opportunities to reach a larger audience.
Opportunities to grow your customer base.
Opportunities to get more support for your cause.
Not just missed opportunities when it comes to getting media coverage, but also when it comes to social media and advertising.
Multicultural Americans are not only driving culture, but we’re driving markets. If your teams don’t reflect or understand the different media outlet’s target audience, it’s not just bad optics; it’s strategy malpractice.
So reason número uno I started IC Media Strategy – For no more missed opportunities.
