Matchmaking Abundant at "Media Speed Dating" Event

By PRSA Member, Tony Astran

Ding!  Not since the Southwest Airlines commercials has this sound generated more excitement. On the morning of Wednesday, March 19, at the Adam’s Mark Hotel, PRSA Buffalo Niagara Chapter members split into groups to meet members of the media—and switched stations at a rapid pace.

To me, “Media Speed Dating” appeared to be a smash hit.  Most everyone ran out of business cards to exchange by the event’s end, and many attendees stayed afterward to network.

Some of the key tips I heard were:

• Vic Baker, WIVB-TV: E-mails are better than faxes—more eyes will see the information. Also, include a cell phone number with your information, and be accessible in bad times as well as good—that will build trust.

• Marissa Bailey, WGRZ-TV: Attaching a reporter or producer’s name to the story you’re sending will result in a better chance for coverage.

• Deanna Russo, Buffalo.com’s Your Hub: The site, which is up to 50,000 page views a month, shoots for a younger demographic.

• Christopher Schobert, Buffalo Spree: Deadlines for story submissions are typically two to three months prior to the published issue.

• Kyla Igoe, WKBW-TV: Better to reach this “backpack journalist” earlier in the morning, before she’s out on assignment.

• Grove Potter, The Buffalo News: Including dollar amounts is key to getting coverage in the business section—particularly the “Contributors” column.

• Eileen Buckley, WBFO-FM: The morning drive show is the key focus for news coverage.

• Tracey Drury, Business First: Sending the same release to all the paper’s contacts is frowned upon.

• Ginger Geoffrey, WKBW-TV: Reporters do have some ability to sell stories to assignment editors—it just depends on the news that’s happening that day.

• Steve Watson, The Buffalo News: Wherever possible, try framing your story within a larger trend.

• Jim Ranney, WNED-AM: Avoid contacting the station at the top and bottom of the hour, when newscasts air.

PR Hits the Campaign Trail
On Feb. 12, the PRSA Buffalo Niagara chapter held its first program of 2008, featuring Grant Loomis, Director of Communications for the recently elected Erie County Executive, Chris Collins (pictured below).  Loomis shared with the audience of 45 his role in the events of the campaign, from selecting the candidate to post-election strategies.

According to Loomis, one of the campaign’s keys to success was to “define the opponent before he has an opportunity to define himself.”  In this case, the race came down to “the chief executive (Collins)” versus “chief politician,” which was how Collins’ camp defined their opponent, James Keane, a lifetime Buffalonian with a long-time background in the political world. 

A large part of the comm-unications strategy Loomis employed was to be selective with media, whether paid or earned.  While this may sound self-defeating, being choosey paid off, particularly when the campaign turned negative.  “Collins was accessible to the media but discerning, especially in responding to Keane attacks,” Loomis said.  “We were just not willing to engage in a ‘he said-he said’ campaign.”  Rather, Loomis had Collins (pictured) responded with a short written statement, staying on message, and not even addressing the attack whenever possible.  Loomis was also careful not to put his candidate in the line of fire.

This tempered strategy was also employed in Collins’ paid advertising.  While Keane played the starring role in his negative ads, Collins never appeared in a negative campaign ad or direct- marketing piece.  In addition, Collins created ads that were focused and disciplined, with one tone and a single message from beginning to end. 

In addition, Loomis attributed much of Collins’ success to the relationships Collins formed with the media, whether traditional or non-traditional.  “Not only did Chris meet one-on-one with the traditional media outlets, but he also met with Web site managers and bloggers, as well as with editors of small local papers.  You can’t underestimate who reads the smaller papers, and Chris really forged good relationships with their staffs.  He was respectful of them just as with the traditional outlets.”

As for the administration’s future, Loomis shared Collins’s message: “Grow or Die.”  Loomis said Collins believes that “Buffalo and Erie County must grow; it cannot simply shrink to success.  Chris rejects the thought that we should simply manage the decline and make the best of it, and become a great small city.”  For his public-relations efforts going forward, Loomis will “try to prolong the honeymoon. We’ve had some good early wins, and we know that we need to continue our outreach to media organizations.  It’s all about building relationships and getting our message out.”

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