The Mission: Strategic Press Placements
In a perfect world, we’d have major news announcements from our clients every month, guaranteeing the media would continue to cover their outstanding contribution to society with their emerging technologies. But sometimes, that’s not the case. Therefore, Spark Rocket is strategic and creative in garnering press placements. We want to be clear, we will never let you distribute or pitch items that are inherently fluff or self-aggrandizing—that’s the fastest way to get your releases ignored and, frankly, tank our cred with the media. So we won’t do it. What we will do for you is provide the editors in your space stories and pitches that provide their readers something of value. There are tons of ways to skin that cat, here’s one.
LAUNCHPAD CHALLENGE: New media coverage without major news announcement
Our client had been covered – and rightly so. They were launching the until-that-time fastest available business internet speed in five markets using millimeter wave technologies. In building out networks they offered a substitute for road-destroying fiber lays, quick and relatively inexpensive infrastructure and even quicker market roll-outs. For customers, they provided unbelievably fast uploads and downloads, a revolutionary billing system and VOIP capabilities before Skype was a gleam in its founders’ eyes.
And the major trades, WSJ, NY Times had been writing the story for a year. But our client needed a capital raise and we needed major media coverage at
the tradeshow where big deals in telecom world were made.
ROCKET-FUELED SOLUTION: Know ALL your editors’ needs The most trusted chief editor at the leading trade publication in the industry at that time respected us, took our calls and knew we were all about delivering newsworthy content from our clients. But we had no new announcement. So we looked at the landscape:
• We noticed was the magazine had gone an art direction change. Its full-featured cover stories, usually reserved for CEO and exec-team profiles of industry stalwarts were essentially the same, but the covers had a distinctly more “personable” appeal. • Our clients’ CEO had a unique appeal as well—”surprising for the industry” good looks, a New Zealand accent and NOVAesque smarts that were beginning to draw greater crowds at the speaking engagements we were getting for him. • It was the height of the “Crocodile Hunter” pop-culture craze. • Our client was located in Orlando, FL – home of kitschy, legendary tourist attraction Gatorland.
So, after getting the client to agree to wrestle gators and Gatorland to provide us a gator wrangler to make sure our client survived the shoot, we made the pitch to our respected editor. “Jason,” we said, “What would your art director think of a profile on our upstart CEO called ‘ISP Hunter’ where we put him on the back of an alligator?”
THE IMPACT: Gators everywhere! • The cover of the leading industry magazine in the issue featured at the deal-making tradeshow • A five-page spread • Unmatched visibility for a start-up CEO and unmeasurable notoriety!
THE PAYLOAD: What’s on board! • Ongoing monitoring of editors’ needs • Extraordinary creative concepting skills • Fearless pitching skills • Unparalleled follow-up