It’s Christmas week, traditionally a slow time of year for most businesses. Time to take a few days, be with the family, recharge the batteries, and eat too much.
You’ll notice that the news media is not one of the businesses taking the week off. They have space and air time to fill everyday from here until after New Year’s.
So, what’s your media relations strategy for this time of year?
- This is actually a good time of year for a getting story placements. The regular crush of business news has slowed down, and the media is actually looking for stories to do. You should plan to do some extra pitching this time of year.
- Your end-of-year pitch doesn’t have to be holiday-related. But the main thing is that you have to be prepared to work with the media this time of year. That means executives need to be available for interviews and pictures, and PR people need to be available to answer questions and help the journalist complete the story.
- You have the opportunity to make media friends this time of year by being cooperative. Journalists want to get home to their families, too. Help them do that and you’ll earn extra brownie points.
- Have a 24/7 media relations plan. That means knowing who is responsible for answering their phone and email everyday this week and next — even on Christmas and New Year’s. Some of the biggest blow-ups in PR history have happened over holiday breaks, when PR was slow to respond.
