I really should pack up this blogging lark for Christmas. But the PR industry never stops. It’s a fact of which the Interoute team at sister consultancy Lighthouse PR is only too aware. Team member Susanna Wyeth writing on her blog says:

“Damage to a subsea cable on Friday impacting Internet connectivity in Asia and the Middle East enabled the team to set the news agenda by letting journalists know what was happening and be the first to offer comment, both canned and through two spokespeople who were free to talk and travel to interviews.”

The result? Friday saw the story run far and wide from the BBC to the FT and it continued to run on Saturday with highlights including BBC News 24 and News at Ten. It shows how a story that would have normally been confined to niche trade media can be pushed out into the mainstream.

The team used traditional tactics, as well as blogs and Twitter to drive the story as new information and assets were available. More from Susanna:

“I’d love to take the full credit but there is no way I can. We were luck to be able to use some great intelligence from our client and communicate it though some really talented people on the team. The story was not only picked up by traditional media, but there were over 50 blog hits – including this piece on the Times Online blog which then led to the news piece.”

Christmas can be a great time to break or newsjack stories. Writing on his blog Steve Earl says:

“[…] there will be far less competition for story placements in the nationals, regionals and on broadcast networks between now and 5 January. And far more target people sat at home watching and reading”.

Consultants from Lighthouse PR and Rainier PR wrote a book earlier this year about how digital techniques could be used to drive a PR programme, including newsjacking. Download a copy here if you fancy a read over Christmas.

Tags: Interoute, newsjacking