Some amazing snow snaps from home in Northumberland.
Creative newsjacking is the only way through the snow for PRs
It’s been a tough week for PRs looking to pitch stories onto the national news agenda.
Snow, Wikileaks, FIFA, The Ashes and X Factor have meant that PR-led stories have been sixth down the running order before you start.
The best tactic is the align PR pitches with one of these big stories in a bid to newsjack. Veteran PR man and Barry Leggetter suggested this tactic on CIPR TV this week.
“I always think like a newsman when I see snow. […] The only way past the weather block for PRs is to piggyback on top of it,” he said.
Creative approaches are key to getting coverage. We’ve had some success at Speed with stories about working from home, online shopping (snow) and security (Wikileaks).
72 Points’ Harriet Crosse suggests that while newsjacking can work in a crowded news agenda a contrary approach can also deliver ink.
“Sometimes doing something completely different can give you a much bigger show,” she said.
Flat Earth News story as “arctic” conditions head south
In a demonstration of Nick Davis’ Flat Earth News and the differences between regional and London based reporting the media is getting overexcited by the prospect of a flurry of snow heading south.
Broadcasters, nationals and wires are all leading with arctic predictions for the next 48 hours. Yet according to AccuWeather it is currently 2ºC in London and - 21ºC in Antarctica. All sense of perspective has been lost our predominately based London media.
Much of the north and Scotland has had snow on the ground for the last three weeks. We’ve had snow on the ground at home in Northumberland for more than three weeks.
Ladbrokes campaign: Where will it snow on Christmas Day?
Here’s a really neat seasonal online campaign by Ladbrokes. Its taking bets on where it will snow on Christmas Day. I’m going to put a tenner on my postcode in Northumberland at 11-4.
