The Publicity Hound's
Tips of the Week
Issue #360 Aug. 21, 2007
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com/
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)
The Publicity Hound®

Circulation: 34,424

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"Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity"

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While I'm Gone...

I will be out of the office Aug. 20-24. If you have a customer service problem you need solved, please contact Christine Buffaloe, my customer service manager, at mailto:serenityva@wi.rr.com or call 262-238-0868.

Also, Chris has solved the problem many of you PayPal customers have experienced with not being able to download your electronic documents after your order has been approved. The entire ordering process should be smooth sailing from now on.

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In This Issue
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1. Mattel's Toy Recall

2. A Tip for Grant Recipients

3. A Fun Event for Food Pantries

4. The Shrinking Newsroom

5. Promoting a Book on Hawaii

6. Help This Hound

7. Hound Quote of the Week


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1. Mattel's Toy Recall
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Mattel's second toy recall in less than two weeks presents publicity opportunities galore for smart Hounds:

--Pediatricians and other medical experts can offer advice on what parents can do if they think their children have been exposed to hazardous toys.

--How do you take toys that have been recalled away from children without resulting in temper tantrums from them and long explanations from you?

--Can your company, agency or school offer other alternatives to entertain kids? What about simple home-made toys you can make yourself?

--How can parents best protect their kids against dangerous toys and jewelry? Consumer experts can comment.

--Should we be more suspicious than ever of anything with a "Made in China" label? Let journalists know if you have manufacturing experts who can comment on this topic.

--If your company makes things that are used by children, what kinds of safety regulations do you follow?

--Mattel did a lousy job of damage control when this crisis hit. If you're a crisis counselor or PR expert, what do you think the toy maker should have done?

--Mattel has warned that it could announce more recalls. That has led some experts to question the fate of the Mattel brand in the wake of the bad news. Branding experts should offer comment on how this crisis might affect Mattel.


When a crisis like this hits, will journalists be able to find your experts who can comment? One of the first places they look is Expertclick: The Online Yearbook of Experts at http://tinyurl.com/f5evn Publicity Hounds get $100 off the subscription price.


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2. A Tip for Grant Recipients
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Thanks to Publicity Hound Beth Bilderback, public relations specialist for Nauticus, a marine science center in Norfolk,Virginia.

She was in the audience on Tuesday when I presented my "Savvy Media Relations" workshop, and she passed along this great publicity tip for anyone who receives grant money:

"This summer, we received a hefty grant to fund two oceanography camps for two separate groups of 10th-graders. One requirement was that the students put together a PowerPoint presentation detailing all of their marine biology activities throughout the week and show it on the last day of the camp.

"For one of these last days, we invited both the board of the funding organization and a local reporter, who sent a photographer to follow the kids on their field trip that afternoon so they could get a good visual.

"It was win-win all around. The granters got to see the very real return on their investment. The students were delighted at the attention (parents were of course also invited). The hard work of all who put the camp together was recognized, and the media highlighted a really successful partnership.

"We ended up getting an article on the front page of the local news section. Lesson: Don’t just announce that you've received grant money. Follow up with a happy ending."


That's great advice, Beth. OK, Hounds. If you've put grant money to good use, let the media know the rest of the story.


Nonprofits think they face a more difficult time than businesses generating publicity, but that isn't necessarily so. Paul Hartunian knows lots of tricks that nonprofits can use to get media attention. He explained them all during a teleseminar I conducted with him called "Failproof Publicity Tips for Your Nonprofit." It's available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can download and be reading as soon as your order has been approved.

Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/29dba


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3. A Fun Event for Food Pantries
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During Tuesday's session in Norfolk, I came up with a great idea for Jan Cline who works for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.

The foodbank gets a fair share of publicity for routine news events, he said, like when the agency really needs donations. But he wanted an idea for something really different that would catch the media's attention.

Here's what I suggested. Have a fun competition between several local chefs. Take five of the same items from your food pantry, like a can of pork and beans, a box of macaroni and cheese, a can of tomato soup, a jar of black olives and a loaf of bread. Then ask each chef to cook a dinner using those items.

Offer the recipes to your local newspaper's food columnist. You can even turn it into a fund-raiser, sell tickets, and serve samples of the chefs' creations.


More great tips involving food are on the CD and electronic transcript called "Publicity Tips for Restaurants, Chefs & Foodies." It comes with a list of all 51 ideas that you can download as soon as your order has been approved. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/clr26


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4. The Shrinking Newsroom
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Are you paying attention to the layoffs taking place at newspapers of every size, all over the U.S.?

If not, you'll probably be very aware of them the next time you call or email a reporter or editor and don't receive an answer.

Getting a callback was difficult enough even 10 and 20 years ago. Today, however, newsrooms are leaner than ever. Declining readership and advertising, coupled with the millions of dollars in classified ad revenue that has been taken away from newspapers by online bulletin boards like Craigslist, are resulting in massive layoffs.

Editors are relying more on freelancers. And staff writers who still have their jobs are often shuffling multiple beats--sometimes not very well.

I'm writing an article for PR Tactics, the newspaper published by the Public Relations Society of America, and I'm looking for Publicity Hounds to quote in my article.

Is the problem of gaining access to journalists getting worse at your local papers? What tips or tricks can you pass along on how to encourage journalists to call you back? Have you been successful in meeting busy journalists for lunch or coffee? If so, how did you get them to say yes?

Mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=BusyJournalists

I may follow up with a phone interview sometime next week.

In the meantime, let the newspapers' loss from Craigslist be your gain. Craigslist is still one of the very best tools for Publicity Hounds, regardless of what you're promoting. You'll find separate lists for cities all over the world, and dozens of sub-categories where you can post news about classes, events, fund-raisers, new products and services, politics, real estate and lots more. You'll even find discussion forums for whatever topic floats your boat.

But before you start posting, you must know the rules and understand how to develop a publicity strategy that pays big dividends. Nancy Mills explains how on "How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool." It's available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you can download and be reading as soon as your order has been approved.

Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/geog2.


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5. Promoting a Book on Hawaii
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This week, seven Publicity Hounds have tips for Karma Bennett of Ulysses Press. She wants advice on how to promote a new edition of the book Hidden Hawaii, which focuses on the places locals love instead of the same tired tourist traps. She's concerned that book reviewers won't pay much attention to a new edition.


From Michael Draper:

"I would recommend keeping each book separate and focused on a new market. It is best to have more products for sale. It will help make you look like the real experts on Hawaii. There is a separate market for each book, and a market that would buy both books. When you release your new book, it will be reviewed as a new book. But I would make sure that the new book is tailored for that different market and not just a redo."


From Andrea Kinney:

"Why not partner with travel agencies to help promote the series? I am a travel specialist who specializes in culinary travel and I am always looking for the genuine aspects of any destination. Offer the books to travel specialists for a free or reduced rate in return for advertising in their newsletters and on their websites. I’m already excited to check out the series for myself!"


From Kellee White:

"I got so much use out of my first copy of Hidden Hawaii. I am thrilled to know it is being updated! Try to get the news into Daily Candy Travel at http://www.dailycandy.com/ They love things like this."


The Publicity Hound says:

National Public Radio is the perfect publicity opportunity for authors. Go to the NPR website at http://www.npr.org/ and use the search box on the top of the homepage to search for travel-related programs. Then pitch the producers on a fun program that ties into the book.


Book publicist Lissa Warren has lots of other tips to pass along on "How to Get Booked on National Public Radio," available as a CD or electronic transcript. She's booked dozens of her clients on NPR shows. Read more about what you'll learn at http://tinyurl.com/ayms6


Read all the responses to this Help this Hound question at http://tinyurl.com/2l97no


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6. Help This Hound
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Julie Ann Kodmur from St. Helena, California writes:

"How do you get American writers and, of course, families, interested in Shawnigan Lake School, a Canadian boarding school at http://www.sls.bc.ca/?

"I’ve been doing publicity for the wonderful school where my step-son goes and now find that we need some fresh ideas. The school is frankly a cousin of Hogwarts---uniform Tudor architecture in all the buildings on campus which slope down to a lake, then bordered by a forest and a huge 'great hall' dining room with fireplaces. The faculty are not only very intelligent but enormously empathetic and caring.

"We’ve thought of having J.K. Rowling come to do a reading or present an award. We’ve thought of having the Headmaster write some op-ed pieces for U.S. papers.

"We’re trying to 'junket' some writers up to the campus to shadow some students and go back to their U.S. papers and write up the experience. Do your Hounds have any fresh ideas for publicity?"


The Publicity Hound says:

Many Hounds who read this newsletter do PR for schools, colleges and universities, so I know they'll share some of their best tips. If you have an idea for Julie Ann, post it to my blog at http://tinyurl.com/2hu4o9


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7. Hound Quote of the Week
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Thanks to Dan Poynter of Santa Barbara, California for this one:

Terrier + Bulldog = Terribull, a dog that makes awful mistakes

Bloodhound + Labrador = Blabador, a dog that barks incessantly

Collie + Malamute = Commute, a dog that travels to work

Deerhound + Terrier = Derriere, a dog that's true to the end.

DOG JOKES & QUOTES EBOOK: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes, perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few good laughs.

BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50 best websites for dog humor.

http://www.publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/


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Where to Meet or Hear The Publicity Hound®

September 11: Brookfield, Wisconsin

Association for Volunteer Administration of Southeastern Wisconsin, keynote presentation on "Savvy Media Relations: How to Get Thousands of Dollars in FREE Online and Offline Publicity," 9:45 a.m., University of Phoenix Metro-Milwaukee Campus, 20075 Watertower Blvd. $30 for AVA/SEW and IAVC members, $40 for non-members. Deadline August 31. Learn more at http://www.ava-sew.org/content/blogcategory/5/4/or call Kay Bloesl at 414-571-1327 to register.


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Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy list "89 Reasons to Send a News Release."

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Joan Stewart
a.k.a. The Publicity Hound®
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
U.S.A.
Phone: 262-284-7451 (Central)
Fax: 262-284-1737