The successful campaign blueprint

1. #DIGITALZONE
The successful
campaign
blueprintL A U R A C R I M M O N S
@lauracrimmons

2. #DIGITALZONE
The successful
campaign
blueprintL A U R A C R I M M O N S
@lauracrimmons

3. There are no
guarantees in
PR/Content
Marketing.

4. But there are certain
considerations that
make campaigns more
likely to succeed.

5. Or rather there are
certain questions a
journalist will ask when
considering whether to
cover your story.

6. If you’ve considered all
of these questions
you’re more likely to
create a successful
campaign.

7. 01
Timing

8. Why should I
write about this
now?

9. Product/ service
launch

10. ‘Event’ tie-in
Public Holiday
National Day
Cultural event
Anniversary

11. Newsjack

12. 03
Credibility

13. What makes this
brand credible to
the subject?

14. Could be inherently
obvious

16. May need to
‘borrow’
someone else’s
credibility

18. Either way,
credibility has to
be established.

19. 04
Relevance

20. Why is this
relevant to me?

21. Show why they
should care.

22. Does it fit into a
column they
write?

23. Have they written
about the topic
before?

24. Is it a personal
interest of
theirs?

26. If none of the above
apply – should you
really be contacting
them?

27. Outline this.
Where do you
see the piece
sitting?

28. 05
Emotional response

29. How does this
story make me
feel?

30. “I've learned that
people will forget what
you said, people will
forget what you did, but
people will never forget
how you made them
feel.”

31. “If it bleeds, it
leads.”

33. Negative
emotion
Positive
emotion
High arousal
Low arousal
Awe
Excitement
Amusement
Anger
Anxiety
Sadness Contentment

34. “Rather than harping on features or facts,
we need to focus on feelings; the underlying
emotions that motivate people to action.”

35. 02
Human interest

36. Who does this
affect?

37. Use case
studies to show
human impact.

38. 06
Shareability

39. Will it generate
shares/engage
ment?

40. https://info.muckrack.com/journalistsurvey

42. Visuals

43. Are there
accompanying
visuals?

44. When’s the last time you
saw a news story without
an accompanying image?

45. Think about
how you
share visuals.
Describe what
the images
are.
Provide high
and low res
options.

46. 2%
Sözcü
96
%Hürriyet
96
%Mynet
% video content

47. *Note – I’m not
suggesting explicitly
answering each of
these questions

48. Just make sure you’ve
actually considered
them yourself and it
will be apparent to the
journalist.

49. Extra pitch tips

51. Use their name.

52. Don’t be *too*
friendly or over
familiar.

53. Don’t send
PDF press
releases.

54. Usually best to
paste in email.

55. Get to the point:
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?

56. Curb hyperbole
- not everything
is awesome.

57. Ensure your
data is sound.

58. Make your
contact
details clear.

59. And be
available.
(Or at least
outline when you
will be.)

60. Proofread
everything.
EVERYTHIN
G!

61. Don’t do
endless follow-
ups.

63. Why now?
Why you?
Why me?
Summary
Who’s affected?
What should I feel?
Is it shareable?
How is it visualised?

64. SILVERTHORNAGENCY
Thank you.
E-MAIL:
laura@silverthornagency.com
@lauracrimmons / @SilverthornCo