What's in store for this edition:
How To Dissect a PR Campaign
Determining What Went Wrong (or Right)
What does a post-mortem mean in public relations? How can the mighty team of you conduct one? Is really worth it?
A post-mortem meeting is a way to wrap up a program or campaign. It’s a way to document what you learned from the campaign.
Think of a postmortem as the campaign’s “exit interview." It’s a chance to high-five yourself for what went right, and see what went wrong. You’ll remind yourself what not to do next time, and more importantly, what to do.
📖 Term Reminder: Campaign is what you did to get the word out to your audience about a specific event or goals over a specific period of time.
Document Feelings
How did you or others involved feel about the results? Did they meet expectations?
What do you feel worked?
What didn’t work?
Equipment Check
Did you have all the tools you needed?
What else do you need next time?
Was it easy to communicate with others?
Where did things get stuck?
Customer/Client Feedback
What did customers or clients say?
How did your message land?
💫 ProTip: Write down the lessons learned - they are too easy to forget! Keep a running document, or “PR Diary” to remind you of the lessons learned.
Is it really worth it?
Yes. Yes. Yes! Even if you are a one person band, it will help spot patterns, save time and resources, and avoid future headaches.
Every campaign can teach you something. Even if it’s “never send a press release before coffee.” ☕️
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”
Do this now: Take a previous campaign, write down lessons that you can remember.
Term to Learn
Trade Publications cover specific industries and publish business-to-business (B2B) content, news, industry trends, and thought leadership. They often interview industry leaders. Being featured in these types of publications is often an underused tool. Sometimes being featured in a publication like this will give you better results that being in a wider reaching publication. The reason goes back to your audience. Who are they and what are they reading?
FAQ
Q: Should I share my postmortem notes with others?
A: Absolutely! Especially if others were involved, including the marketing department, executives, etc. Not only will they see clearly what role they played, they also can see how they can contribute better on the next campaign.
Get PR techniques from recent news.
Newsworthy
Post Malone & Stanley
Post Malone & Stanley 1913 announce a limited edition tumbler.
There are PR methods to note here.
They gave an exclusive to Billboard magazine about this announcement. That means Billboard was able to break the news first.
Why is this important? Media outlets/news organizations love exclusives, therefore may love your story more.
The choice of Billboard magazine is perfect, since its audience fits perfectly with the audience Stanley is trying to reach.
How did they did they do that?
First determine if the story warrants an exclusive.
They reached out to the correct person and offered the exclusive. It wouldn’t have divulged the details until offer was accepted.
They would have NOT offered exclusives to multiple journalists at same time.
Any offers of exclusives should be transparent as to timelines and expectations.
💫 Pro Tip: An embargoed press release does not mean an exclusive. An embargoed press release is shared with multiple journalists ahead of a specified public release time, under the agreement that none will publish the news before the embargo lifts. An exclusive, on the other hand, is when you offer the story to only one reporter, giving them the sole right to break the news before anyone else. No other journalists receive the information until the exclusive story is published.
✍️ Key PR Takeaway: Exclusives can be very effective if used sparingly.
Learn from others.
100% Cool : 0% Cringe
HBO Max makes fun at itself with yet another name change
The identity crisis better known as Max, or is that HBO Max, is changing its name again.
What I liked about this is they knew there would be push back and confusion. So what better way to confront it head on is to make fun of yourself.
✍️ Key PR Takeaway: By anticipating backlash and acknowledge audience feelings show that you’re aware of what’s going on and you have an eye-roll toward yourself. It humanizes a brand and show that not everything is perfect.
Useful PR Resources.
🧰 TOOLKIT
Qwoted
A platform that connects experts with journalists who need sources.
A free tool (with paid options available) for both journalists and sources.
If you are a subject matter expert, you can share your expertise with media. You never know, they might just use you!
Tips for Qwoted: No AI written responses - ever! Answer their questions, follow their instructions, and nothing more. It’s a lot like SOS and HARO.
Attention Seeker of the Week
Breizy
Breizy, the singing 3-year-old “spoiled rotten” Golden doodle, when she really wants you to take note, will paw at you, jump on your lap and sit and stare until you give her attention. Breizy you’re one cool pooch with those sunglasses! You know how much we love sunglasses here at AttnSeek 🕶️
Even thought the first day of summer is a month away, its already heating up outside in Florida. I’d love to hear… how are your summer campaigns coming along?
Until next week, keep your shades on and stay cool.
Your fellow Seeker,
Keren
🕶️
