In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, trying to make your business stand out can be a challenge. With so many brands producing content at scale, it can feel difficult to know where to position your own brand in the news cycle, or what ‘fresh’ ideas you can bring to the table.
That’s where creative PR campaigns come to the forefront. Explore how you can leverage the power of PR to create your own news, generate buzz and elevate your brand’s communications strategy:
Using PR to create news where there is none
Every brand is hiding a newsworthy story – you just have to know where to look. As the leaders of your industry, you’re more than qualified to be the professionals passing comment on an emerging trend, or having expert insights to share with the world. If you’re stuck for new ideas, try planning around these different areas:
Unearth unique angles with newsjacking
Tap into current news topics and trends across publications and social media platforms to create a news story that will generate traction. One of the key aspects of creative PR campaigns is their ability to find unique and interesting angles within your brand or industry and tag this on to an existing topic. This could come from a range of formats, like offering additional statistics to bolster a news report, or providing an expert comment on an emerging situation.
Use your own data
You know your industry better than anyone! As a business, you’re holding on to a wealth of information that could create a news story, like recent buyer trends and popular products or audience and industry behaviour. If you want to go even further, you can commission a survey to gain a powerful data set that can be used to create a story.
Look to your business calendar
Business updates might not seem the most glamorous of news stories, but they’re great for quick wins. Events, new product launches, business awards, webinars, recruitment hires and strategic announcements all make an easy news story and your PR agency can help you plan and execute a business events calendar that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.
Collaborate with influencers and other brands
Collaborating with influencers and other brands can open you up to a whole new world of opportunities and news ideas. Be sure to select partnerships with influencers who resonate with your brand, helping you to significantly amplify your message and lend credibility to your news story.
How to make your news engaging
Content is king in the digital world, and creative PR knows how to make it reign supreme. Make sure your news story gets the attention it deserves these tips:
Make it stronger with data
Data lends credibility to your story, and is an easy way to provide a fresh perspective on a tired subject. Where possible, always incorporate data to make your story angle stronger – and give newspapers some easy headlines!
Embrace storytelling techniques
Stories have a unique ability to captivate and connect with audiences on an emotional level. Make sure you invest time into the art of storytelling, weaving narratives that resonate with your target demographic. These stories can range from customer testimonials to behind-the-scenes glimpses into your brand’s journey.
Creative PR case study: Tilda Rice
Tilda is a brand that has harnessed the power of creating unique news angles from the existing consumer landscape. The launch of their new Golden Vegetable Ready-to-Heat Rice Pouch called for a story-led PR campaign and they recognised the current challenges that their customers face, namely the cost-of-living crisis, using this to create a campaign that added value to their audience.
Tilda’s strategic approach was to offer support to households during a period of economic strain, emphasising the need for groceries to stretch further. This was achieved through the creation of ‘Tilda’s Golden Storecupboard,’ an interactive online recipe generator that allowed consumers to input their existing pantry items and receive personalised recipe recommendations. Additionally, research-based content highlighted the importance of store cupboard essentials and the extent of wastage, providing context for the tool and promoting the product as a long-lasting pantry essential.
By combining existing research with a tool that encouraged audiences to be interactive, Tilda created a news story from an existing topic, positioning themselves at the forefront of the conversation. Find out more about their PR strategy and the results it drove, here.
Grow media relationships to amplify your news reach
Establishing strong relationships with media outlets and journalists is a cornerstone of effective PR and will take your news stories further. Make sure that fostering relationships forms a core part of your ongoing communication strategy.
If you’re looking for additional support, a creative PR agency will use their experience to focus on the connections that will get your brand noticed by the right people.
Partner with Wild Card as your next creative PR agency
From crafting compelling press releases to pitching intriguing story ideas, we know how to make your brand newsworthy. Get in touch with our team today to find out more!