AND ON THE SHOW TONIGHT! CREATORS MAY BE THE NEW CAMPAIGN MUST HAVE BUT BROADCAST PR STILL DELIVERS BIG

Last week, we secured an item for our client, Airtasker on Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden. Together they interviewed an Airtasker member on how he queues for a living, earning thousands of pounds in the process. Jamie and Amanda were inspired by the strange things people do to earn a few quid, from dressing up as a pigeon to giving a cat compliments. They revelled in Airtasker members’ ingenuity.

In the background, this radio item was causing big changes on the Airtasker platform. In the space of just two minutes, registrations to Airtasker grew in their thousands, leading to an email from the UK Country Manager to ask what was happening? This was broadcast PR in action. Big time.

In a world where paid creator and influencer PR campaigns are the favourites of many agency teams, there is much to be said for traditional broadcast PR, especially when it continues to deliver thousands of new customers for a site like Airtasker, in less than two minutes!

Getting brands onto broadcast is no mean feat. Spots on Heart Breakfast come from an understanding of the way the media works, what makes great TV or radio and when and how to pitch the story to land that powerful piece.

In the past eight weeks, we have secured over 20 TV and radio placements for our clients. From BBC News, ITV This Morning and Lorraine, multiple regional TV and radio spots and a fair few podcasts, we know that good broadcast PR is rarely about pitching the product itself. We’re much more focused on how we can create big-hitting stories, trends, experts and visuals that will appeal to producers and researchers and engage viewers and listeners. Get this right and your chances of that national TV spot increase significantly.

Here are three tips from our broadcast PR experts to help you make good TV and radio happen.

1. Your product isn’t news, but ask yourself what is?

As much as PRs pour their heart and soul into their product, unfortunately for a TV planner, the launch of a new product isn’t news. Instead, we often begin with what is news and work back into the product to make it fit with a trend.

We call this “contextualisation”, in other words, the cultural conversations or moments that make your brand or product relevant. Politics, sport, weather may be consistently relevant but there are spontaneous moments too.

Let’s give a few examples.

Heatwave: This one-off event fills airtime because it’s unusual and affects everyone but it also offers some great contextual opportunities for the right brands. As yourself a few questions like how is your business managing for the hot weather? Are your staff affected? Have you reduced production, changing working hours? Is your product or delivery evolving to help your customers at this time? This is an interesting story for an event that’s impacting the whole country.

Seasonality: There are seasonal or topical events that come up year after year and often are planned into broadcast calendars way in advance. Whether it’s Christmas or Back to School, planners will often be looking for good stories around tent pole moments that with some planning and a creative pitch can secure an appearance on a top tier news programme.

2. Not all broadcast is made the same

There’s a misunderstanding that in order to secure broadcast coverage, you have to create news, but news is a very small part of the total broadcast universe and you’re limiting your chances by only thinking of your brand in this way.

Our broadcast PR specialists always begin with the target audience, understanding their media consumption gives us a clue as to the channels and shows we need to target to reach those all important eyes and ears. Then it’s about understanding that programme anatomy, not just listening to the topics they cover but also the structure of the show. Looking underneath the surface of the production to understand the formats the producers look for, will enable you to think more about where your brand best fits.

For example, perhaps the show may have a human-interest element, perhaps illustrating a topical story with an example of lived experience. Do you have customers you could propose?

Or how about product placement. We have had some real successes working with prop teams to supply products on shows like Love Island. Yes, there may only be a fleeting glimpse of the product but this clip provides a valuable asset for you to use across your other marketing channels.

Understanding alternative programmes and formats to use other than news really opens up the broadcast opportunity.

3. How does it look and sound?

It seems pretty obvious but so many brands forget to think like a producer and ask themselves, how would this look on screen or what would this sound like on air. If viewers can understand a story with the sound turned off, you immediately improve your chances of securing that all important TV spot.

Thinking like a producer also means understanding what needs to happen to broadcast that spot. Crews are expensive and will always be sent to the most important story in the show. So, how can we create something visual but that doesn’t need a crew?

For the most visual stories, ensure that you have good quality B roll for TV plus a packaged A roll story for online as well. This can then be used across media brands’ digital video channels, hitting thousands more viewers.

Finally, when thinking like a producer ask yourself what elements make a good story. For us, there are a few key elements:

• The story hook – Write it down as if a presenter is reading it. You can help yourself by starting with the phrase “And on the show tonight….”
• The evidence. Why is this story important. What is the evidence to prove the hook? Answer the “Why?”
• The visual story. How can we illustrate this visually? Case studies, installations, demonstrations, public stunts, crowds all do well for TV
• Who is the expert. Do we have a respected and credible expert to comment on our story?

If you can build your package for TV or radio by delivering on all of the above, you’re in a great place to pitch.

Ultimately, securing TV and radio is about being culturally relevant, quick off the block and ready with story packages perfectly suited to help producers deliver great shows.