Don’t Miss the Upcoming Webinar “The Business of Sports”

Webinar moderator Jake Toplitt

The pressure is on. You have been put in charge of getting coverage for a top sports brand.  You begin your press campaign by writing a compelling release which you promptly distribute, patiently waiting for signs of interest.  You want a journalist that will sing praises about your brand or maybe a mere mention. But instead you find silence. What went wrong? Wouldn’t it be great to learn from someone on the inside who can share insights on the business side of a major sports outlet?

Danny Ecker, Reporter/Producer (Sports Business), Crain’s Chicago Business

On June 12, Business Wire is giving PR professionals the opportunity to learn everything from sports-oriented product pitches and endorsements to coverage of the biggest news in professional and collegiate athletics with a webinar titled “The Business of Sports.” The webinar will feature a panel of leading journalists from the world of broadcast and print.

“So many story pitches that show up in my inbox are generic. I am constantly deleting emails from PR people that are so obviously casting a wide net and trying to get a reporter to bite,” said Danny Ecker, who writes for Crain’s Chicago Business and will be speaking on the panel. “Covering sports business often requires looking at the world of sports the way most people don’t and highlighting everything except what’s happening on the main stage.”

Hugo Balta, Coordinating Producer, ESPN

Another speaker is Hugo Balta, a coordinating producer for ESPN. Balta has mentioned on many occasions the importance of doing your homework when pursuing a journalist or outlet. His philosophy is to research the outlet so you can begin to understand what they’re trying to achieve. Then you can tailor your client to what specifically meets the needs of the journalist.

Kristi A. Dosh, Esq., Sports Business Analyst, Public Relations Exec.& College Sports Consultant

The panel also includes Kristi Dosh, who is a Sports Business Analyst, Public Relations Exec. & College Sports Consultant. Moderating the event is sports marketing professional Jake Toplitt, Account Supervisor for Matter Inc. All of the panelists bring years of experience working for sports outlets and will effectively reveal powerful pitching tips and advice for reaching sports journalists and influential outlets.

Sign up and be prepared to learn about unexplored opportunities for coverage from leading professionals working in the field.

Register Now

Business Wire Memorabilia Pennants Still Available

 

Business Wire Team with Warren Buffett at the 2014 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting.
Photo credit Matthew Allinson

If you weren’t able to attend the baseball-themed 2014 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders meeting, you can still catch a cool piece of memorabilia, with all proceeds going to charity.
We have a limited supply of Berkshire Hathaway Sluggers baseball pennants available online for just $3 each or $5 for two.

Berkshire Hathaway Sluggers baseball pennants

Business Wire’s team was in force at the show, with more than a dozen of us representing a wide range of departments and bureaus, engaging with shareholders and raising money for an amazing organization that supports at-risk youth,
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for Douglas County, Nebraska.

 

Once again, Business Wire covers the cost to produce the keepsakes, donates all money raised to CASA and matches funds raised, ensuring at least $5,000 heads to CASA.
CASA for Douglas County, Nebraska is a voice for abused and neglected children via trained citizen volunteers. When juveniles appear in front of a judge, it is the CASA volunteer that becomes the advocate for children within the court system.

To purchase a pennant online, visit: http://bit.ly/BRKPennant

Read the Business Wire-CASA press release

Read the Business Wire Blog about the event

PR Trends for 2014 Focus of Business Wire Houston Event

By Cindy Cantu, Senior CSR, Business Wire Houston

This is the year of the empowered customer, according to Business Wire’s Director of Social & Evolving Media Serena Ehrlich. “It is up to YOU to create your brand differential and up to US to guide you through how to do it,” she told the audience at Business Wire Houston’s event, “All Things Social – Maximize Your PR in 2014” on March 26th.

Attendees from various industries including energy, biotechnology and pharmaceutical, as well as numerous media and marketing professionals, heard all about how social media is having a major impact on today’s press release. The old method of packing in keywords and hyperlinks in your press release to boost your Google ranking was made obsolete after Google launched its Hummingbird and Penguin updates, Ehrlich said.

Now, the focus is on a well-written, quality press release that can be shared via social media by you and other readers, plus will attract coverage from journalists and bloggers. One tip to consider is to add helpful links to your owned media (website, Twitter handle or blog, etc.)  at the end of every press release. Adding a ClickToTweet link, embedded with a Google URL Builder is also a good idea. If you do receive additional coverage from other media, it’s important to share those articles through your own social media channels too, she added.

Another sure-fire way to increase your readership and overall PR success is to add multimedia to your releases. Research shows releases with images or video receive three times more engagement and impressions than plain-text news on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest, making multimedia no longer optional for today’s releases. Ehrlich said.

Serena Ehrlich explains “the year of the empowered customer” using social and multimedia.

One recent example of multimedia having a huge impact happened at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Surrounded by all of the giants in the technology industry, a relatively small company named mophie sparked major interest in their “space pack” product by simply adding a photo to their press release. They had one of the most popular releases among all CES exhibitors, Ehrlich said. Both release views and multimedia downloads surpassed 20K shortly after the release was issued.

Navigating through the current changes in the PR world can be daunting. Business Wire works hard to stay on top of the latest news and trends so it can share the information with its clients. Visit the Business Wire Newsroom and read the BusinessWired blog to be informed.

 

Like this blog post?  Tweet it out by clicking here: http://ctt.ec/m74wd

 

On-Line Newsroom Webinar asks “Does Yours Convert?”

2014 is the year of accessible information; have you updated your online newsroom yet?

We are very excited to announce that our own Vice President of Web Communications, Ibrey Woodall , is joining  Bulldog Reporter’s new “Master Class” webinar titled “Amazing New Power Techniques for Boosting Credibility, Influence and Traffic.” The webinar will focus on ways today’s PR and IR pros can maximize media pickup, online visibility and SEO power ,as well as generate social media buzz, all by simply refreshing their online newsroom.

Sample of a Business Wire Newsroom (Courtesy of Silicon Labs)

In this webinar you will learn how to quickly and easily boost media mentions, improve media relations and dramatically increase your online reach to key stakeholder groups just by providing journalists and the public the information they want and need, immediately across any device.

This PR University webinar workshop will outline the essential social-media integrated features that the best online newsrooms and corporate sites share … and show you exactly what you need to do now to bring your online presence up to speed so you can boost your communications value and maximize digital ROI for PR efforts.

Another Business Wire Hosted Newsroom Sample (Courtesy of Medica )

The webinar will take place on Thursday April 3^rd at 1pm ET and cost $299 per registrant. To register for the event or to find out more information visit: http://bit.ly/1nyPfmw and please retweet news of this by clicking this link: https://twitter.com/BusinessWire/status/445648733536284673

Business Wire Event Recap: Business Wire Cleveland Welcomes John Campanelli

By Katie Kennedy, Account Executive

On Tuesday, February 18, Clevelanders braved the wind and treacherous roads after an unwelcome overnight snowfall to join Business Wire Cleveland for a breakfast event featuring John Campanelli, the new publisher and editorial director of Crain’s Cleveland Business. Campanelli, a Cleveland media veteran, is the first new publisher of Cleveland’s most reputable source of business news in 28 years.

In fact, Campanelli cited reputation as a major factor in his decision to take the position as publisher at a time when print publications are diminishing. Crain’s Cleveland Business is highly regarded by the community it serves and John plans to keep that reputation intact.  How?

“The worst sin is to not be interesting. Content is the single most important thing,” said Campenelli. “As long as we can keep it interesting, we’ll survive.”

Campanelli gave a preview of how he plans to keep it interesting and what is to come for Crain’s Cleveland Business:

• A new website, responsive design, a stronger social media presence – “they are all coming.”
• Multimedia usage. Short 3-4 minute videos recapping the week’s news are on the horizon as part of an overall campaign to include more multimedia with most stories.
• Expanded coverage. John indicated that philanthropy and sports are beats that deserve more attention.
• More diverse content. Look for news on dining, fitness and other “things that business people care about” to be added to the mix.
• Continue to be a business connector. Not only by providing data and information, but also by hosting more events.  Plans for smaller, more editorially-focused events are on the agenda.

During the Q&A portion of the event, Campanelli responded to several questions about the recent changes at The Plain Dealer, Cleveland’s no-longer-daily newspaper. John assured the audience that Crain’s will continue to be delivered in print and that there is no plan for the publication to be online only. A former colleague of John’s from The Plain Dealer asked perhaps the most memorable question: “Do you see a place for investigative journalism in business news?”

“Absolutely!” replied John.

Campanelli asked the audience in jest if they had any tips before concluding with a sincere thank you and extending an invitation to our guests to get in touch with him and share information and ideas as he settles into his new role.

Not so ironically, as I sat down to write this recap a colleague in attendance at the event suggested I keep it fun, light and interesting – I guess John got his point across!

John’s Crain’s page: http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/personalia?ID=22&category=CONTACT

Twitter: @johncampanelli

Crain’s: www.crainscleveland.com

Business Wire Event Recap “Meet the Biotechnology Media”

by Luis Guillen, Media Relations Specialist

On Thursday, November 21st, Business Wire San Diego hosted a “Meet the Biotechnology Media” panel in Mission Valley. With some of the top biotech journalists in the San Diego area, our panel spoke on a wide range of topics ranging from how to pitch media and current trends to the future of journalism.

Speakers:

• Bruce Bigelow, Xconomy’s San Diego editor
• Meghana Keshavan, San Diego Business Journal’s healthcare and biotech reporter
• Mandy Jackson, SCRIP Intelligence’s West Coast editor
• Kelly Quigley, life science network and brand journalist at Chempetitive Group

Moderator:

• Erik Clausen, Managing Partner, Chempetitive Group
  

Know your media

It’s important to not only know your target media but also what they like. When discussing what makes a good story, our panel shared their tips.

Interesting Characters:

Every story needs to have someone the audience can connect with.

Different Perspective:

Go further in depth, cover it from a different angle that’s not been used before.

Be Open:

Don’t tell me how much money your company has, tell me how the money is being or will be spent. If not willing to talk about certain things, it devalues the story.

Quotes:

Speak with someone who is candid and gives the story some personality.

Pitching preferences

Social media allows new ways to pitch journalists, some embrace it, others still prefer email.

Timing is everything:

Not only does it help to know what your target media covers but also their deadline schedule. Don’t pitch on a Wednesday if the deadline is on Thursday, instead pitch on a Monday, when we’re looking for stories.

No need to follow up:

I received your email pitch. If I don’t call, I’m not interested.

Coaching not required:

PR pros: Be transparent, allow access to the source. Having an open one-on-one conversation with the client is important, beats interviewing someone reading a script.

Embargos:

Are not dead. The panel all agreed that at the very least they would look at it, not necessarily do a story on it.

Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn:

FB seems to be more personal. Twitter has become the go-to tool for journalists to look up people, story ideas and get background information on a particular individual/topic.

Future of Journalism

The truth is no one knows what the future of journalism will look like in 5-10 years. What we do know is that journalism is constantly changing. As more publications continue to go under, some will shift from print to online, following the current trend of specialized publications. With fewer reporters covering this current online, social media, 24/7 news cycle, publications will face new challenges that will reshape the current landscape of journalism again.

Top 10 Takeaways From Business Wire’s “Best Practices For Engaging The Media” Orlando Event

by Pilar Portela, Media Relations Supervisor

Business Wire Florida recently hosted “Best Practices for Engaging the Media” at the beautiful Alfond Inn in Orlando with local journalists and bloggers. Among the topics discussed were what they look for in potential stories, how to pitch them, what they are doing to keep pace with social media, the latest media trends, just to name a few.

Speakers:

• Bess Auer, Founder, FLBlogCon, @Bess_Auer
• Steve Helling, Staff Writer, People Magazine and author Tiger: The Real Story, @SteveHelling
• Sean McNamara, Assistant News Director, WKMG-TV and ClickOrlando.com, @ClickOrlando
• Ned Popkins, former Business Editor, Orlando Sentinel , @NedPopkins

Moderator:

Beth Cocchiarella, President, EMC Public Relations, @bcocchiarella

Orlando Media Event “Best Practices for Engaging the Media”- From left to right: Bess Auer, Sean McNamara, Ned Popkins, Steve Helling, and Beth Cocchiarella

Here are the Top 10 Takeaways from the panel discussion:

1. If you can pitch a story in 140 characters or less, it’s most likely a great story.
2. Ask yourself this question, “Would you read this story if you didn’t work there?”
3. The subject and first line of a pitch email often determine success.
4. Reinforcing the value of knowing your target before you pitch. Before you pitch, know what the reporters and bloggers write about.
5. Most newspaper reporters monitor and follow people on their beat. It’s pretty decentralized. Know their beats.
6. Building personal relationships with bloggers is very important and social media is the best tool. Keep in mind most bloggers are not journalists and have other day jobs.
7. Journalism is still about telling a good story regardless of the medium. The tools used to tell the stories are now different.
8. What defines the news? News piece that’s interesting. Best with good pictures and video. Use multimedia in your pitches!
9. Online coverage is great and easy to track. Better results and can get numbers from it. Hard copy is not as prevalent.
10. Social media = ratings on adrenaline for news assignment editors.

Thank you to our amazing moderator and panelists for a fantastic and informative discussion!

Media Relations Supervisor Pilar Portela

If you missed the event you can also check out the Twitter conversation on #BWORLMedia and Storify at http://storify.com/pilarp/nov-8-orlando-media-panel-best-practices-for-engag.

For upcoming local Business Wire events or our award-winning webinar series, visit our events page or follow Business Wire events on Twitter, hashtag #bwchat.

Business Wire Media Breakfast: How to Pitch Influential Business Publications Event Recap

by Warner Boutin, Senior Account Executive & Luis Guillen, Media Relations Specialist

On Wednesday, November 20^th, Business Wire Los Angeles hosted a media breakfast panel titled “How to Pitch Influential Business Publications” addressing tactical media targeting tips. The panel, moderated by Stefan Pollack, President of Pollack PR Marketing Group, asked questions to the group on numerous topics, including how they prefer to be pitched by the media, how public relations & marketing professionals should navigate through today’s glut of online media and what new opportunities and challenges face PR professionals. The panel consisted of Brian Deagon, Business & Technology Reporter, Investor’s Business Daily; Joe Bel Bruno, Deputy Business Editor, Los Angeles Times; Pat Maio, Business Reporter, Long Beach Register; and Russ Britt, Los Angeles Bureau Chief, Marketwatch from Dow Jones.

Story Pitching Tips & Media Trends

Business Wire Media Breakfast on “How to Pitch Influential Business Publications”

Kicking off the media breakfast, Pollack asked the journalists to share trends & coverage tips. The panel agreed that random, untargeted pitches end up in the garbage. “Reporters tend to stay with people and sources they know,” said Los Angeles Times Editor Joe Bel Bruno. Marketwatch Bureau Chief Russ Britt explained “timeliness is key.” Clarifying that their bureau’s focus is on relevant leads. Brian Deagon from Investor’s Business Daily, highlighted a creative online video pitch from the CEO of Santa Monica StartUp Dollar Shave Club. Long Beach Register reporter Pat Maio said he communicates mostly through email and texts versus phone call pitches. The panel agreed that the biggest Public Relations pitching blunder is lack of research: not understanding your audiences and/or relevant media outlets.

Attracting the Reader’s Attention
Pollack asked the panel about news discovery trends. The panel agreed on the need for stories to be brief, concise, shareable, SEO friendly and timely. “The first one to get their story out gets the most clicks,” said Brian Deagon. Joe Bel Bruno elaborated on click rates, discussing SEO news content discovery and describing one LA Times department that analyzes nothing but Google algorithms.

Full attendance at the Business Wire Media Breakfast

Leveraging social media tools

In response to using Twitter as a social media tool, Brian Deagon said “there’s nothing wrong with appealing to our vanity (on Twitter) to make an intro.” The Long Beach Register uses their blog to run polls, research data and engage their niche audiences, and because they use a subscription model the focus is more on local community rather than social media posting.

Panelists concluded the panel, answering audience questions and sharing final tips for pitching an oversaturated media environment.

From Left to Right: Pat Maio, Long Beach Register; Joe Bel Bruno, Los Angeles Times; Brian Deagon, Investor’s Business Daily; Russ Britt, Marketwatch; and moderator Stefan Pollack,President of Pollack PR Marketing Group

For upcoming local Business Wire events or our award-winning webinar series, visit our events page or follow Business Wire events on Twitter, hashtag #bwchat.

The German Public Relations Association and FAZ Institute announce PR winners

by Seval Dogan, Marketing Coordinator, Business Wire Germany

The FAZ Institute, the German Public Relations Association (DPRG) honored outstanding achievements in PR and communications management.

Business Wire Germany was a proud sponsor at the International German PR Awards ceremony held October 25th in Wiesbaden, the capital of Germany’s Hessen region. The ceremony is an exclusive industry event for PR and communications specialists from German -speaking countries. Four hundred top managers and PR professionals from companies and organizations attended this year’s event. In collaboration with the FAZ Institute, the German Public Relations Association (DPRG) honored outstanding achievements in PR and communications management. This ceremony plays a major role serving as the most important indicator of innovative concepts, campaigns and solutions in the area of strategic communications.

This year, several new trends in the communications industry were identified. Many of the submitted concepts used social media to create customer commitment and loyalty, ultimately leading to better returns  on investments. Social media applications were strategically used to showcase the values of company products and services. Volker Sach, Managing Director of the FAZ Institute, puts it as such: “The jury was impressed by the high number of excellent campaigns that used classic PR tools successfully connected to social media applications.”

The prestigious DPRG Junior Award and the Dr. Albert Oeckl Award

Young professionals also put their PR skills, knowledge and innovative ideas to the test, competing for both the prestigious DPRG Junior Award and the Dr. Albert Oeckl Award. The winners were Franziska Brachvogel and Kristin Siegel, who are currently studying communication management at Leipzig University in Germany. Brachvogel and Siegel successfully combined classic PR tools with social media applications. The primary aim of their concept was to raise awareness and consumer commitment for more environmentally friendly reusable energy consumption. The winners accomplished an innovative communications concept in which social media tools were strategically used to create more transparency through active dialogues with consumers. Brachvogel explains the vision behind the concept: “Communication creates transparency – transparency creates trust.”

It was wonderful to see so many happy winners.  We at Business Wire are thrilled to be a member and sponsor of the German Public Relations Association, a group that strives to create a bigger, brighter future for the communications industry.

Upcoming Business Wire Events: Katie Paine in South Florida, Meet the Media in Charlotte

Measurement, Engagement and Influence with Katie Paine- Moving from Theoretical to Tactical

Hosted by Business Wire Florida

Join Business Wire Florida for breakfast and a session with measurement maven, Katie Paine.  Paine’s most recent book, Measure What Matters: Online Tools For Understanding Customers, Social Media, Engagement, and Key Relationships, was released last March and will provide a foundation for her presentation.  “Measurement isn’t just a buzzword on everyone’s to do list anymore,” says Paine. “With tight budgets and a growing proliferation of tools and techniques to get your messages out there, PR pros are increasingly faced with tough decisions on where to put their resources. Only by figuring out what really matters and then developing specific metrics to measure the programs, can the right choices be made.” This event is FREE for all attendees.

Tuesday, March 6 at 8:30 am EST

Nova Southeastern University
3301 College Avenue Carl DeSantis Building, 3rd floor Sales Institute, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 33314

To register: RSVP to Julia.Sotelo@businesswire.com by Friday, March 2.

Meet the Media

Hosted by Business Wire Charlotte

A panel of media experts will discuss topics including what’s a good story and current trends in journalism, as well as give tips on effective pitching. Panelists include: Rick Martinez, News Director, NewsRadio 680 WPTF; Rick Smith, Business and Technology Manager, WRAL-TV; and David Bracken, Assistant Business Editor, The News & Observer. This event is FREE for all attendees.

Thursday, March 15 at 11:30 am EDT
Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center

4700 Emperor Blvd., Durham, NC, 27703

To register: Please RSVP by March 9 to Penny Sowards at penny.sowards@businesswire.com

Business Wire holds dozens of local events every year. We bring local media members and industry thought leaders to your market to discuss today’s most relevant topics, from trends in today’s newsrooms to writing for SEO. Events are usually free of charge to members. For more upcoming local Business Wire events or to see what’s coming up in our award-winning webinar series, visit BusinessWire.com. Follow live updates from Business Wire events on Twitter: hash tag #bwchat