Interview with an Expert: Creative PR Kits

Creating a press release kit for your business can really help get your name out there. While newspapers and other media outlets have no obligation to put the spotlight on your company, it's important to woo them with the right stuff. In order to get a better understanding of what a PR kit can do for a company, I enlisted the help of PR guru at KC Public Relations, Jennifer Foushee, in this in depth interview:

Q) Why should a business create a PR kit?

A) Businesses create press materials, press releases and event advisories and creative press kits because they want to generate buzz. Buzz is exactly what it sounds like - positive noise about their company, its products, its events, its programs, etc. Immediately, these materials are intended to do a couple of things: (1) establish a relationship with targeted reporters, (2) generate those reporters' interest in their product/service/concept/event and (3) earn "press placements" - that is, media coverage in print or online newspapers or magazines, as well as broadcast TV or radio. Ultimately, these relationships and the coverage that you generate will lead to the community's positive outlook on the business and will result in growth.

Q) How do you create a press kit?

A) You've got to have an exciting angle. Whether you are delivering a full-blown release with your kit or simply an event advisory, you want the journalist to be excited by what is going on with your company/client. For example, if you're launching a business or program, you will want to hit all of the highlights of what makes it new, unique and/or amazing. Likewise, if you are trying to attract media to an event, you want to briefly describe the fun activities that the event will incorporate - maybe an authentic holiday meal if it's an Italian restaurant's event or a ribbon-cutting or sampling of whatever the company offers if it is an opening. By the same token, you have to be careful to remember that you are, theoretically, coming at this from an unbiased point of view - you are presenting facts only, no flowery, over-the-top descriptions of the miraculous cure-all that you have designed. Instead, the press release should be interesting, engaging and compelling while simply explaining your product or program. With few exceptions, press materials should follow the rules your high school English teacher taught you - you should not use first or second person (I, me, my, you, your) or exclamation points.

Q) How can you make it stand out from the others?

A) Your press kit should be intimately tied to your angle. If you're a grocery store or restaurant, you may want to deliver a basket of novelty foods you specialize in as your press kit. If you're a luxury hotel, you may want your concierge, butler or doorman to hand-deliver a robe and slippers or a branded wine stopper and corkscrew. If you are a publishing company, you may want to deliver a reusable bag with a few recommended reading materials and a fancy bookmark. If you are announcing your in-office strides for the sake of the green movement, you may want to deliver a reusable bag (with logo) filled with an LED light bulb, sawdust from the reclaimed wood you used to create your office furniture or hardwood floors, a reusable water bottle (with logo), etc. Think about what makes your announcement or your event special and capitalize on it with your innovative ideas!

Your press kit should always be unique. As much as possible, avoid using the same premiums you see handed out everywhere - i.e. stress balls. Odds are that the journalist you are targeting already has 5 in his or her desk and will be less than thrilled. As a general rule, you want to make sure the facets of the kit are useful, edible or interesting to experience. By interesting to experience, I mean that they are both relevant to your story and stimulating to the senses. For instance, in the eco-friendly example I used, sawdust is probably not useful for media, but it is a good visual and concrete representation of what you are doing physically to impact the environment.

Q) You mention inserting fun trinkets into the press kit, but how do you get your message across?

A) Include your press release and business card in the package. If you forget that part, then your efforts have been in vain. Even in odd packaging, you can find a way to include the piece. For bagged deliveries, try rolling the release and tying it with ribbon like a diploma. For eco-friendly packages, offer the press materials (including release and full press kit) on a zip drive (this is a great marketing tool if it has your logo, and people always need them!) or CD. Of course, if you cannot figure out a way to fit the release inside the package, you can always deliver it alongside. This option really works best for hand deliveries so you are certain that it gets to the journalist, but it can also sit inside the box you are shipping the item in.

Q) How do you know who to give the press kit to?

A) Research and know who you are targeting before sending out a press kit. Though this part is often the most time consuming and difficult, it is worth it in the long run. In order to succeed in garnering relationships and ultimately press for your organization, you must get to the right journalist. In other words, if you are a retail store pitching a story to a major metropolitan newspaper, such as the Chicago Tribune or the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, DO NOT just send your creative press kit to the managing editor. He or she is not going to be the one writing your story and, more than likely, will throw your masterpiece in the trash. You want to hit the retail editor or the style or features writer, depending on what is most appropriate for your product. On the other hand, if you are sending your kit to a small community newspaper with only two or three employees, you probably do want to deliver it directly to the editor because he or she is overseeing every single assignment, regardless of who is writing it. Finally, if you are approaching a TV station looking for coverage of an event, your kit should go to the assignment desk, not an anchor or particular reporter unless you already have an established relationship with him or her.

After speaking with Jennifer, my creative side got the better of me. If your company currently has a marketing team, they've likely thought of a PR kit to boost awareness about your company or product. But if they haven't, this is a great project for office professionals to take on themselves. Use your talents to create a unique and thought provoking gift to court your local media into giving your business the attention it deserves.