Have you ever been to a nudist beach? I haven’t. I doubt I would find anyone attractive, when stark naked and all rather obvious (least of all myself!).
Attraction is in the suggestion, not the obvious. When we flirt with the opposite sex, we are tantalizing, exciting, challenging and inviting a response. We are certainly not baring all!
Generating successful media interest in a product, service or business reflects the very best of a successful flirt. The moment a press release joins all the dots and tells the story it is doomed. It will be too long, too opinionated, too obvious and too advertorial. The best press release pinpoints seductive facts and suggests investigation and exploration.
If you had a six pack or a rather ample bosom, you would not bare it and label it (at least, I would rather hope you would not!)? However, your sense of fashion might suggest it. Ask any copywriter or journalist for a little advice and more often or not, they will advise you to write, then shorten it, then shorten it further and then condense it.
We just staged the initial, and regional launch, for our client The Pembrokeshire Pasty & Pie Co. They are opening a small pasty and pie shop in Tenby on 1st March. Our release was short but signposted the greater story. Within 24 hours, it was headline news across Wales – on radio, TV and in the press. The Pembrokeshire Pasty is to battle The Cornish. Every paper picked up on two lines in our background notes: that the Pembrokeshire Pasty recipe might have been invented to feed the workers building St David’s Cathedral in 1181. Had that been our headline, it would have been questioned. As an understated possibility, it was not. There is certainly circumstantial evidence to suggest this is true, but no hard evidence as yet. That is the successful flirt.
Media relations excites me. The journalists, freelancers, producers, researchers and editors all want a story and I strongly believe there is a story behind every business. Just akin to flirting – everyone can attract someone.
And So To The Marriage!
Now, onto the inevitable consequence of successful flirting… Marriage! I believe too many businesses struggle alone. In these difficult economic times, there is more reason than ever to look for strategic alliances (marriages!) for the greater success. There was recently an article in The Sunday Times exposing a well known author for plugging a rather delightful holiday resort in her latest novel in exchange for a rather expensive holiday. As the publishing world reduces advances and prepares for the ebook revolution, authors will increasingly look to manage their own affairs more acutely. Her novel will be judged on its merits. Why promote a resort by accident when one can create a viable alliance?
Small town shopkeepers are suffering more than most in this current climate. More than once, I have seen a pair of neighbouring shops – both suffering – and wondered if they knocked out a side door they could reduce and share staff costs. We may regard ourselves as a nation of small shopkeepers, but I do wonder whether our lack of community spirit reflects itself in business too?
I challenge any business to look again and ask themselves: Who can we ally with? To share customer databases, to endorse each other and to generate news stories, profit share and piggy back exposure?
A successful business may flirt with and marry as many as they are able to. So why be celibate?!
Matthew Rymer
Tags: cheltenham, gloucestershire, london, marketing agencies cheltenham, marketing consultancy, marketing consultants
This entry was posted on Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at 6:52 pm and is filed under The Marketing Farm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.