Traditional media coverage may be less important today than a decade ago, but it can still be an important part of an organization’s communications strategy. If you aim to elevate the quality and tone of media coverage you receive, proactive steps to foster credibility and trust with journalists are essential.
On November 8, 2017, Willamette Week featured the story, "Oh Deer," detailing how family owned brewery Old Town Brewing & Pizza was being bullied by the City of Portland. DPK Public Relations represents Old Town Brewing in this matter. As all trademark disputes can be, this one is complicated. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recognized Old Town Brewing with an incontestable trademark of a leaping deer for use in beer and alcohol, which is the highest level of trademark protection. Yet the City of Portland has filed multiple trademark applications seeking to trademark an image that encompasses a leaping deer for beer and alcohol. So far, the USPTO has rejected the city's applications three times. To date, legal fees related to these applications have cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars -- perhaps as much as $100,000 …
Define what a successful TV interview would look like and build from there We were surprised to find that an article we wrote 10 years ago on the subject of how to effectively prepare for TV interviews had recently risen again to become our most visited page on this website. We can't explain why things like that happen, but upon reviewing the content of the piece it occurred to us that an update is in order. So here are the new and improved top 10 tips for how to prepare for a TV interview. Imagine what success looks like. Answer these questions: 1) What do I want my audience to know? 2) What do I want my audience to believe? 3) What do I want my audience to do? If you answer these three questions, you have set clear and …
Don't Think of Media Coverage as the Result - The Result is What Happens Because of the Coverage Check out this recent coverage in TechTarget secured for client Aldridge, a leading IT services provider with offices throughout the major metropolitan areas of Texas. Aldridge has grown rapidly in recent years. In fact, they are among a small group of companies that have been listed by Inc. as one of America's fastest growing companies for five years running. What an accomplishment! The story, "Tech acquisitions raise integration issues for channel," in TechTarget offers best practices from Aldridge and describes the company's highly structured integration process the company's leadership has developed as they have acquired nearly a dozen companies in recent years. This process has proven invaluable and it is unique, which is what makes it newsworthy. To Aldridge's credit, they were …
We always devote a portion of our Media Interview Skills Training sessions to a discussion about going “off-the-record” with journalists. Our recommendation is the same today as it was 20 years ago: there is no such thing as “off-the-record.” Think of it as a cliff for your career. You can dance at the edge of that cliff and think you are in control. But there are many forces at play that can send you right over the edge no matter how confident you are. Splat. There goes your career. If you say something, you should be prepared to see it attributed to you in print. Even if you have a relationship with a journalist, that journalist’s job is to get a good story and tell that story. If you expect them to do otherwise, you are suggesting that what you …