Content resurrection, the devil in the detail of the press release, and luring top tier journos to events – it’s all in our blood
We are now marching full steam ahead into the final months of 2024, and although some may argue that the most exciting months are yet to come, October has dished out its fair share of activity to keep us on the edge of our seats (and I’m not just talking about all the scary Halloween movies we’ve been watching).
We’ve had global and local client events to support, newsworthy press releases to share, and podcasts to listen to. We’ve even had a textbook lesson on how to brush off the content cobwebs and maximize content lifecycles. So, now the pumpkins have been carved and the ghouls fought off, let’s recap on how the IBA team has embraced the first month of Q4!
It’s power to the press release – a tried-and-tested approach!
At IBA, we’ve always been firm advocates for the traditional press release – and for good reason!
In the latest Cision 2024 State of the Media Report, press releases were ranked the number one type of content that journalists want to see from PR Pros. But press releases are not only a great way to get your client on the radar of the media – they help to build a positive picture in the minds of your target audience. And this month, we’ve been able to provide a true masterclass on the power of the press release!
We began local, announcing the 20th anniversary of our air medical client’s helicopter base in London, KY, which peaked the interest of a local journalist. They attended the event and were able to speak first-hand to employees on the ground and hear about the life-saving services our client provides. The result? Feature coverage in a top-tier local media outlet and further awareness to local communities.
International event attendance and good journalist relationships go hand in hand
We covered off the local side with our air medical client, but how about large-scale, international events? Well, this month, we did that too! The IBA team supported our enterprise software client as they hosted their four-day international technology conference in Orlando!
Through our outreach efforts, we were able to secure event attendance of a double-digit number of top-tier target journalists from across the globe, spanning Asia, across Europe and the U.S. to the UK. What’s more, we’ve received an abundance of positive, unsolicited positive and complimentary feedback about our journalists’ experiences at the event – and the fantastic coverage is a testament to this! However, we didn’t down tools on the last day of the event! We’ve been able to use our existing strong media relationships to secure post-event coverage from highly regarded aerospace, manufacturing, and service focused publications!
And in true IBA style, the coverage has flown in several formats – we’ve had press release coverage, journalist-written features, comments, social posts, and a fantastic podcast, with much more to still to come!
A ‘spooktacular’ month of coverage: evergreen content and sticky fingers!
As with any busy month at IBA, we’ve seen how newsworthy press releases and in-person events generate media coverage, interviews, and spark new conversations. But this can’t always be the case, especially when journalists are as busy as ever. Editorial review queues are long, and as we all know, coverage can take time, patience, and meticulous chasing from PR pros (sticky fingers we call it!) And it pays off!
For our client in the business management software space, this month saw the “go live” of content that we initially began pitching 10 months ago, and our connected worker platform client also saw multiple placements for a bylined article we pitched back in March. In both instances, our content has been kept on file by industry journalists – with the intent on using when the time is right!
It’s a classic
Taking this one step further, this October we’ve brought the focus back to classic content – the type of content that aims to create something of lasting value, long after it’s been written. A classic always feels fresh and can articulate universal themes, offering revelatory insight to its audience today, and in years to come. The notion of classic content couldn’t ring truer for our business management software client, as with a little uplifting and stat updating, we were able to secure coverage for an article written by our clients SME four years ago. Their core messaging on the topic of “traceability” remains the same, and clearly worth repeating four years later!
This month’s coverage has shown that with a little resuscitation, content can rise from the dead and keep the content lifecycle very much alive!
Dare we say it’s been a load of treats and just a few tricks of the trade when it comes to this past month at IBA.
Georgia Harris is PR Lead for Themes at IBA International.
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