When Mac and I looked back at where we were five years ago when we formed Click Communications, we were struck by how much has changed in the world of online publicity since then.
When we first formed Click, we would tell stories about how, back in 2003, no one cared about reaching online audiences, and online journalists didn’t care about home entertainment. We compared that with 2007, a time when many studios realized they needed to be in front of online audiences, but the pool of interested online media had gotten so large that matching the right product and story with the right sites was a fairly daunting proposition. As such, we were often hired to “solve the online problem.” In fact, once word got out about how handily we could navigate the web, we got really busy really fast, and our company grew from two people to seven in a few short months.
Today, of course, there are a myriad of different ways to “solve the online problem” because the problems are as vast and unique as the people and agencies prepared to take them on. The major difference between online publicity Then and Now, however, is that online has shifted from Problem to Priority.
When online outreach is viewed as a problem to be solved, it automatically makes it a problem to be solved. Everything becomes last-minute and fast breaking, not just because of the dynamic pace of the online medium, but because most long-lead attention is still placed with traditional media. And if traditional media publicity doesn’t meet expectations, online coverage becomes the consolation prize.
When online outreach is viewed as a priority, on the other hand, wonderful things can start to happen. For example, if you wait until the last couple weeks of a campaign to roll out your online strategy, then what happens earlier in the campaign when you’re pitching broadcast and long-lead print publications about your new brand that no one’s ever heard of? Those producers and writers will Google your product and come up with…. Nothing. By contrast, if you prioritize your online outreach early on to take place throughout the life of your campaign, then you build up Google results, conversations and the all-important Buzz.
Our approach at Click has elevated online outreach beyond a priority to become a driving force in campaign strategy. This frees us from some of the old rules and restrictions that can apply to available assets, allowing our team to parcel out exclusive content, premium items, compelling interviews and exciting event opportunities across multiple mediums to reach true market saturation with our ideal audience.
The Click team is also particularly deft at finding new ways of maximizing assets in fresh, creative ways. After all, when it comes to rolling out publicity and marketing materials over a period of time to your target audience, you have to be careful. Think of your assets like ingredients, and your press as a mix of carnivores, vegetarians, foodies and picky children. You can either parcel out your interviews, video clips and widgets (or meat, vegetables and cheese, if you will), to the people who want each individual item the most. Or you can put them together to form, say, a delicious pizza—something unique and mouth-watering for everyone.
The trick, especially with a long campaign, is to make sure that you’re not pitching the same story to the same person over and over again. I don’t care how much a person likes a pizza—if they hear about it three times a week, they’re going to get sick of it and stop returning your emails.
Luckily for our clients, the Click team avoids this kind of creative fatigue with the right blend of targeting, timing, and our signature Click creativity and genuine enthusiasm. Our online experts are well-rounded, strategic publicity and marketing professionals, ready to lead the way on our clients campaigns, and deliver outstanding (and occasionally delicious) results.
