BBSO intern project

A pro bono client of AutoCom is BBSO (Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra). They need some publicity for an annual young artist competition in January. Our company's PR approach is to always write a press release and send it to key members of the media.

1. To write the press release: (www.bbso.org/images/BBSO_youth_competition_2005_Dec._1.doc)
a.Meet with Carla, the manager. Get basic info from her and ask questions to create the release.

b.Meet with last year's winner. As part of the prize, BBSO invites three of last year's winners respectively to each of their concerts. I went to the one in December and interviewed the piano winner and took pictures of her.

c.Write the release. I started from scratch. There was nothing to follow from previous ones. Lillie, our editor, and Jack, my PR trainer and BBSO project instructor, helped me to revised it over and over for more than 8 times. I learned a lot from them and I really appreciate it!
Send it out by e-mail together with pix of the three winners.

Tips: to make your press releases standing out from the tons of e-mails sitting in editors' mailbox. (Sources: face-to-face talk with Jack, the PR training material, my lessons and successful experiences from this project)
a. Attractive lead. The first paragraph should be interesting to make people go on reading.
b.Begin with short paragraphs and key words. Since editors usually scan and skim the first part of each paragraph.
c.Quotes from key people: to make it vivid.
d.Pictures enclosed: editors simply like it
e.Meaningful e-mail subject line: with client's full name and what it is about

2 To pitch with phone calls after e-mail distributions:
I called some of the editors who would probably be interested in our release the next day after I sent out the release.

Tips for telephone pitches: (Sources: I learned from face-to-face talk with Jack, from the PR training courses, my lessons and successful experiences from this project)

a.Decide what you are going to say. I prepared a little script to be fluent.

b.Call within 24 hours of your e-mail distribution. However, Friday afternoons and Monday mornings are bad time to call because they are likely to be busy with deadlines.

c.Just leave a voice mail, when they do not answer the phone.
Prepare what are to say before you call, especially when you are facing the answering machine, you've got one or two minutes, so you have to keep it concise but to the point.

d.Be familiar with what you are pitching. They may catch you with questions on the spot. If you don't know, just say I will find it out and get back to you ASAP, and really do that.

e.Express that the release is important for the pub's readers but not for the clients.

f.Offer to answer questions and leave a contact number, although it is already on the press release.

g.If they say it is not their area to cover, ask them to refer you to their colleagues who might be interested.

h.Ask if you can follow up again for next week / month, if they say that they have a full schedule or page.

3 Results:

Two presses picked this release. One uses that even for 1/4 pages and with two pictures. A big success for me~~~~ ^_^

By Lei