Practical strategies for pushing back.
It’s a familiar scenario for so many in PR: Your leadership or your client ask you to get a headline out of something you know won’t catch a journalist’s attention.
What do you do? How do you act as a trusted counselor while also avoiding burning capital with journalists?
More than 100 communicators chimed in on LinkedIn to share their strategies, tips and ways to turn a bad story into a win. Here are just a few of their responses.
Answers have been lightly edited for style and brevity.
Finding the real story and business goal
Laura Hoy is a communications consultant.
Get me coverage’ is the PR equivalent of ‘go viral.’ It sounds like a goal, but it’s not. Real comms strategy starts when you ask why. That’s when you stop being a messenger and start being trusted counsel. If you want to push back on a non-story, don’t say no. Instead ask what they actually want to achieve. That single question can turn a vanity pitch into a real plan.
Lea Greene is director of business development at GovCom Solutions.
Keep asking questions. What’s the communication goal? If she answers, “publicity,” then I would ask, “who do you want to see it? why? what’s the strategic goal of that person seeing it?” Often within these answers I could sus out the real story, which is never the
“not news” first pitch. It was incredible how many times a sweet human-interest story could be found within a ribbon cutting or a David vs. Goliath within a graduation ceremony. You just have to keep asking the right questions.
Using data, insights and evidence
Brad Gorman is a fractional CCO.
Pitch an insight instead. New dishwasher? Find a fun insight about battle of the spouses and how they load dishwashers. New chicken product? Find a shocking statistic about wings eaten Super Bowl weekend. New energy charger collaboration? Develop an untold newsworthy insight around blackout zones of EV chargers in the U.S.
Charles Zinkowski is senior director of marketing & communications for Committee of 100.
Simply use data and facts — not gut instinct. That’s what strengthens your case. For example, “I work with XYZ reporter regularly, and she’s looking for this angle. If we give her that, she’ll write it. This solution isn’t differentiated, it’s late to market, lacks proof points, and has no influencer or analyst backing. A story on this product could actually hurt our client, not help.”
Lana Rushing is founder and principal of Rushing PR.
I explain why something isn’t news and talk through other possible ways to convey a message. Perhaps a bylined article is a better way to go, or even a survey on the topic. When a client doesn’t have news, I often bring in a strategically architected survey to the rescue! I have never had a client pressure me to pitch non-news. They take my counsel seriously.
Exploring alternate channels and tactics
Cody Luongo is a media consultant.
A wasted pitch can cannibalize a more tangible story opportunity down the line. Every “miss” weighs down your credibility and reputation with reporters in a way that’s hard to regain. In this situation, you need to pull out the business outcome your client actually wants, explore distribution vehicles outside of earned media, and present them with better options. Every company has access to owned media channels — and with that, a broader, more creative range of ways to deliver a message: blogs, social posts, videos, product demos and more. Sometimes a blog post or tweet is simply the better messenger — other times, nothing will cut through like a strong editorial story.
Kyle Arteaga is CEO of The Bulleit Group.
Let’s test it out on social. If it gets the right type of engagement, then we can show the journalist the conflict. That way, the story is already built out. If it doesn’t, then we can recast till we get the engagement that is needed.
Valorie Luther is an adjunct professor at Boston University and a strategic marketing consultant.
Let’s start with a “newswire” release to see how it resonates, that way we can also drive traffic to the company website and build authority and reputation within the AI engines all at once.
Framing, counseling and client education
Jill M. Youmans is a public information officer for the Idaho Transportation Department.
When a request comes in to pitch something that isn’t really news, I start by explaining how reputation is our most valuable currency with the press. Every pitch either strengthens or weakens that relationship, so we need to make sure we’re offering something that truly earns attention. I walk them through what a news peg is and the kinds of stories journalists typically see as newsworthy. If the idea doesn’t align with those, I’ll ask what the actual communication objective is. Often, we can accomplish the same goal through other channels. I’ll suggest alternatives which could achieve the outcome while preserving our credibility with reporters.
Colleen Finnegan is president of Finnegan + Co.
First clarify their business objectives and what they are trying to achieve. Your next step is to buy time (e.g. 24 hours) by not saying yes or no. Tell them you will do some research and come back to them with a recommendation. Then do some research of past coverage on what works and what doesn’t. Come up with a position that has qualitative and quantitative research to back it up. Finally, offer another solution (e.g., third-party research to support the news, social post, blog post, speaking opp, etc.) that meets their objectives.
Kacie Escobar is vice president at Curley & Pynn Public Relations Management Inc.
There’s usually a compelling business reason for this request. It’s our job to turn the idea into news. I start by understanding the business goal and then asking questions to build a story around it. Something like: “I see why you want to share this exciting update … in my experience, here’s what it will take to earn coverage …” The issue usually isn’t with their idea, but with timing, channel, lack of information or lack of a spokesperson or character who can bring the idea to life.
Partnering with leadership and clients
Tim Scarfe is SVP & West Coast Lead for SourceCode Communications.
There’s usually a deeper objective behind “pitch.” Sometimes for public companies the news really does just need to cross the wires. Sometimes it’s to get good collateral in the hands of sales teams in order to better push a new product or functionality. Digging deeper into the why can highlight alternate strategies which can better meet the goal which really matters.
Monique Kelley Gigliotti is a fractional CCO and associate professor at Boston University.
I usually ask my “friendlies” — journalists who I have a good relationship with — if they can share their honest feedback with me to send to my client or company. Sometimes people need to hear directly from the media versus the “middle man.”
Mila Fairfax is a public relations consultant.
I’ve gently pressed in on the client asking them to help me understand who specifically needs this information to take actions and what might those actions be? I explain that I would need to know to include it in the pitch. If they can answer it, great — maybe I’ve overlooked something. If they can’t then they often see the conundrum.
Balancing counsel with client demands
Nicole Yelland is principal at Grit PR.
You’ve got three options: 1. Do what you’re told, let the laws of natural consequences take effect and share detailed feedback with the boss or client to help them learn that it didn’t work and why. 2. Roll up your sleeves, do research and find an angle to make it matter. 3. Say no and offer something that is news!
Trysten Loos is senior account executive at Siren.
Unfortunately, this is something we run into all the time in PR — not usually from leadership, but from clients convinced that everything they do deserves a headline. I always start by giving my honest take and outlining where I think the story truly has potential — often on channels other than earned media. But when that guidance gets ignored and I’m asked to pitch anyway, I do it. And when the coverage doesn’t land, I pull out the receipts from day one. It’s a tough but necessary part of proving that smart strategy — not just effort — drives results. Annnnd maybe, just maybe… listen to your PR/comms expert.
Anya Nelson is SVP and public relations practice lead at Scratch Marketing + Media.
I truly believe that most corporate milestones (or whatever it is that the client wants you to pitch) can be turned into a story. I would always try to hear my client out as to why it’s important to them, and then try to go deeper to see what’s missing (for it to be pitchable), and how we can help each other secure all the right assets for it to be media worthy. Yes, it may delay pitching and eat up some of the retainer hours while you’re iterating, but as long as you’re on the same page, it’s worth a shot. Nothing drives me crazier than a PR person saying “no” to something just because it doesn’t fit the formula. That’s just pure laziness.
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