Nancy Edmonds Hanson, APR

Office: 293.1489
Fax: 237.4662
nancy@hansonphoto.com

Public Relations Processes

The Pumpkin Project

 

This assignment focuses on tailoring specific messages fitted to media that have high interest and credibility with your target audience. You will develop a story idea, prepare background materials including a fact sheet, and write an introductory pitch letter or memo pointing out why your idea is well-suited to the medium's audience

You are working on media relations for the National Pumpkin Growers Association. With prime pumpkin promoting time just ahead, you need to come up with media story ideas to fit the five audiences  you’ve targeted in your current PR plan. You will be assigned one of these target audiences in class Thursday:

bulletFamilies with young children
bulletYoung adults (no kids)
bulletSenior adults
bulletNutrition-conscious adults
bulletValue-conscious adults

Your assignment is to come up with a solid story idea and pitch it to the media ... with the intention of persuading an editor or producer to assign it to his or her own staff reporters. Be creative ... but make sure your idea is practical enough to be doable. You may make up interview subjects or situations, as long as they're relatively realistic. 

Your Pitch Package

In addition to the idea itself, prepare a full pitching package including

bulletLetter or memo to the editor or producer you're approaching. (Find the name online)
bulletFact sheet about pumpkins supporting your story idea
bulletMay include names and phone numbers of experts whom reporters may call on; clippings or Web references to background information; information on pumpkin industry, nutrition or lore

Choose a medium within one of the following categories:

bulletDaily newspaper feature editor
bulletMagazine aimed at specific targeted audience
bulletNetwork TV talk show (Martha Stewart, Oprah, Food Network program, etc.)

You may target national, regional or local publications and broadcasters. The match between medium and message should be tailored to fit one or more of the constituencies.

Use at least one of the news values discussed by Wilcox and in class as a guide for shaping stories to fit the media's appetites.

bulletTimeliness
bulletProximity
bulletProminence
bulletSignificance
bulletUnusualness
bulletHuman Interest
bulletConflict
bulletNewness

If you're ignorant of pumpkin lore, sample the information on these links ...  and dig for more:

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/pumpkins/nutrition.html

http://www.niagara.com/infocor/pumpkinfarm/module/howtheygrow.html

http://www.sadako.com/pumpkin/growing.html

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/food/r_squash.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/  search term [pumpkin]

 

Last edited by 10/13/2005  nancy@hansonphoto.com