It’s August, and you’re most likely daydreaming about that trip to the beach and not about the holiday season. But in the always forward-looking world that is high tech public relations, there’s no better time than now to prepare for some good holiday PR.
Here are the PR levers for the holiday season you need to set in motion sooner rather than later:
- Gift guides
- You’ve seen the listings of the must-have holiday gifts in literally every newspaper and magazine, and a number of TV shows. Here’s a look at CNET’s 2014 holiday gift guide as an example. Editors and producers are putting together these lists as we speak, so submit your product ASAP.
- End of the year recaps
- I’m not just talking about corporate recaps where “x company increased revenue by x percent and got x clients.” I’m talking about market insights. These could be anything from “we saw these trends emerge in x industry” to “in 2015, the number of cyberattacks jumped x percent from 2014.” These recaps are being compiled on an ongoing basis, but best to get your insights to editors and producers starting in early October.
- 2016 predictions
- Everybody likes to take a crystal ball and make some bold predictions about what to expect in a certain industry in the year ahead. Just be aware that editors start to work on these predictions for the year ahead in October if not sooner, much like the aforementioned “end of the year recaps,” so get them in early.
So when you start seeing those holiday displays and all of your friends say “wha?” You can say, “The holidays aren’t here yet? I’m in PR. I’m ALWAYS thinking about the holidays.”