Some companies may have questions about the process of “pre-pitching” announcements to the media and why it’s important. Our opinion is that pre-pitching is never a bad idea, if it’s done right. Here are a few things every company should know to be successful:
What is pre-pitching?
Pre-pitching is reaching out to media contacts before a piece of news has been officially announced. This outreach would entail a short, compelling pitch to let the contact know about the upcoming news, the specific announcement date and time, an offer to schedule a briefing with the company involved and an early review of the press release. Usually, we require all press contacts to honor the embargo date listed on the release, which essentially means that they agree to avoid covering the news until it is officially announced.
The ideal timeline
We prefer to start pre-pitching about 1-2 weeks in advance of the announcement date, which gives us enough time to connect and follow up with our contacts via email and phone, schedule briefings, answer questions and provide any other information needed such as images.
Why pre-pitching?
Better coverage! This strategy is beneficial to both the client and the press, because it gives interested writers the extra time needed to thoroughly review the release, interview the company spokesperson, write the story and post it on the morning the news comes out. Instead of simply writing from the release the day the announcement comes out, writers usually prefer to have that extra time to write a more compelling story.