Raleigh-based brand communication firm Articulon received an InSpire Award from the North Carolina Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. The agency was recognized during the eighth annual InSpire Awards banquet on September 27, 2016 for its work on behalf of the 30th Annual International Festival of Raleigh. Articulon won Best in Category for its “Media Relations” work for the festival.
Within the past six months to a year, the local media market has been in flux. Many of the reporters and producers we work with have changed positions. Moreover, several of the programs and stations are shifting their formats and capabilities. It is a reminder that you cannot count on what was to always be.
Having a relationship with the media is just that: a relationship. It requires investment by both parties to make it strong, successful and long lasting. Some people believe all relationships are only for a season (however long that season may be) and they may be right. However, the ending of one relationship often opens up opportunities for a new relationship. With my relationships with the media, I have found three guiding principles that have served me well.
1. Go Wide and Go Deep
If you only know and talk to one person at a specific media outlet, you are at a great disadvantage if that person changes positions or leaves the company completely. Take advantage of every opportunity possible to meet and communicate with multiple reporters and editors, even if they do not directly cover your topic. You never know when that might change.
Moreover, don’t just connect when you have something to say, find out what they need by touching base and checking in. In these interactions avoid wasting their time. We all are busy and business time is time for business. This could mean offering comments or feedback on something the reporter or editor has covered. Or simply asking how you may be able to help them on a current story with an introduction to a potential source or offering background yourself. The key is to be brief, be helpful and be relevant to the reporter’s or editor’s focus, which leads me to my next principle.
2. Be Relevant
I have heard it said way too often that the media is in need (desperate need) of material. This is true. But there are qualifiers. Almost all media outlets operate in multiple platforms, which includes the web. With the instant nature of electronic platforms and the demand by the public and search engine algorithms to have a constant stream of new information, there is a great need for content. Conversely, the space at any one time is still limited. Because of this, there is ever-growing competition for that space.
News is still that, news. Just because you, or your company, did something, is offering a product or service (even if it is a new offering in the market place), or has something to say that will help people, make people’s lives better/easier or inform people of something that they need to know, this does not mean it is news.
When working with the media the most important of the five “Ws” (who, what, when, where and why) is the “why.” Why is this important/ Why should I (the reader/viewer) care? And why now? Having clear and concise answers to the why questions will increase the attention editors and journalists give to a story idea or pitch. Consequently, this increases the opportunity for coverage.
There are times that no matter how important it seems to an individual or company that the world needs to know about the latest and greatest X, Y and Z, it just does not reach the bar of being news. Advertising may be the proper avenue to share this information.
3. The Media is a Business Too
Nothing is free in this world, and that includes the news. Although many media outlets hold true and fast to journalistic integrity, the media in all of its forms is a business. Just like any business, they are not successful if they give everything away. Respect the business side of the media and consider giving their business some of your business, especially if you are regularly asking them to give you editorial space or coverage. Advertising is how most media pay the majority of their bills. Subscription revenues (if the outlet charges them) only cover a fraction of the costs to run a media business.
Respecting the business of media does not always mean buying an ad. Consider sponsoring an event the media is hosting. At the very least be a subscriber and read, watch, listen to the media outlet you are asking to give you coverage.
Like all businesses, the formats, foci and people in the media will change over time. But, if you stay in a relationship, stay relevant and respect the business side of media, there is a good chance that you will be able to navigate this change smoothly.
Raleigh-based brand communication firm Articulon received five InSpire Awards from the North Carolina Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. The agency was recognized during the seventh annual InSpire Awards banquet on May 12 for its work on behalf of FMI Corporation, the International Festival of Raleigh, Sig Hutchinson for Wake County Commissioner and SAFE Haven for Cats.
Articulon won Best in Category for the entry: Digital Video Campaign Helps Sig Hutchinson Win County Commissioner Election. The agency also received an Award of Excellence in Media Relations for FMI Enters Gas and Oil Market, and Honorable Mentions for:
“The Articulon team takes great pride in receiving five InSpire Awards for our work creating compelling messages that continue to connect with our clients’ audiences, as well as produce tangible results,” says Cindy Stranad, APR, Articulon principal. “It is a tremendous honor to stand in celebration next to our peers.”
Modeled after PRSA’s national Bronze and Silver Anvil Awards, the InSpire Awards highlight the best PR and communications programs by agencies located in North Carolina. Bronze InSpire Awards honor specific tactics or components of public relations campaigns.
These awards builds upon the recognition Articulon has received for a commitment to exceptional client work and community involvement. Since 2006, the Triangle Business Journal the firm has recognized Articulon as one of the top 25 public relations firms in the Triangle. Articulon has also won numerous industry accolades including InSpire Awards from NCPRSA, B2 Awards from the Business Marketing Association, Sir Walter Raleigh Awards from the Raleigh Public Relations Society, an ADDY® award from the American Advertising Federation Raleigh-Durham chapter. Additionally, an independent group of judges selected Articulon as a Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Pinnacle Award recipient based on sustained growth and innovation in 2010.
What a great day for our client, Triangle Lebanese Association, during the 17th annual Lebanese Festival. The festival had more than 5,000 attendees. Special shout out to the N&O for recapping such a fun-filled Easter Saturday. Check out the article below.
Soha Hilal viewed much of Saturday’s Lebanese Festival through the camera lens on her phone.
She took photos of her daughter, Carla, before the 8-year-old and about 20 other children carried a giant Lebanon flag to a stage on Fayetteville Street’s City Plaza.
Hilal snapped more photos just before Carla walked on the stage to perform a traditional Lebanese dance, known as Dabke.
In fact, it wasn’t until after the music stopped and Carla struck a pose that Hilal stopped taking pictures. After kneeling in front of the stage and holding her gold phone aloft, Carla’s mom stood and high-fived several other camera-wielding Lebanese parents.
Lebanese have been a part of North Carolina culture for more than a century. But this year, the association had an extra reason to celebrate. TLA late last year bought the first building it can call its own: a 4,500-square-foot structure on Horizon Drive in Raleigh.
“We’ve been saving up for it since we got started,” said Doumit Ishak, a co-founder of the association who serves as its president.
The Lebanese are known for being nomadic, Ishak said. And the Triangle association was no different – gathering in restaurants to socialize and renting out different venues for events over the years. Now it has a space to introduce new cooking classes, dance classes and Arabic classes, Ishak said.
On Saturday, the 50-year-old could hardly contain his excitement. He took a break from manning a grill to hug dozens of friends – even lying on the sidewalk to arm-wrestle with boys.
“These kids are like my own,” he said. “This is an event that, as you can see, makes us so happy and proud.”
North Carolina has been home to Lebanese immigrants since the 1880s and now has about 16,000 Lebanese-Americans, say with N.C. State University’s Khayrallah Program for Lebanese-American Studies.
Prominent Raleigh businessman and restaurateur Greg Hatem – who owns Sitti, Gravy and the Raleigh Times, among others – comes from a Lebanese family.
The community has been a part of the culture for so long that the N.C. Museum of History last summer hosted an exhibit called “Cedars in the Pines,” which chronicled Lebanese life in North Carolina.
But for others, such as 7-year-old Jacob Pogerelski, Saturday’s festival provided a rare opportunity to learn about an unfamiliar culture.
His family, which is of Polish descent, spent time at a booth learning Phoenician – the language of some of ancient Lebanon’s earliest settlers – before studying the food selections.
“I can’t believe my name in Phoenician is only two symbols,” Pogerelski said. “It’s interesting.”
Lebanese are known for being hospitable and family-oriented, so many are eager to share their culture, said Bisharah Libbus, who moved to the U.S. from Lebanon in 1971 and now lives in Chapel Hill.
Saturday’s event, which acted as a reunion for many Lebanese in the community, reminded him of when he was embraced by a stranger while walking in his hometown of Tyre last year.
“Your grandmother and my grandmother were sisters! Come, come let’s have coffee,” he recalled the woman saying. “I had never met her. But that’s how we are, very warm.”
What an exciting media preview event for the 2015 Lebanese Festival! Local media came to the Crafty Beer Shop in Lafayette Village to preview and learn about the flavors, sights and sounds of Lebanon before the weekend festival. The no-cost, 17th annual festival is hosted by the Triangle Lebanese Association which shares the Lebanese culture and promotes cultural understanding throughout the Triangle.
