QUICK PR READS YOU CAN TACKLE BETWEEN BITES
Happy Wednesday, Lunch Breakers! We’re halfway through the last week in February, but all of the non-stop winter weather has us wondering if March got an early start on coming in like a lion. In this week’s edition, we have one company’s clever marketing ploy to reclaim the fried chicken sandwich spotlight, some nifty PR pitch lessons, and advice from reporters on getting their attention.
Spell Chk’n
Remember the Chicken Sandwich Wars of 2019 when Popeyes took the country by storm? This time, they’re trolling McDonald’s ahead of the fast food giant’s foray into the fried fowl feud. The CHKNDrop.com website that McD’s set up for early access to their chicken sandwich lineup is already sold out. The Popeyes marketing team bought up other iterations of the URL – chikcendrop.com, chiqndrop.com, etc. – that gives the first 10,000 visitors a free coupon for their chicken sandwich. Just like the squiggly spell check line, we imagine that troll move has McDonald’s seeing red.
Lessons Learned
Michael Smart’s take on bad PR pitches is a favorite feature we look forward to every month. This time, we’re nodding our heads in agreement about the importance of actually reading a reporter’s tweets before pitching. Likewise, we’re definitely thinking twice about being too aggressive when following up on said media outreach. And when it comes to the precious real estate of your subject line, check out which two words one Politico reporter suggests to avoid.
Pitch Perfect
We’re dishing up a double dose of media relations advice from the minds of those who are the targets of our pitches. Muck Rack rounded up reporter responses about the state of their inbox and how PR pros can get their attention. If you’ve ever wondered why some reporters are quicker to respond than others, you’ll want to see the number of unread e-mails some journalists reported. Let’s just say it’s the opposite of Inbox Zero. These reporters suggested that communicators target their pitches, avoid burying the lede, and follow up appropriately.
