Annie Scranton is the Founder and President of Pace Public Relations (PPR), a full-service media relations and communications agency based in New York City. Specializing in television, radio, print, and web placements, PPR serves as a direct conduit for clients with press that they want and need to attract. Prior to beginning her own journey as an entrepreneur, Annie worked as a guest booker and editorial producer for more than eight years at major television networks including as CNN, Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC & ABC. After presenting at Startup Grind in January 2020, Annie led a Launchpad Campus Director AMA on the topic of pitching to the media and gaining press coverage.

Similar to the elevator pitches that we help student entrepreneurs develop, Annie began her presentation by challenging LaunchPad Campus Directors to consider their center’s unique positioning (“personal brand”). In a world with countless voices clamoring for the spotlight, it is critical to be confident and clear about what your LaunchPad distinctly offers and the results and benefits of these efforts. As Annie went on to explain, the positioning provides a foundation for both the media outreach you do, as well as the digital representation of your LaunchPad that must be put in place prior to seeking press.

Annie recommends reaching out to press contacts primarily via email and direct social media messaging (“DMing”). Before that though, it is critically important to research the outlet and journalist - what he/she/they cover and how what you are pitching is relevant. (You wouldn’t, for instance, pitch the same story in the same way to a reporter that covers local events like one that covers business news.)

Beyond this preparatory effort pre-outreach, Annie also described in detail the most important elements of five steps for successfully getting media coverage

• Digital Representation: Have a great website and social media profiles (including promoting past coverage.)

• Differentiate Your Brand: Be able to position your pitch to the applicable recipient.

• Develop Relationships: Reporters need stories - you have stories. Build a symbiotic relationship for long-term storytelling success.

• Network, network, network: Media outreach is not a one-and-done experience. Be persistent - but friendly. And consider how networking can occur virtually!

• Consider External Assistance: Whether that is story development or relationship management, external resources can help maximize your effectiveness.

Other questions discussed by Annie included: How to structure email pitches and utilize press releases, what is the appropriate frequency of pitch/outreach, which media coverage tasks to prioritize once the website and social media are optimized, and how to manage pitching to multiple reporters or outlets at once.

For Annie’s thoughts on these topics and more, check out our recording of her LaunchPad Campus Director AMA: