Kenneth Gronbach, a noted demographer and author of the book “The Age Curve,” recently spoke at PRSA Orlando about trends in demographics and how changes in our population translate into value for your business.

He shared an interesting example about work he did with a motorcycle maker in 1979 relating to demographics. Business was booming for them and all of sudden … splat! Sales bottomed out – dropping 80 percent over the next five years, to be exact. The product hadn’t changed, advertising and other communication was steady and customers were happy with the product. So, what happened to cause such a dramatic dip in sales?

Here’s a question: Who buys fast, flashy motorcycles? Men ages 16-24. When the now 78.2 million Baby Boomers were in that age range, motorcycle sales were sky high. But once these men approached their mid- to late-twenties (and “sold their bike to buy a ring,” claims Gronbach), the motorcycle market was left with a tremendous void that Generation X just could not fill.

As communicators, we’re always looking for the next trend. Gronbach’s advice is to get in front of the market that’s coming – not the one that’s shrinking away from you. Take a look for yourself and think about the industries you or your clients are in. What does this mean for you?

At Costa DeVault, it’s no secret that we are big fans of Peter Shankman’s Help a Reporter Out (HARO). Dubbed the “largest source repository in the world,” HARO sends out approximately 210 media opportunities daily. For down-to-the-wire deadlines, it’s a journalist’s best friend … and a PR professional’s dream. But, with more than 120,800 active sources receiving the thrice-daily email, competition can be stiff for that coveted placement.

When you find a fitting query, having the perfect resource is just half the battle. The following are a few of our favorite HARO tips that we’ve learned from personal experience:

• Keep it short. When you mix a tight deadline with a high volume of replies, multiple paragraphs of text – while relevant and informative – might be overlooked in favor of short and to-the-point bullets. (In fact, People Magazine’s Steve Helling is a big advocate of the 250-word pitch.)

• Provide all the information. Some of the most coveted queries request particular information. Often times you’ll be asked to include common details, like the name of the source, company name and contact information. But sometimes, the reporter might want even more information – like a headshot, the source’s age or highly specific quotes and comments. When compared to another expert resource, if your email lacks any of the requested information, it might be the difference between being included and being ignored.

• Subject lines are valuable. Use them wisely. Our friends at HARO automatically add “New Pitch –” to your email’s subject line (at least when you reply to an auto-generated HARO email, like “queryxyz@”). Don’t waste valuable subject line real estate by including something similar – instead, get right to the point.

• Omit bold text to avoid “screaming.” In the past, I’ve used bold text to call out specific statistics and relevant information when responding to a HARO query. Sounds like a smart idea, right? When a reporter replied to me recently, they included my original pitch and I was surprised to see that my “courtesy” bolding had actually translated into SCARY CAPITALIZATION. Eek! Often times, people read capitalization as screaming … which is definitely not something I want to portray to a reporter.

For more best practices – from Peter, himself – visit Shankman.com. Please share your own favorite tips in the comment section below.

If you’re looking for good public relations case studies, just open a history book. Recently, Gary McKechnie, author of USA 101: A Guide to America’s Iconic Places, Events and Festivals, spoke at an event for one of our clients. He gave an excellent historical example of a phenomenal fund-raising effort.

Most people know that the French built and funded the Statue of Liberty. However, many forget that America was tasked with raising money for its pedestal. And it cost a lot – almost as much as the statue itself. Traditional fund-raising campaign strategies to erect the statue faltered. After all, it’s hard to get excited about this call to action:

Raise money for

The Statue of Liberty’s

pedestal fund

Enter Hungarian immigrant Joseph Pulitzer, successful journalist and owner of the New York World newspaper. In an editorial, he chastised the wealthy for not getting behind the project. He also challenged the middle class to raise money, because he proclaimed this was America’s statue – not just a rich man’s gift. In a clever PR move, he promised to publish the name of any contributor to the fund-raising campaign.

Regardless of whether you were an aristocrat who donated $500 to the cause, or a paperboy who donated five cents, your name was printed in the paper – in equal point size.

The result? 120,000 people contributed a little more than $100,000. It brought the country together to show that Lady Liberty wasn’t a “New York statue,” but an American icon. As an ROI side note: It also increased Pulitzer’s newspaper circulation by 50,000.

The successful approach of bringing small and large donations together for a common cause rings true today. Just look at the Haiti text messaging effort, which has already raised more than $800,000, and the Obama fund-raising campaign model. History repeats itself.

Photo credit: Itinerant_wanderer

Toyota has spent decades, not to mention billions of dollars, spreading the message that their vehicles are superior – in safety, style and value. The recent PR debacle facing the automaker goes to show the vulnerability of a brand. Years of maintaining a solid reputation can be shattered in less than 24 hours.

Consumer confidence in Toyota is definitely at a pivotal point. First, the floor mats. Next the sticky accelerators – linked to 19 deaths. Then, with the promise of a “fix” on the horizon, Toyota announced last week that there is a problem with the Prius’s brake system. Where does it end?

Some think that the Toyota brand is done – that they should throw in the towel and start anew. After the contamination issue in 1982, Johnson & Johnson had to repair the Tylenol brand, but no need to scrap it all together. Neither did Firestone or Exxon after their respective catastrophes. Toyota’s major problem, aside from the obvious engineering flaw, in my opinion is the mixed messages being disseminated, further fueling consumer anxiety. Drive. . .Don’t drive. . .It’s electrical. . .It’s mechanical. . .We know. . . We don’t know. . . Get your message straight! This lack of clarity is just further aggravating an already fragile situation.

To a certain extent, loyal patrons are forgiving and would be willing to trust Toyota again. But when is enough, finally enough? As a Camry driver myself, I am waiting (and waiting. . .and waiting) to see if the company can pull a U-turn and boost my confidence or if the crisis will continue to go down hill.

If you were in the driver’s seat of Toyota’s messaging during this fiasco, would you have done anything differently?

Photo credit: Robert Vinet

Very rarely does an ad generate editorial media coverage. Generally, advertising is confined to its paid space – until the ad itself becomes the news. This is what’s happened for one controversial Super Bowl commercial: gay dating site ManCrunch.com. The ad depicts two men kissing and was denied by CBS.

Since the rejection, the company has received an enormous amount of publicity. Stories in news outlets, blogs, television and radio have created discussions in numerous public forums. This just adds value to the nearly $3 million price tag CBS is charging for a 30-second spot.

But why the uproar? Controversial subject matter always strikes a chord and advocates on both sides of an issue will make their voices heard. In fact, it was reported that CBS believed ManCrunch submitted an ad they knew would be rejected in an effort to generate free publicity. ManCruch denies the accusation.

And while ManCrunch is receiving a fair amount of free publicity, are they better off? As of today, the ManCrunch commercial on YouTube.com has been viewed more than 400,000 times. Last year, Wikipedia reported that the Super Bowl was watched by 93.2 million people. Would the aired ManCrunch television commercial create the same level of conversation? Would the controversy have as much value without social media?

Think print will ever make a come back?

I don’t know what it is about print publications, but I love them. I love spreading newspapers out over my office desk or dining room table on Sunday mornings. I love dog-earing magazines with good exercise ideas or ripping new recipes out of my favorite cooking publication.

This got me thinking …online media is in…but so is “retro,” right? If that’s the case, how long until print becomes retro and explodes again? Will it ever? Which publications will survive long enough to find out?

Photo credit: bravenewtraveler

The evidence for companies to establish a social media monitoring program keeps building up. The most recent is the latest study from England’s Institute of Customer Service, which shows that dissatisfied customers are turning to social networks to complain about companies – before complaining to the companies themselves.

Think about that for a moment. Customers aren’t even giving companies a chance to fix poor service before telling their Facebook friends, Twitter followers and blog readers about how their expectations weren’t met. The study even says that only a small minority of dissatisfied customers bother going to the offending organization at all.

Without a social media monitoring program in place, how is a company to know this situation even exists? Odds are, they won’t. And that presents a serious problem.

The study did have a bright side, though: Individuals who are vocal about their criticisms are also likely to share positive experiences. That means companies who are keeping an eye on their online presence have the opportunity to turn complainers into happy customers – right in front of their networks’ eyes.

Check out PR Cog’s response to his experience with the lack of one company’s social media monitoring, over on Sarah Evans’ blog.

So, what are you waiting for? If you have questions about monitoring programs, where to start, online tools, etc. – ask away in the comments!

As PR professionals, we often equate media success with what stories we’re able to generate quickly. When a reporter tells us, “I’m working on something else, but this is interesting, so I’ll keep it on file” – that’s like saying, “It’s not you, it’s me.” We write it off as rejection.

Through the years, I’ve found that the “I’m going to file this” does pay off sometimes … it just takes awhile. Case in point: Two years ago, in December 2007, I sent a media resource bulletin about legal ramifications that companies should consider when planning holiday parties. I got the “we’ll keep this on file” response. Recently, the information was printed – you guessed – two years later. It’s still timely and factual, so it was used.

On another occasion, I pitched a story idea to a reporter who said she might use it that summer. My nerdy PR radar went off, and I sent myself an e-mail reminder to follow up with the reporter six months later. Sure enough, it worked.

It goes to show that PR and patience go hand-in-hand.

What do freelancers like and dislike about PR pitches? To find some good tips, I contacted local freelancers Sarah Sekula (@wordzilla), Denise Bates Enos, and Katherine Johnson (@katiejwriter).

What is one of the best PR pitches you have gotten?

Best nods would have to go to the PR people who went the extra mile. A few years ago, I was invited by a rep to hear a pitch about production services. Not only did she have a complete and thorough presentation with images, releases and follow-up story ideas, she also added a personal touch. She found out my favorite breakfast and had a chef come in and prepare it during our meeting. An extravagant but personal touch! –Katherine Johnson

What tips would you give PR people on pitching freelancers?

Google the writer. What has he/she written about in the past? Identify publications the freelancer writes for and target pitches accordingly. Check out resources like mediabistro.com (“How to Pitch” section) or writersmarket.com for up-to-date tips on pitching specific pubs. And follow the writer on Twitter to monitor specific story needs or ask to be added to the writer’s e-mail list. I often send out mass e-mails when searching for the right source. Also, let the writer know if you have multimedia available that would add to the story (i.e., audio clips, slideshows, video, timeline, etc).  –Sarah Sekula

Make sure you’re on target with your pitch. For example, if I’ve sent out a query looking for holiday decor products, images and information, don’t send me a pitch about a great sound system with the straining-to-fit tie-in like “holiday tunes enhance the decor.” –Denise Bates Enos [Denise asserts she really did get this bad pitch.]

It’s important to stay on top of the changing freelance and publishing landscapes. Whether you pitch to a freelancer you’ve known for years or harvest names from a list, research and update the profiles before sending out the release. Many freelancers change/add specialties or focus on a particular topic during the year. E-mailing to confirm that a freelancer is still accepting pitches, working on a particular topic or still freelances for a particular magazine will save everyone time. Also, find out what freelancers are using social media. I’ve received dozens of worthwhile pitches from people who found my profile on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Magntize. Another great resource to use is Help A Reporter Out . – Katherine Johnson

Do you have any PR pet peeves?

Don’t “friend” me on Facebook – it’s a social networking site, not a business networking site. That’s what LinkedIn is for. I made the mistake of accepting one of those friend requests, and now I’m pestered with requests to “become a fan” of the PR person’s various clients and their businesses/services. –Denise Bates Enos

Stop sending form pitches. “Dear Editor” or “Dear Writer” has a special place on every freelancer’s computer – the trash can! As soon as I see that line in my email, I delete it. You could be giving an all-expense paid press trip or a free sample and no one would see it. If freelancers can track down the right press rep to contact about a story, then press reps should do the same and find out who they’re e-mailing. My personal pet peeves: incomplete or inaccurate information or trying to find a rep who is unavailable on deadline. Just shoot a quick e-mail and say you will get back in touch by end of the day or refer a freelancer to another rep who is available. –Katherine Johnson

Orlando Business Journal reporter Anjali Fluker is next up in our “5 Questions With” series, where we ask journalists to shed some light on pitching, reporting and journalism. An award-winning journalist, Anjali covers real estate, retail and minority business for the OBJ. Prior to coming to Orlando, Anjali covered economic development for Crain’s Detroit Business. She’s also worked as a community reporter for the Detroit News and as a sportswriter for the Times Herald in Port Huron, MI.

Without further adieu …

1. If you could give PR people one piece of advice, what would it be?
Research your client as well as the publication/news source you’re pitching to before you make a call. If you don’t know or understand what your client does, you look like an idiot. And if you don’t know what the publication is about, the reporter gets insulted.

2. What do you think non-journalists would be surprised to learn about journalists?

We love food!

3. What do you think about the integration of social media and journalism? Good, bad, indifferent?

I think social media has both its ups and downs in journalism. On the upside, it sometimes makes it easier during our newsgathering phase, if we can find better sourcing and tips through Tweets & Facebook. But there’s also the downside that some news organizations are starting to believe that the real “news” is what’s being discussed on social networking sites. That means they’re spending oodles of time on one subject and not getting enough information on other stories of value. Additionally, it could get people in trouble if they use social networking sites as a source and don’t back it up. There’s a lot of drama & hating going on in those places.

4. How do you prefer to be pitched?

I prefer e-mails with information that relates directly to what I cover and our publication.

5. What’s the worst pitch you’ve ever received from a PR person?

There are way too many to name! Too often, I get e-mailed press releases that are full of company slogans and jargon, and then a follow-up call from an account exec who has no idea what his/her client’s real news is when I ask more questions. Just ask a few questions and maybe you’ll find a story that’s real “news.”