Issue 80 - 14th September 2021
A journo's view on improving pitches, a surge of cheating predicted, reporting like a tech SEO, and international PR
CAMPAIGNS
Punctuation in novels
Inspired by a series of posters, Adam J Calhoun wondered what hid favorite books looked like without words. Can you tell them apart or are they all a-mush? In fact, they can be quite distinct. Take his all-time favorite book, Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner. It is dense prose stuffed with parentheticals. When placed next to a novel with more simplified prose — Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy — it is a stark difference (see above).
There is such a thing as having too much leisure time, study says
Research on 22,000 working Americans conducted by Marissa Sharif at Wharton School at Pennsylvania University, found that two to five hours a day is the optimal amount of leisure time.
Ranking the Biggest NBA Finals Carry Jobs
Despite being a team sport, some NBA teams rely on a star to get them to the finals more than others. Did Giannis do it without help? Not really. Did MJ carry Pippen? Sometimes. Is LeBron amazing? Yes.
There are plenty of opinionated articles and videos debating this already. So The Pudding figured they would add my data-driven take to the mix. What do the data say about ranking the biggest Finals carry jobs in NBA history?
There’s going to be a ‘surge’ of cheating in September, claims dating site for affairs
Of the 2,000 site members Illicit Encounters surveyed, 78% said the return to the office and a move away from home working will make it far easier to have an affair, while 54% of couples have reassessed their relationship during the pandemic.
COSTA COFFEE ENLISTS GORDON RAMSAY LOOK-ALIKE TO PROMOTE NEW VEGAN BACON SANDWICH
Costa Coffee—the largest coffee chain in the United Kingdom—has hired a Gordon Ramsay look-alike to promote its new Vegan Bac’n Bap, a breakfast sandwich that just launched in Costa Coffee shops nationwide. The coffee chain decided to enlist look-alike Martin Jordan to be the face of its new campaign after the real Gordon Ramsay shared a scathing review of Costa Coffee’s animal-based breakfast Bacon Bap in a viral TikTok drive-thru roasting.
INSIGHTS
How to Launch a Successful International PR Campaign
Digital PR is thriving…and not only in the UK. Multinational clients are looking for agencies that have the potential to fulfil their coverage needs, both at a national and international level.
Securing coverage in European markets is not as easy as translating the content into the local language and sending it to journalists in every country. There are unexpected challenges involved in creating content and outreaching it to those journalists located abroad and exposed to a different reality. By JD Guariglia.
Digital PRs: How To Report Like A Tech SEO
Hannah Adams recently gave a talk at the Online PR Show at Brighton SEO on how to go beyond coverage and links to show the SEO impact and true value of your digital PR work.
If you saw the talk, or you’re just interested in learning how to take your digital PR reporting up a level, here’s a ready-made template for analysing keyword performance and working out ROI.
Journalists Sound Off on How PR Pros Can Improve Media Pitches
While we hear PR pros talk about how often their pitches go ignored – we don’t always hear the other side.
Journalists have some REAL complaints about practices public relations practitioners engage in that make their jobs more difficult. Unfortunately, these missteps can also make it tougher for PR pros to develop the relationships they want – and need – to do a better job of landing earned media coverage on behalf of clients. By Michelle Garrett.