Media Tours – Kickin’ It Old School

Last week, I spent a few days in New York conducting a media tour with one of our clients, meeting with publications such as Elle Décor, This Old House and Luxe magazine.  Back in the day, before the internet, emails and social media, you would communicate with the media using snail mail, phone, fax or personal visits.  In today’s technology-driven world and with everything available at our fingertips, it’s easy to lose sight of the power of personal relationships and that’s where a New York media tour comes in.     

Why New York?  For this particular client, it’s because all of the major publishing houses are headquartered in New York, i.e., Hearst, Time Inc., Conde Nast.  A media tour consists of setting up one-on-one meetings with editors and producers at their offices to talk to them about new products, brands and key industry trends.  It’s a great way to build a personal relationship with the media so that they understand and can appreciate the people behind the brand and the people on the other end of the email, pitching them.

A media tour isn’t a fit for every company, but if it makes sense strategically, it can be very impactful.  Here are just a few reasons why you would want to conduct a media tour:

Your company/brand is new to the industry: With many industries saturated in competition, a media tour is a great way to cut through the clutter and build a meaningful relationship with the media.

You are introducing a new product/technology: A media tour is a great way for the media to “touch and feel” the product which is a lot more impactful than a press release.

It’s off-season for tradeshows: Many of the media attend tradeshows but if you do not plan on attending or if a key tradeshow isn’t taking place for another six months, a media tour is a great way to get in front of the media and stay top-of-mind.

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