What Makes a Successful Food PR Pitch?
Terry (Culinest) with Michelle Buffardi (Scripps Networks Interactive).
Properly pitching your food product, business or story is key to getting great press coverage.
Michelle Buffardi (Scripps Networks Interactive – The Food Network and Cooking Channel) and Nina Elder (Everyday with Rachael Ray) shared great advice at my recent Pitch Perfect PR class for the Specialty Food Association.
The Gold Standard:
“Nail the audience,
Get the right editor,
Be clear, concise and trend-based, with specific advice that appeals to the editor and audience —
No matter who you are — your pitch can be successful.”
Pitch Like Baseball:
“Think of a PR pitch like a baseball pitch:
Editors have different strike zones – take the time to target them.”
Other Key Insights:
Match message to medium:
- Every medium has its own tone; understand how each is positioned and customize.
- Do your due diligence: know names, titles, what targeted media covers and its voice.
- Don’t give up if you think your product is really right for a publication.
Be a solution to the editor’s problem:
- Don’t assume you have the perfect solution for a publication – but try to be a solution to editors’ problems.
Pitch fast:
- Start pitches with the most important information: what are the 3 things the audience has to know?
- Pyramid structure for pitches – you have 12 seconds and 2 lines to catch attention.
- For every sentence in a pitch, ask: ‘Who cares?’
Want more actionable insights for your food business?
Check out Culinest’s information-packed classes.
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