PR Coverage To Elevate Your Brand Image

PR coverage brings its own unique benefits when it comes to improving your overall brand reputation and awareness. While advertising can get people to notice your brand, PR coverage lets them see your brand through another’s eyes, such as publications and news outlets.

Getting a secondary opinion on a brand can feel more trustworthy than seeing a brand advocate itself through paid adverts. PR coverage in particular usually comes from fairly reliable sources, like podcasts or newspapers, so the public is more likely to listen to their opinions. If they speak highly of you, people will have a good impression of your brand.

PR coverage can be difficult to obtain, but one way of making it easier is to have a press kit handy. It gives publications and other PR sources an efficient way of learning about your business. You can get your own press kit using tools like PressKitHero.

What Is Press Coverage?

PR (public relations) coverage, also known as press coverage, refers to any brand mentions from third-party media sources, such as news outlets, publications, radio, and more. The aim of press coverage is to raise brand awareness through a publicity strategy and get the public talking about your brand.

PR is all about communicating with the public and building a positive relationship with them. You want the public to view your brand in a good light, which depends greatly on your reputation and brand image. PR activities such as press coverage work to build and maintain a positive reputation in order to increase sales and customer retention.

Types Of Press Coverage

Press coverage usually falls under four main categories:

There are three types of media channels that your brand can use to reach their audience. These are earned media, paid media, and owned media. Press coverage traditionally falls under earned media, but you can also use paid and owned media to generate more coverage for your brand.

Earned Media

Earned media refers to third-party mentions not paid for by your brand. It’s essentially free publicity. Earned media can have a lot of influence on your brand image since they come from trusted sources. It’s hard to obtain, but it helps to have a press kit ready to give media sources plenty of material to write about. You can make your own press kit on PressKitHero. 

Here are some examples of earned media:

Paid media refers to marketing your brand pays for. You can control this type of media to an extent - you usually have to convince another company or platform to host your paid media, such as Google or influencer channels.

Here are some examples of paid media:

Owned Media

Owned media refers to content created and owned by your brand. This type of media is free. You have full control over this content, including the platform it’s posted on. You can directly communicate with customers using owned media.

Here are some examples of owned media:

Examples Of Press Coverage

Here are some real-life examples of press coverage received by brands:

The Guardian Article On Nike’s Ad Campaign

The Guardian wrote an article about an ad campaign created by Nike and Martine Rose, which highlights the challenges women face in football. It discussed the campaign in more detail and included photos taken by Nike.

Coca-Cola’s CNBC Interview

CNBC interviewed the CEO of Coca-Cola to talk about their new partnership with Jack Daniels and highlighting the ‘Jack and Coke cocktail in a can’ product. This presented a great opportunity to drum up excitement for the product before it hit American shelves. 

Amazon’s Business Week Cover

Business Week Magazine featured Amazon’s CEO on their April 2008 cover along with a brand mention in their subheading. This helped to increase awareness of Amazon in a time before they had such a large grasp of the online shopping market.

Why Is Media Coverage Important?

Media coverage (aka press coverage) can take quite some effort to build up, especially if your brand awareness is fairly low. So why strive to obtain media coverage when you can market through paid adverts or your own press releases? Well, here are some reasons why media coverage is important for your brand:

Improve Brand Image

Brand image is a very delicate thing to build and uphold, which is why PR coverage in particular is so sought after. Media coverage is easier to take at face value because consumers know your brand has no control or sway over its content. Media outlets are also viewed as credible sources of information, which make them highly trustworthy.

Increase Brand Awareness

Media coverage can raise your brand awareness effectively by reaching a wide audience. Media coverage usually comes from reputable sources, so they have a certain level of fame along with a large viewer base.

Build A Relationship With Customers

Media coverage is an important aspect of PR as it allows brands to connect with their audience and build relationships. They can learn about your activities or key messages and get to know your brand better.

What Defines Good Press Coverage?

Good press coverage should:

How To Get Press Coverage

Step 1: Make A Press Kit

Make a press kit so media sources can easily find information about your company, such as mission statements, awards, and promotional images/videos. This ensures that publications have quality material to write about in their content.

Use PressKitHero to create a professional press kit. Include important information such as:

Step 2: Identify What Kind Of Press Coverage You Want

Decide what type of press coverage you want to obtain, such as publication articles or interviews. You can start by choosing the platform you want to appear on before narrowing down the specifics. Then, decide what subjects you want them to cover so you know what PR campaigns to plan.

Step 3: Find Suitable Media Outlets & Contact Them

Search for media outlets that can give you the coverage you want.

Journalists

You can look for journalists that cover your niche using services like HARO or SourceBottle and contact them. You can start with a media pitch or build a relationship with them first to increase the likelihood of them covering your story.

Publications & TV/Radio Channels

Alternatively, you can find specific publications or channels that cover your niche and see if they have an email you can use to contact them. For example, you can pitch stories to Wired using their business emails, which they mention in an article.

Influencer Channels

Influencers nowadays are almost as reputable as news channels or publications, so it’s worth considering them in your search for press coverage. You can send them a PR package to motivate them to mention your brand on their social media or blogs.

How To Create A Media Pitch

Convincing a media outlet to tell your story is difficult because they have to deem your story worthy first. They likely get loads of pitches every day, so you have to make sure your media pitch stands out:

Step 4: Raise Brand Awareness

You can try to stimulate conversation about your brand from the public, which can entice media outlets to cover your story. The best way to do this is by raising your brand awareness through paid or owned media:

It’s best to search for press coverage after something special has occurred for your brand, such as winning awards, hosting an event, releasing a new product, and more. It gives media outlets an exciting subject to talk about.

Conclusion

PR coverage is a free method of raising brand awareness and improving your reputation. Press coverage refers to third-party mentions about your brand from media sources, such as magazines and TV channels. You have no control over your press coverage, but you can encourage media outlets to mention your brand by creating media, such as press releases or paid adverts.

Media outlets need to have an efficient way of learning about your brand to give you good press coverage. Here’s where PressKitHero comes in handy. Create your own professional press kit, which includes important information about your company, such as mission statements and promotional materials. Join PressKitHero for free today to start customizing your own press kit.