The Tip Sheet

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issue of : February 2003

In this Issue

 

Eye on PTA DC

Launching a website or breakout book? Planning a press conference? At Planned TV Arts, Washington DC, we specialize in creating the successful event you need.

Book Parties, Client Receptions and Launches
With our many years of experience, our clients know they can count on our team to plan and execute successful and enjoyable parties. We can:

  • handle every detail of a launch, party or reception,
  • provide creative counsel on unique ideas,
  • step in at the last minute to organize an event, and most importantly,
  • work with the author and/or publisher to create the best event possible.

Recent events include the introduction of artist Trish Bramson's website astudyincolor.com, featuring her functional glass art (at Equinox Restaurant); Ron Goldfarb's launch of Perfect Villains, Imperfect Heroes about his life at the Justice Department with Robert Kennedy (at the National Press Club) and a reception for Julie Shields, a memorable launch for her first book How To Avoid The Mommy Trap (at Teatro Goldoni in Washington, DC).

Press Conferences
In today's news environment, capturing the attention of the media for a press conference is challenging. We are up to that challenge! Recent press attendance and coverage we've booked included:

  • ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Univision, and all of the local television affiliates in Washington, DC and Los Angeles,
  • The New York Times, Associated Press, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post,
  • National Public Radio, Bloomberg Radio and TV, ABC Radio, CBS Radio, and,
  • our most recent press conference was covered live on C-SPAN.

Our team works with clients every step of the way from coordinating media strategy, to arranging venues and program details and one-on-one interviews after the conference. Our work includes press events with The Brookings Institution and corporate clients such as BioPort Corporation, Novartis, The American Association for Cancer Research, The National Sleep Foundation, and the National Council for Patient Information & Education.

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Surfin'

Need a solid web hit? Currently featuring over 10,000 reviews in more than 40 different categories www.BookReview.com is a great source, especially for smaller publishers and self-published authors. They have over 100 qualified reviewers dedicated to covering books so visit them today and find out how to submit your latest titles.

Looking for a book fair in Cairo, Egypt? Or one a bit closer to home? Have we got the site for you! www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/bkevents.html is chock full of information about book fairs, storytelling festivals and other literary happenings across the United States and beyond. Each event has contact information and is hyperlinked, so discover the book fair of your dreams!

Whether you're looking for the hottest restaurants, clubs, concerts or museums, www.citysearch.com has great listings and ratings for exciting places to explore in over 75 U.S. cities and numerous international cities. Look what it has to say about Göteborg, Scandinavia: Bohusläns teater kommer och spelar Shakespeares Titus och Andronicus medan publiken försöker äta sin lunch tyst nog för att kunna njuta av skådespelet också. WOW!

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Tips From the Top

An excerpt from GUERRILLA PUBLICITY: Hundreds of Sure-fire Tactics to Get Maximum Sales for Minimum Dollars by Rick Frishman, Jill Lublin and Jay Conrad Levinson

Press Releases: Grab 'Em Fast and Don't Let Go
For radio and TV: Approach producers as if they have ADD (attention deficit disorder). Get their attention fast. If your press release doesn't capture the producers' attention within the first ten seconds, you're dead; they'll be off on something else. They seldom read press releases, but when they do, they usually just scan the headlines and bullets. Producers' lives are blurs. Everything is an emergency or a crisis...so make press releases for producers shorter than those you send to print journalists. Tips:

  • Headlines are critical. They should be one line only, take seconds to read and focus on value and benefit.
  • The media is obsessed with three topics that it thinks audiences crave: money, sex and health. So, whenever possible, tie your headlines to those topics.
  • Establish a "Who Gives a Damn" meter. Determine if anyone would care about the information presented. If so, identify specifically who would care. Then determine why they would care. Once done, write headlines and bullets targeted to those who would care.

For print: For the print media the first paragraph of your press release is vital. It should run no more than three or four sentences and set forth all of the main points covered in the release. Don't muddy your opening paragraph with too much detail...Use subsequent paragraphs to further explain your story, including background, more specific information, and even include quotes or endorsements. But keep the entire release to one page. After you've drafted the release, tie it together with a catchy headline...always include your contact information at both the top and bottom of the page. [And remember] that print media can publish a press release, or parts of it, with little or no change, and their job is done.

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Look What's Coming Up

Some annual dates that just might relate to a Morning Drive or Satellite TV Tour topic:

February 2003

American Heart Month
National African-American History Month
Children's Authors and Illustrators Week (9th-15th)
National Engineers Week (15th- 22nd)
February 1st -Premier of "Late Night with David Letterman" (1982)
February 2nd -Groundhog Day
February 8th -Boy Scouts of America Founded/FONT>
February 10th & 11th -Westminster Dog Show
February 14th -Valentines Day
February 17th -Presidents Day
February 15th -Anniversary of Soviet Troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
February 23rd -Anniversary of the first cloning of an adult animal (Dolly)
February 28th -Final Episode of M*A*S*H (1983)

March 2003

American Red Cross Month
March Madness - NCAA Basketball Championships
March 2nd-3rd -USA Indoor Track & Field Championships
March 4th -Anniversary of People Magazine Launch (1974)
March 5th-Ash Wednesday
March 7th -Monopoly invented (1933)
March 17th -St. Patrick's Day
March 21st -Vernal Equinox

April 2003

Cancer Control Month
National Sleep Awareness Week (3/31-4/5)
April 1st -April Fool's Day
April 1st -Anniversary of the premier of "General Hospital" (1963)
April 6th -Daylight Savings Time
April 6th -Anniversary of the premier of "Barney & Friends" (1992)
April 16th -Passover Begins
April 18th -Good Friday
April 20th -Easter Sunday

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What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Here's a sampling of our latest bookings:

THE TODAY SHOW

Loving Without Spoiling (McGraw-Hill) by Nancy Samalin (NCPIE)

THE LA DAILY NEWS
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
PORTLAND OREGONIAN
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINAL
COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Interviews for Kathryn Court, President and Publisher of Penguin about the re-launch of the Penguin Classics

CNN-TV, "Headline News"
CNNfn, "Your Money" formerly Business Unusual
WABC-TV (7), "Eyewitness News"

Everyone's Money Book (Dearborn) By Jordan Goodman

FOX NEWS CHANNEL, "Fox and Friends"
WABC-TV (7), "Eyewitness News"

How to Be Your Own Therapist (McGraw-Hill) by Dr. Patricia Farrell

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Coming next month

Who's Who in the Media? Media contact information

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