Media Kits, Fact Sheets, Media
Alerts and Pitch Letters
What’s a Media Kit?
• Media kit vs. press kit
• Plan the purpose of your media kit
– Who’s going to use it and what do they need?
• Forms of media kits:
– Hard copy
– CD/DVD
– Web (Coke, Microsoft, Chick-fil-A)
What’s in a Media Kit?
• Letter describing kit’s
purpose
• Fact sheet
• About us
• Annual report
• Biographical information
• Board of directors
information
• Calendar of events
• Profile or backgrounder
• SEC filings
• Community service
programs
• Contact information
• Downloadable logos and
photos
• FAQs
• Financial information
• Historical facts
• Position papers
• Hard copies of
organization’s newsletter
Fact Sheets
• Quick, easy access, bulleted format
• Use headings and subheadings
• Presents fundamental facts about the
organization, product, event
• You may need different fact sheets for
different purposes
Types of Fact Sheets
• Standard fact sheet includes:
–
–
–
–
–
Officers
Office addresses and contact info
Description of organization
Single sheet
McDonald’s fact sheet
• Historical fact sheet includes:
– Timeline of important events for organization
– Facebook Timeline
Types of Fact Sheets
Special event fact sheet includes:
– Information about event
– Information about sponsors
– Information about special guests, performers or
attendees
– Schedule of events
More examples:
• White House fact sheet on space policy
• WHO fact sheet on cancer
• Facebook fact sheet
About Us
• Provides a summary or overview of the
organization
• Can include mission statement
• Can include key statements about
principles of the organization
• Examples: McDonald’s, Google
Biographical Information
• Short bios of all important officers of the
organization
• Head shots of officers
• Have digital photo files available
• Examples: Delta, Disney
Position Papers and
Organization Backgrounder
• Position papers: papers the organization
has prepared on certain subjects,
sometimes called “white papers”
(Example: American Dietetic Association)
• Backgrounder: tells about the character
of the organization and the nature of what
it does, including Board members and
corporate code of ethics
(Example: Hershey’s)
Different Media Kits for Different
Purposes
Media kits for special events include:
– Basic fact sheet about the event
– Historical fact sheet about the event
– Program or schedule of events
– List of all significant participants and sponsors
– Bios of all significant leaders and attendees
– News story/press release
– Feature story
– Photos, video B roll
Digital Media Kits
Tips for making a good digital media kit:
– Make it interactive with lots of info
– Make it user-friendly with easy-to-use
interface, simple navigation
– Make images easy to access and download in
multiple formats
– Update periodically
– Give it a snazzy cover or front page
Media Alerts
• Media Alerts:
– An invitation for the media
– One page
– Less detailed than a press release (no quotes or nonessential info)
– Just the nuts and bolts of the event (Who, What,
When, Where, Why)
– Include key information like admission fees, special
guests, give-aways, etc.
• Example: American Kennel Club, Microsoft
Media Pitches
• Distribute first:
– PR Newswire
– Business Wire
– Pitchengine
• Then . . . sell your story!
• Can be an email, phone call, letter, fax
Media Pitches
Keys to a successful pitch:
• Know the publication you’re pitching
• Target each pitch for each outlet
• Follow up via phone, mail or email
• Make your letter stand out – catchy
headline, underline important facts, use
bullets
• Open with an intriguing intro, have a good
hook
Media Pitches
Keys to a successful pitch:
• Say specifically why you are pitching them
and they should be interested
• Say specifically why their readers would
be interested
• Keep it brief
• Include a call to action – ask them to call
you, meet with you or email you
• Check editorial calendars
Hi, John –
Halo Technologies is getting ready to launch another ultraviolet vacuum that is the
world’s only germ killing vacuum. Yes, you read that right. This vacuum aims to
make paranoid germaphobes not flee your home at the site of your carpet, which
typically contains 100,000 dust mites per square yard.
Halo Technologies uses ultraviolet light to kill mold, dust mites, germs, viruses
(including the flu), bacteria and other creepy-crawlers lurking in your carpet
and mattresses – all without the use of chemicals. It’s like a weapon of mass
microscopic destruction. Fortunately, it will not disrupt your family or pets, because
(a) you aren’t microscopic, and (b) if you tilt back the vacuum, it automatically turns
the UV light off.
If you are interested in previewing a sample or would like more information – let me
know.
In the meantime, please visit www.gethalo.com for additional information on the
company and existing product that is sold on their web site.
Many thanks for taking a look.
All best wishes,
Dear XXX:
It’s time to dust off the grill and spice up your BBQ toolkit with
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Featuring a sturdy stainless steel design, the Weekend Warrior line
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dials and blue backlit displays for easy reading – even in the dark!
The Weekend Warrior products ensure all foods will be grilled safely
and to perfection every time.
As you begin writing your summer entertaining stories, I hope you’ll
be able to include these great grilling tools that are available at
Lowe’s, Publix, Fred Meyer and Amazon.com. Please call me at
555.555.6010 if you would like to preview other products, need highresolution images or have any questions.
Best,
XXXX
Hi Ari –
I don’t want to waste any of your time so I’ll get straight to the point: I’d like to
send you a bottle or two of wine from the Rioja region of Spain. I work with the
Vibrant Rioja campaign (www.vibrantrioja.com) and our goal is to increase
awareness of these wines among Gen X/Y men and women in the United
States.
Why are we focusing on this demographic? Besides being pretty foolproof
(there are four main varieties), the wines are incredibly affordable ($8-$30 a
bottle) and are ready to drink at the point of purchase – no need to have them
sit around and “age”. And, you can buy them almost anywhere, especially in
Chicago! Of course, I could go on and on about the wines and the region, but
before I go into all that, I wanted to see if I could send you some to try. No
point in telling you all about Rioja wines if you haven’t had the chance to try
any yourself!
Based on what I have read on Wingman Daily, I think (hope!) you might have
some fun trying these wines. Just let me know where I can send them and I’ll
ship some bottles over to you.
Thanks, Ari – have a good one,
XXX
Dear XXX,
For most consumers, New Years resolutions include losing weight and getting
in shape. But, nearly 80% of Americans fail within the first month to keep their
resolution. How can individuals avoid becoming another statistic? It’s easy – by
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products, helps empower consumers to take control of their overall health and well
being.
HoMedics’ state-of-the-art HealthStation™ body composition scanners
feature KnowledgeBook™ technology, which allows consumers to take a precise
measure of their total body fitness. These analyzers calculate body weight, body
fat, water hydration, muscle mass, body mass index and basal metabolic rate and
offer a Calorie Predictor™ that customizes daily calorie intake to help create a
weight loss plan or maintain present weight.
HoMedics HealthStations range in price from $39.99 – $69.99. Accurate to
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love/hate relationship with their bathroom scale and place their feet in the right
direction.
I’m happy to provide additional product information, high-resolution images,
samples and/or an interview with a spokesperson regarding the growing trend. I
look forward to hearing from you. Thanks.
XXX
Hi, [name],
I work for RAINN in DC. We run the National Sexual Assault Hotline and are the
nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be in New York on Friday, October 13th. I'd love to
meet up with you to discuss RAINN and how we can work together on story ideas,
etc. Your readers are a very important audience for us when it comes to sexual
assault awareness.
Recently, we started a Speakers Bureau to help educate the public on this
issue. The Speakers Bureau is comprised of survivors of sexual assault – most of
them women – who want to speak about their experience so that others can better
understand the trauma of sexual violence. Stories about rape appear daily in
newspapers and television news shows across the country, but hearing from
someone who has experienced it firsthand – hearing of the terror during the
assault, the struggles after including depression, anxiety and often unhealthy
coping behaviors, and then the ultimate triumph over the ordeal – would make a
real impact on your readers, helping them to better understand the problem of
violence against women.
Do you have a little time that day? We can be flexible. If you're not available, let me
know if there is someone else I can contact.
Thanks in advance...
XXX
Alternatives to Sending a
Press Release
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Social media release
Blogger briefing
YouTube video
Blog post
Twitter “chat tour”
Send a tweet