Media, Marketing and Public Relations Firm in Washington , D.C. | Allen Media Strategies

Questions You Should Ask… Before You Start Answering

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:33:59 +0000

Anyone who appears in the media should be prepared to answer questions. But, you should also be prepared to ask questions before your interview. Here are three of the most important items you want to find out:

1) What’s the Format? For TV or radio interviews, you can learn the show’s target demographic audience to help you tailor your content. You can also find out if you’ll be live, taped, edited, etc. You can determine the length of the interview, and whether you’ll be on the phone, in studio, at a remote location, etc. For print interviews, this question can help you determine whether the journalist will just use a quote or two, or if they’re doing an in-depth piece on you and your area of expertise.

2) What’s Your Name? We recently spoke with a popular national TV show booker who gave us an inside secret! She revealed that guests who use the hosts name when answering the hosts questions always received a warmer on-air response. It also gives the impression of an “implied endorsement” from the interviewer, as if you appear to be pals having a conversation. You should also find out what news organization they work for and whether they cover a particular topic or beat.

3) When will it air (or be published)? You want to be prepared to share the coverage with your online followers by tweeting it, posting it on Facebook, etc. as soon as it comes out (with links to video, audio or text) as long as it’s positive coverage for you. If it’s a negative piece, be ready to issue a response if called for (sometimes, it’s best to just let it go if the media outlet has limited market penetration).

If we can assist you in preparing for an important upcoming media appearance, we’re always happy to help!

America’s Got Talent Winner Joins Allen Media Strategies Client Roster

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:00:03 +0000

Allen Media Strategies is proud to welcome the winner of NBC’s TV’s America’s Got Talent to our roster of exclusive clients. Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. won the the nationally televised talent competition by a record viewer vote in front of an audience of over 14 million viewers. The talented vocalist and former car washer releases his debut CD on Syco/Columbia November 21st. Titled “That’s Life”, the album is produced by Grammy award winner Steve Tyrell, and is made up of the classics from the Great American Songbook including those performed by Landau on America’s Got Talent. The album is available now for preorder at www.amazon.com. “When I first heard this great singer from my hometown in West Virginia, I immediately became a fan not just of his talent, but also his perseverance and his message of never giving up on your dreams. Now, we’re extremely proud to be a part of the team that is helping to launch Landau’s career, along with my friend of three decades Attorney Bob Noone and the talented folks at Octagon Entertainment in London,” said Allen Media Strategies CEO Burke Allen. ”Landau fits nicely within our exclusive client roster, made up of a small group of very talented authors, entertainers and media personalities.” Landau has been quite busy in the past month, with appearances at Caesars Palace, the WV Music Hall of Fame induction, a national anthem performance prior to the WVU/LSU game and a homecoming celebration attended by over 5,000 proud West Virginians including Governor and Mrs. Earl Ray Tomblin. Upcoming media appearances coinciding with the album release include The Today Show, The View, Fox and Friends, CNN Showbiz Tonight, and a Madison Square Garden performance televised on ESPN as part of an NCAA basketball tournament.

Burke Allen featured in Insights Magazine

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:31:42 +0000

Allen Media Strategies CEO Burke Allen was recently featured in a cover story for INSIGHTS Magazine. In the feature he shares strategies from various insiders on media, marketing, public relations, crisis management, and more culled from his three decade career in front of the camera and behind the microphone.

Click here to read the article!

State of the Media 2011

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:32:55 +0000

With hundreds of thousands of television, radio, print and online outlets, are you wondering where to focus your media and P.R. Efforts? Here’s some new data courtesy of the experts at media monitoring service Vocus: TV wakes up earlier, radio continues to put record cume numbers on the board, and the world of print is still seeing declines.

Radio: Keep in mind that when we refer to “radio”, we mean all audio platforms…AM, FM, satellite, podcasts, streaming audio/web only radio, etc. Overall radio listenership continues to increase, but is more fractured than ever. 70% of radio listening happens in the car. Maximize your radio appearances by remembering to include additional content for station’s web presence.

Print: The Audit Bureau of Circulations reports U.S. magazine sales dropped 7% in the second half of 2010 following a 6% drop in the first half. Even the top title — AARP The Magazine — was off 3%. Mobile platforms are the fastest growing obsession in the magazine world; look for an explosion of magazine apps this year. For newspapers, the trend is also online; 18 of the 36 newspapers that launched in the past year are online only, while hyper-local news sites are catching on. AOL.com’s Patch.com service alone launched over 700 sites.

Television: In TV, additional pitching opportunities are coming in the form of many stations expanding their morning news start time even earlier (in some markets, as early as 4am) and their expanded mobile and digital presence. Also, look for continued strong Spanish language TV growth.

On-line: The big trend is for traditional media outlets like newspapers and radio stations to focus on their “on-line brand”, with reporters filing web columns, and air talent supplying video content. Online video is big: In January 2011, 83.5 percent of the U.S. Internet audience, or 171 million Americans, watched online video, according to a report from market research firm comScore. Google sites, driven by YouTube, were the top providers in January with 144.1 million unique viewers. The report also says Americans watched more than 4.3 billion video ads during the month. Do you have video as part of your online media kit? If not, you should…and, if you don’t have video for your site, contact us and we can help get you produce a clip.

Listen and Learn

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:26:51 +0000

Allen Media Strategies head Burke Allen has dusted off his microphone to host several free informational interviews recently with successful media experts at http://podcast.guestmatch.com. His most recent is with Bill O’Hanlon, who gives excellent advice on how to get a book publishing deal (Bill has authored and published nearly 30 books) and how to score the really big media interviews. Bill has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show and many more. These are FREE resources, so be sure to check ‘em out.

Develop and Maintain Media Relationships

admin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 23:16:17 +0000

The media has always been a very transient profession; television, radio, print and online folks move around A LOT, and the moves might surprise you. This is another reason for you to continue doing interviews for small market media outlets; you never know when one of those folks is going to move up into a bigger, better position.

Here are a few examples; we’ve deleted the names to protect their anonymity.

-A local TV reporter we know who worked in the very small Panama City Florida market just last year is now a national correspondent for FOX NEWS CHANNEL

-A print reporter for the New Orleans Times Picayune now hosts a radio talk show in Mississippi

-A producer for left-leaning MSNBC has now crossed over to produce and book one of the top rated shows at conservative FOX NEWS

-One of Burke Allen’s former interns at CBS Radio Las Vegas is now a successful on-air host and radio station programmer in Memphis

Keep track of the contacts you make, because when they switch to a new outlet, that can mean fresh opportunities for you.

AMS Client Success Stories

admin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 23:15:29 +0000

Congratulations to these Allen Media Strategies clients on their big media successes:

-JC Davies, whose new book I GOT THE FEVER was featured on National Public Radio and the syndicated Mancow show

-Homer Hickam’s latest novel THE DINOSAUR HUNTER scored a stellar review in THE WASHINGTON POST

-Andrew Klavan for his thriller THE IDENTITY MAN receiving a terrific review in CHRISTIANITY TODAY

-SOUTHERN EXPOSURE documentary filmakers Stan Wald and Jerry Misner scoring ink in The Washington Times and appearing in studio on the G. Gordon Liddy show

-Richard Lustig from www.winninglotterymethod.com who has racked up appearances on The Today Show Australia, GMA, NPR, Curtis Sliwa in NYC, Sirius/XM and more

-Jim Lange from www.retiresecure.com whose Lange Money Hour show can now be heard weekly on Pittsburgh’s KQV Radio

Live or Pre-Recorded?

admin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 23:14:22 +0000

If you’re ever given the choice of doing a media interview live or taped, always opt for live. Although your instinct might tell you to go for the taped piece so you can have “do-overs” in case of mistakes, resist that temptation. Here are three reasons why:

1) Content control: Recently, an Allen Media Strategies client did a pre-recorded appearance on ABC TV’s “Good Morning America”. While the publicity was fantastic, the final piece that aired edited out one of the key points our client felt was really important, even though the show booker had promised that it would be included.

2) Better chance to steer: An pre-taped interview can be easily edited to eliminate references to your website, any product or service you’re plugging, etc. That’s nearly impossible to do in a live interview setting.

3) Less likely to be bumped: Taped packages are often bumped from airing until weeks or months later (and sometimes, not at all). If you’re live, you KNOW it’s going on the air!

One caveat to the above; if pre-recording is your only option, then try to take it. Remember, this is free publicity…and a chance of it airing is far better than no chance at all.

Want To Be On Talk Radio? Here Are The Hot Topics Hosts Are Discussing

admin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 23:11:59 +0000

Illegal immigration and the BP oil spill may have been hot button topics last year, but talk radio hosts in the U.S. spent far more time on the struggling economy than anything else. The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism monitored hundreds of hours of talk radio last year and says that the economy took up about 18% of show content. That’s about twice as much as the number two topic, the controversial health care reform and it’s effects. Various stories about the Obama administration came in third place, with 8.3% of talk time.

International stories continue to barely register on talk radio, including Iraq, North Korea and Russia (each garnering a paltry one half of one percent of talk time). Afghanistan was just 1.2% of the content. The lesson here is not to swim upstream and think you can talk about what YOU want to talk about; instead, find ways to talk about what THE AUDIENCE wants to talk about (like the economy) to increase your chances of scoring that interview.

Preparing for Your Media Interview: 7 Tips

admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:31:12 +0000

So, after doing extensive work in the background, you’ve successfully marketed yourself to the media, and now a television or radio station is interested in interviewing you…congratulations! It’s up to you give the best possible interview you can.

We advise our clients to “own the experience” and really knock the ball out of the park whenever they do an interview. The better you do, the more likely you’ll be asked back for subsequent appearances. In this day of instant information sharing, great performances often get bicycled around on the internet to other media producers, who are much more apt to extend an interview invitation to you if you do a terrific job. And, you’ll be proud to use that interview clip for your own self promotion purposes on your website and in social networking.

1. Write down the three to five main points you want to cover, and look for opportunities to work them in whenever possible to the fabric of your interview conversation. Memorize those talking points, and especially on television, don’t refer to your note cards.

2. Include short stories and/or humor to help you make your important points. This will help you to come across as more approachable and down-to-earth. Tailor your humor and the length of your short stories to the particular media outlet’s target audience. Are they younger or older? Conservative or liberal? Urban or rural?

3. Anticipate the questions interviewers are likely to ask and prepare answers that include your main points. Study the host’s prior interviews to find their favorite questions, approaches and interview style (soft, friendly, confrontational) so you’ll know what to expect and how to respond in most instances.

4. Keep your answers simple and short. Complex, lengthy answers tend to bore and oftentimes confuse audiences. Also, research has shown that a lengthy cadence of just one voice, even if it’s yours, will tend to facilitate audience tuneout.

5. Your job is to make the interviewer look good, while getting your main points across. Don’t try to upstage or belittle the interviewer, no matter how silly or off-the-wall their questions may sound to you. You are a guest on their program, and as such, should act accordingly.

6. Practice your interviewee skills by having friends or family members pretend they’re the interviewer and question you as if you’re being interviewed live. Practice both telephone and in person interviews to prepare for radio interviews. Work with a stopwatch, so that you can get used to tailoring your answers to fit within the allotted length of your media appearance. The less time on air you have, the more crucial it is to hit those short sound byte type answers. The longer the interview, the more important it is to continue to revisit the main talking points/themes you need to cover (including in most cases your contact information). That’s because there is a constant coming-and-going phenomenon in electronic media. Many viewers and listeners will miss part of your interview, and if they come in late, you want to make sure they know who you are, what you’re talking about and how to get in touch with you.

7. When you practice, videotape and audiotape yourself to observe and critique your performance. Be conscious of your posture, facial expressions and gestures for in person interviews, and your articulation, speech rate, fluency and inflection for radio phone interviews.