5 Strategies for Pitching to Media with Brandon LaVorgna

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
In the old days you could send a newsrelease and you probably get some
coverage or at least a phone call.
You just can't do that anymore.
Like Newsrooms are shrinking.
There's less resources tocover a variety of topics.
We're more driven towardswhat's going viral or, you know,
unfortunately who's dying that day.
So you really got tostand out from all that,
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(01:08):
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help you deliver for your customers.
. Are you interested in getting some PR and I'm not talking about some little

(01:52):
basic PR, so I'm just talking aboutgetting on the news, getting on TV,
getting in, published in magazines orwherever that you think you should be
pleased and get that kind of a, that,that feature, whatever you think that
you should get featured, you know,leverage that PR in a smart way.
Well, I brought in a friend of mine.
I've known him for over 20 years.
His name is Brandon LaVorgna and thisguy is, uh, so in this gap in time, since

(02:17):
I've known him from those days to like nowhe was in the media, he was a reporter.
He was reporting on all ofthese different, a bit of
big events in our country.
He was working in the news desk and.
Working with people who were pitching toget in the media and he understands the
game and what it takes to get featured onTV in other publications, in busy markets.

(02:38):
I'm not just talking, you know,random blogs somewhere, but like
really leveraging legitimate media.
That is seemingly prettydifficult to get into.
Well, he's walking you throughthe step-by-step approach on
how to do that and to look likea rock star, which you are.
And the expert, the authority that themedia is going to call on to get featured.

(02:59):
On the news.
Uh, in TV online, wherever that youwant to get featured, you're now going
to have a playbook that Brandon walksyou through to go and make that happen.
So Brandon is the man.
I love this guy and he'sso open and transparent.
You're going to love him as well.
So let's get into it right now.
We reconnected recently at social mediamarketing world and Immediately, I mean

(03:21):
I was like this is why you're gonna crushit because you've made this transition
from media news to now Consulting butreally it's it's you're you're the
strategy behind people now and you'reout in the Phoenix area But I mean you're
working with folks all over the place.
I believe
yeah, it's been a pretty wild ride.
You know, I was telling someone I'vebeen to 48 states and it really dawned

(03:42):
on me how, how, how much land I'vecovered in a short amount of time that
most people don't do in a lifetime.
Um, but yeah, you know, I went to collegein Pennsylvania, um, go Edinburgh,
fighting Scots and got my first jobin Casper, Wyoming, where, you know, I
happened to be near Aurora during thetime of, Uh, they work, uh, shooting, so I

(04:02):
got some really good exposure to nationalmedia and kind of how they work at that
point, made a lot of good connections downthere and stayed in contact with those
people as, as mentors and just people toreally follow and try to grow into in a
sense, um, you know, and, and I jumpedafter two years of being a weekend anchor
and kind of leading the weekend crewand being a general assignment reporter.

(04:23):
I'm a reporter in Wyoming coveringliterally anything from, you know,
Jackson Hole, where you have allthat wildlife, um, to politics,
which is very, really interesting.
Um, it's a very boomand bust kind of state.
So that was always intriguing to me.
Um, and you know, from there Ireally lucked out and landed a gig
in Savannah, Georgia, um, whereGeorgia politics are, are quite

(04:44):
crazy being right there on the port.
You never know what's going to happento, you know, we just saw what happened
unfortunately over Maryland this week.
Um, but you know.
Was around when Charlestonchurch shooting happened.
That's why a media plan, which we'llget into here in a minute, um, is so
important because you just never know.
I mean, on the day that Charlestonchurch shooting happened, I was

(05:04):
supposed to be at a fundraiser.
Next thing I know, I'm, I'm headed toPort Charleston, um, where a gunman is
allegedly on the loose still after, youknow, shooting all those people in a
church, um, covered a lot of politiciansthat way, you know, Nikki Haley, pretty
much every presidential candidate.
Um, and every president we've hadrecently, um, really lucked out, um, kept

(05:25):
growing in my media career, uh, went upto Greensboro, North Carolina and to a
top 50 market, which was a goal of mine.
Um, I always knew I wouldnever stay in it forever.
I said 10 years, um, and I wouldget going, but I had goals in mind
that I wanted to hit before I left.
So I could, you know, kind of likea major league baseball player
retiring on their, their own terms.
It's always good.

(05:45):
Yeah.
Always great.
Um, got really into the Hillary Trumpstuff going on, uh, the bathroom
bill, which was just a huge chaotic.
Um, moment for North Carolinians, youknow, when you try to designate someone's
birth, sex, and things like that, andbathrooms, and it just was so chaotic.
It was interesting to watch from apeople watching standpoint, but, um,

(06:07):
kept, kept growing my chops thereand ended up in Greenville, South
Carolina after, not to be confusedwith Greenville, North Carolina.
Um, Where, again, I just really foundmyself in the middle of like national
champions, like Clemson football, uh,South Carolina women's basketball, and
even the men's team went on a crazy runand, you know, got to cover, um, White
House visits with Clemson, which, um,there was fast food gate back then.

(06:32):
And I was there for when Trump,President, then President Trump, um.
Was feeding them Wendy's andpizza and things like that.
I didn't get a single bite,which was kind of disappointing.
But, um, that was thelast thing on my list.
And next thing I knew, um,opportunity popped up to go work
as a public information officer.
If you're not familiar with thatterm, more or less a spokesperson.

(06:52):
For, you know, a city state company, um,there's a lot of different variations,
but public information officers usuallypretty standard for cities, states, and
like county is really that governmentsector side of things, uh, work for
Greenville Police Department helped.
With their media plan, you know, becauseI had worked there for almost three years.
I knew every reporter, anchor,producer at every station.

(07:13):
So it was always able to get us,um, our coverage when needed.
Um, I knew how to pitch the reporters,what stations were looking for
kind of what angle or maybe whatpiece of information, um, from
there ended up being promoted to docommunications for the entire city.
Two weeks before the pandemichit, um, which was wild because
I barely knew any of my teammembers, hadn't met some of them.

(07:35):
Um, worked out of a 10 storybuilding by myself during
that, that first almost year.
Um, Kind of got burned out on that,to be quite honest, it was kind of
a rewarding, but grueling experienceand lucked out and took a job with the
state of South Carolina to work forthe emergency management division, um,
to cover everything from hurricanes,earthquakes, pandemic again, um, help

(07:58):
run, um, pandemic, pandemic site, um,the COVID vaccination site for the
state of South Carolina for 3 months,12 hours a day, which was, you know,
Just incredible to see everyone workingtogether, no matter what side of the
spectrum someone may be on, they'rewatching this, but just that dedication,
that hard work every day was really cool.
Tried the private sector, workedfor a digital marketing agency,

(08:18):
um, in Charleston, South Carolina.
Was not a fan, was not very rewarding,um, came out to Arizona for a job
and, you know, I promised myselfwhen I walked out of one of my jobs
in South Carolina, I said, Hey, youknow, the price that's, you know, on
my head, so to speak, with a contractor salary does not equal the price

(08:39):
of happiness that's in me internally.
Um, and it just, I justknew the job wasn't for me.
So I.
Quit and, uh, started thecompany overnight, really.
Um, and we can talk about that later,but that's kind of my background, you
know, almost a decade in news, um,about four years working on the city
and state side of, uh, media pitchingin a sense, and even on the private side

(09:02):
with what I'm doing now, you know, Ijust helped a client not too long ago.
Uh, go national.
this is where you're so unique thatyou've done the work in the grind of the
media, being in the media, you were themedia and you've also supported, yeah,
a whole bunch of folks to basically getthe media and you, so you've learned
both sides of it and that's where.

(09:23):
It's one of the most common things Ithink people want to do is like, Hey,
I want to get on TV or I want to getfeatured in X publication on or offline.
And, you know, I feel like TV is thatthing, though, you know, people's
like, I want to be on TV to sayI've been out there, whatever it is.
And, um, there's a ton of value to it.
And I don't know if, like, going into allthe merits of that is really necessary

(09:45):
here, but it's more like, Hey, all right.
What's the strategy behind getting media?
Like, why do you, I guess,why in the first place?
And, you know, you have areally good perspective of this.
And then what's, what's smart approachfor entrepreneurs listening who, you
know, they can, they can leverage themedia in whatever way that they have
baths based on the strategy, but it'slike, how do you approach it now?

(10:07):
I feel like that's.
A pretty common thing is people approachthose, um, the scenarios incorrectly.
So I guess let's start where,like, what's the big idea?
Like why, why even approach media?
Why get media?
Yeah.
I mean, it could befor a number of things.
It could be you develop a productthat's going to help a lot of people.
Maybe you went viral for, you know,interacting with a celebrity or, um,

(10:28):
maybe you're trying to push a bill.
Maybe you're a politician.
There's just so many reasons.
I mean, if you really turn on the news.
Sometimes it's just most random stuff.
You're like, why arewe covering this today?
And it, it could be for one of thosereasons, but you know, maybe you're
a company and you're trying to getexposure for your product or maybe your
service, or maybe giving back, um, tothe community around you, despite maybe

(10:49):
being like a Forbes recognized company.
Um, the why is really up to thecompany, the person, the entrepreneur.
I mean, we all have.
Some sort of moment in our life thatshould be covered in my opinion.
Um, so it just comes down to yourpersonal life, maybe professional.
Why?
Uh, I guess maybe thatcould be twofold right
Yeah,
I like that.

(11:09):
And because I agree, like everybodyhas a book in them, you know, there's,
there's something that is, thatmakes us unique, our superpower,
whatever you want to call it.
But you know, it's, it's.
What's that thing after all the layers ofother stuff that we kind of quote unquote
have to do, you know, or what's the getto do thing and, and share it widely.
And I would imagine, you know,a big why is also it's like,

(11:31):
Hey, you open the doors here.
It could open up doorselsewhere and then expand that
reach even further.
Yeah, it's free advertising in a sense,to be quite honest, and you know, with
today's monopolies of the media, you know,just because you air in Nowheresville,
Louisiana, uh, chances are that station'sowned by a big, big company that owns
a hundred other stations, and whathappens in most cases like that, you get

(11:53):
picked up on other websites, at least,if not rolled on other stations too,
that may be, um, found it interesting,maybe, um, there's a local connection.
You just, you just never know.
what would your perspective belike if someone did have that
thing they wanted to get out?
Maybe it is a new book.
Maybe it's a cause or something.
They're looking for impact.
Of course, there's regional There'sthere's more nationwide and all these

(12:17):
there's a whole structure that I'mprobably totally unfamiliar with but
would TV or this type Of media thatyou've been in do you think that's
a good place to start or at leastkind of practice a little bit here?
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, I always say any kindof positive spotlight you can put
on yourself, business, go for it.
Even if it's a local publication, youknow, a lot of times, um, in traditional

(12:40):
broadcast media in terms of what you'rewatching with your local affiliates,
national affiliates, They have a coupleof hours that day to put together a story.
It's not a whole lot of time, butthose smaller publications, those
print, uh, papers that are slowlydying, um, are still very important.
They get a lot of time todive deep in those stories.
They're still very important.

(13:00):
Um, so always, you know,cast a very big net.
You cannot go wrong by even just becovered, being covered by a podcast,
by a blog, something like that.
And it will start to build, um,you'll get noticed because a lot
of these, uh, companies watcheach other or read each other.
So what happens in a lot of cases, oneperson will bite once, the other ones will

(13:25):
watch and usually within that week, if nota couple of weeks, um, if it does well,
or if it shows maybe more than what, Youpitch to them in a sense, they'll call
you and then you're getting coverage.
And then it grows from there.
Uh, and as I mentioned, a lot ofthese little stations, these little
publications are owned by a much biggercompany, uh, and they just kind of
throw it all out to everyone in a sense.

(13:47):
Um, so, you know, definitely donot put a box around yourself or
the audience you want to reach.
Now, if it's political, you obviously arenot going to pitch to the opposite side,
usually, um, unless you're super brave,
Know your audience.
Unless you have an angle there.
Yeah.
Know your audience to, um, butbe open to things, you know, you

(14:08):
never know what a door could open.
Um, you know, and I've learned thatthe best ways of those last, you know,
seven, eight months that I've beenrunning my company is said yes to things.
I normally wouldn't say yesto, and they've been just
like blessings in the skies.
Um, so, yeah, I would say, startwith that and know your message.
Um.
You know, it's getting really toughin newsrooms to get coverage because

(14:33):
newsrooms are really shrinking.
You used to have a team of 2030 people and now it's down
to 10, if that, in some cases.
Some companies are moving away fromeven having a full newsroom in a state.
In a city like a state like Wyoming, theanchors are actually in Cheyenne, even
though you think your news is comingfrom Casper, um, and that's becoming
the norm slowly, just based on costsof really everything, and it's not a

(14:57):
very, um, financially stable businessto be in, so a lot of people leave
too, so there's that twofold, it'slike, People are leaving the business,
not just left and right right now.
Um, and then, you know, theycan't pay people in the business.
So, you know, we could see a pretty bigshift in the next, you know, decade or
two of how your local news is viewed.
with that in mind, I'm curious becauselike, it's the, the landscape's

(15:19):
changing in media in general.
And the fact that you're saying this,even on the, like the local affiliate
level, which makes a lot of sense in asmall town like Casper, because that's,
that's where you spent some time, right?
In Wyoming.
Spent two years there.
We had a team of almost 20 people onboth sides of the camera, and by the
time I left, that was already shrinkingsignificantly in a year or two.

(15:39):
After it was down to prettymuch a reporter, someone there
to help in the background.
And then the anchors were tossingto them from Cheyenne, which is,
Okay.
if I remember correctly, liketwo and a half hours away.
and that was a pre COVID and all that.
That was probably 2013, 2014,um, and it more stations are

(15:59):
adopting similar methods, man.
It's it's been wild.
So, yeah, media pitching is a veryunique craft and it requires, um.
Just connection sometimes
I was going to say, it's, it'sdefinitely, you know, who, you know,
is opens doors just in the world.
Let's be honest.
But at the same time, like, we chattedbefore this, uh, on a call right

(16:21):
after you, you know, when you'regoing back from San Diego is like.
You definitely there's an approach to it.
So I feel like there's so all right.
We talked about the why figure outyour why and you know, everybody
kind of can figure that out.
And I think knowing the landscapeof the media, like you just
described, it's changing.
It's been changing.
I don't think most peopleunderstand how, yeah, satellites,
all these networks kind of work.

(16:42):
So there's, it seems like there's regionalhubs and there's, of course, different
types of publications within regions.
There's national.
Podcasts, like you mentioned, blogs.
I mean, that's all considered media.
It's just different.
So it's almost like, know the landscapeof, I guess, where you want to go.
Um, and I would imagine, 'causeI wanna get into pitching and

(17:03):
some of these, these interestingstrategies that I didn't think about.
Yeah, this would be like kind oflike a checklist, tool belt, um,
whatever you want to call it.
Um, but in the old days you could senda news release and you probably get
some coverage or at least a phone call.
Uh, you just can't do that anymore.
Like I mentioned, newsrooms are shrinking.
There's less resources tocover a variety of topics.

(17:24):
We're more driven towardswhat's going viral or, you know,
unfortunately who's dying that day.
Um, so that kind of gets, you know, um, alot of the attention, a lot of the focus.
So you really got to stand out fromall that, from the, the day of news,
which is, you know, something like,uh, the ship crash, crashing into the
bridge over in Maryland the other day.

(17:44):
Uh, things like that, where you can'tpredict them, they happen and they're
going to get all the attention.
So, you know, I always say, um, stillsend the news release, which I know
is kind of silly because I kind ofsaid, you can't just do that anymore.
But the news release, at least.
Get your name in front of someone's eyes.
Um, you know, make sureit's spell checked.
Make sure it looks good,it's clear, cut to the point.
Um, What you should do, and a lotof people don't do, um, because when

(18:08):
you're talking about something visual,and you're just putting it in words,
it's hard to picture sometimes.
Call that news station, call thatpaper, call that blog, contact whoever
you sent that to, um, and go down thelist of everyone you've sent it to, and
just say, hey, I would like to speak toyour assignment editor, or is there a
producer I can speak with, you know, wejust had a news release, I want to make
sure they got it, and really explain.

(18:30):
Um, What this is, um, and from there,there's a lot of things you can do,
you know, again, make sure that thatnews release is as perfect as possible.
Um, And because they will push asidenews releases that don't look good.
There's a lot of spelling errors.
Just going to think you'renot a credible source.

(18:50):
Um, but a good rule of thumb is thatfour to six weeks, uh, mark where
you're hoping for coverage, let's sayit's an event four to six weeks out,
send that initial press release, um,follow up with a call within 24 hours.
Um, and then also do not forget this word.
This word will get you so much.
It will increase your chances of, uh,really getting coverage as demonstrative.

(19:13):
Remember that D word, demonstrative.
Call and say, Hey, if your crew shows up,they get to do this, your crew shows up,
they get to see this or we're going to putthem on a boat or they're going to get the
fire of a gun or whatever it may be, youknow, I went to, um, a story as a reporter
to the ports in Savannah and no onethought to ask, Hey, can we actually drive

(19:36):
one of these giant cranes that are like 12million and, and just show us driving it?
So I.
Me being me, Joe, you know, I'm,I'm, I'm kind of about having fun.
I joked, it was like, what do Igotta do to drive on these things?
And the guy said, sign a waiver.
And next thing I know, I'm the onlyreporter that has a shot of me driving
of this 12 million eco friendly cranethat I had no business operating like a

(20:01):
claw machine, but my station loved it.
It was demonstrative.
It showed more than just this.
Crazy headline of port isinvesting tens of millions of
dollars into green, friendly
Mm.
That's huge.
I mean, you're showing it islike show and tell, right?
you're showing
the proof.
And it's not just wordsor, or theoretical.

(20:21):
You're in the seat, man.
But no one in that organizationas great as they were, as positive
as they were to work with, thoughtto pitch that to a reporter.
Reporter had to ask, which you feel badabout sometimes, um, for legal reasons,
for personal reasons, whatever it may be.
Um, again, do not forgetdemonstrative, things like that.

(20:42):
Even if you're just working in a labor, you know, you got an office, try
to find some way to make it creative.
for someone to come by instead ofjust spraying up B roll, as we call
it, um, that will get you, that wouldincrease your chances so much more.
Um, again, action, action, action.
right, right before, I just want togo back really fast just to recap.

(21:03):
And, um, cause I know you're giving ussteps and, and I'll just remind everyone
we'll, we'll try to make notes out ofthis or, you know, like we'll make it
actionable, but just going to the verybeginning, so news, news, release,
press release, same kind of thing.
Right.
thing.
News release followed upwith a phone Phone call.
to an assignment editor or
Assignment editor, producer, whoeveryou can really get on the phone.

(21:25):
And, you know, if you can't geta hold of those people, if you're
really in tune with your localmedia, know which reporters cover
what topics generally, and just,you know, Send them a direct email,
send them a tweet, or an X, whatever
they're called these days.
Um, that, that willget some attention too.
I know I was more likely to lookinto a story if someone reached
out to me directly as a reporter.

(21:46):
Um, and a lot of times the finalcall is up to the news director, the
assignment editor, or whoever it maybe that's in charge of those meetings.
Um, but it doesn't hurt you.
It actually helps youone way or the other.
Just say, Oh yeah, Iactually got an email.
I looked into that.
It looked pretty cool
kind of thing
I always love the personal touch anytimeI'm reaching out to anyone, you know
Maybe it's someone that even have on mypodcast like a bigger name and you know

(22:08):
It's pretty much what you just said ifyou don't have their email or even if you
do hit them up on social in the Inbox,I do like X because still and it's been
for years Not a lot of people go to thoseDMS for some reason to go to Instagram.
I feel like it's lostan Instagram, Facebook.
Good luck.
You know, you got X.
And then what I love to do too, isuse loom, some kind of video where

(22:31):
I can send and show my face in theemail at least, but maybe on X, but
at least in the email, like I liketo put this little embed thumbnail.
Absolutely.
And X is such a greatplatform for news attention.
I mean, most of your reporters,that's the first thing they do.
They don't go to their Facebook first.
They're pushing things out in X first.
And most people who are lookingfor their news are going to X.

(22:52):
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(24:22):
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You were getting intowhat timely stuff, right?
With your pitch.
Yeah.
And you know, let's, let's take themost recent thing that happened.
Um, Maryland, uh, the port andthat ship crashing into that bridge
and just such an Unlucky thing.
I mean that that ship lost powerNothing it could do couldn't steer.

(24:46):
Um, a lot of ports around the countryI don't want to say took advantage of
that but local reporters started callingthem Um, so that's something that's
timely, you know, if just because itdoesn't impact you locally if there's
something um similar even thousands ofmiles away Um You might get attention.
So just be on thelookout or call an offer.

(25:07):
Say, Hey, you know, we actuallyhave safeguards at our port
here, um, or whatever it maybe, whatever the topic may be.
Is it, you know, are youdoing cancer research?
Are you, what kind of cancer is it?
There's usually a week, a day, a monthaffiliated with most cancers these days.
Um, timeliness, but it's also goodabout following up because you're
not the only one that's probably
pitching.
right.

(25:28):
topic during that.
But most people don't followup with those news releases and
explain what they
Yeah, that's, that's like follow ups.
I feel like a superpower if you canharness that and have a system for it.
So it sounds like what you'redescribing, there's almost, I guess,
not news jacking trend jacking.
I mean, kinda
newsjacking is an
actual term.

(25:49):
Um, it was something, it's whereyou literally do take the spotlight
off of something good or bad.
Um, and just make, tryto make it your own in a
sense.
You know, that was one ofthe things that we taught.
I used to train public informationofficers, um, when I worked for
the state of South Carolina.
Um, that was one of the things we said,
don't do.
Now it's, it's.

(26:10):
It's up to you to follow through withyour duties if a reporter reaches
out or a member of the public reachesout and explain the information.
But you can decide not to do theinterview for those newsjacking reasons,
especially with really sad events.
Um, and you know, they happenall the time, unfortunately.
So.
You know, you've got to be careful,but you know, to a company, that's an

(26:32):
opportunity to get that free exposure,maybe get the word out about something,
you know, um, for instance, when we hadall the shootings kind of blurred into
one, but there was a shooting back in2015 and a local company in Greenville,
where I worked, had these lifesavingkits that could have made a difference.
And they were actually, um, oneof the companies that was brought

(26:55):
into that school and the schoolsaid, nah, we don't need these.
That's not good,
yeah, okay
about it.
They didn't really harp upon that.
They didn't say, Hey, we could havesaved more lives or whatever it may be.
Cause we just don't knowin those situations either.
But, um, you know, they hada reason to really reach
out in a sense.
So be careful about newsjacking.
It could be taken one way or

(27:16):
the other.
Uh, most times it's not reallyaffiliated with the term newsjacking,
Yeah, and I was thinking there'sprobably there's a lot of positive
stuff as well I know we you know, welook at the news and there's definitely
a lot of negative and things and maybethat's because of attention Who knows
that's a whole nother rabbit hole.
But yeah when you have somethinggreat, like you said cancer, there's
cancer awareness month There's othermaybe positive stories or developments

(27:39):
and it's like hey, you know, youcan piggyback off of that if it's
Not always positive but awareness.
I think that's more positive than youknow, like a shooting or something but
it's it's really one of those situationwhen it comes to media pitching.
It's so every situation is different.
Every reason is different, obviously.
So it's hard to touch upon that withouthaving, you know, weeks to talk about it.

(28:01):
It's not
So is
there anything that you wouldavoid when it comes to pitching?
Like a hardcore, like, don't do that.
Don't be like that.
make sure everything is done with apositive mindset, not trying to tear
down another company, another person.
Um, you see that a lot in politics,obviously with ads that run, um, and.

(28:21):
You know, make sure you're notdoing it for the wrong reasons.
You know, if you're just tryingto make millions, chances are it's
not gonna work out for you anyway.
If you have an actual good reasonto be covered, um, you know, That
just happens to make you millions,that's one thing, but if your, your
sole reason is that money, peopleare going to see right through you.
As a reporter, I always sayno to stuff because I'm like,
this person's just trying to

(28:42):
Mm.
Um, they don't really care abouthelping people and that's not one of
my reasons, that wasn't my why forbeing a reporter, um, at the time.
And so, um, yeah, do it with theright intentions, be genuine.
Right intentions andgenuine, those are your two
I
feel like every human respondsbetter that way anyway.
So it's like, think long term.
Long game, you know?
Um, Awesome.

(29:03):
All right.
So anything else, I guess, onthat, that pitching side of things,
Absolutely.
And this was something I would see allthe time, was they would send a news
release, they wouldn't follow up, anythinglike that, but we would call them.
And then they're like, ohcrap, what do we do now?
They're like, wait a minute,you want to do the story
today?
Understand when you send that newsrelease, there's a good chance if you

(29:23):
get coverage, it's going to be same day.
Um, even if it's something that's weeksin advance, cause the one to a preview
story, or maybe that's the only daythat they have someone available and
they're like, Hey, we actually are goingto be down a couple of crew members
because of vacation, whatever it may be.
During your actual event.
But we'd love to give you some coverage.
So a media plan should bepart of your tool belt.
Your checklist, um, have at least twopeople designated to speak to the media

(29:48):
and both equally as educated, um, onthat topic or event or whatever the
whatever's in that media release undermake sure they know it front and back.
Um, obviously have yourpriority, um, spokesperson,
um, and then kind of a subpriority because accidents and
emergencies happen all the time.
I've had people had to try tocancel interviews because their

(30:09):
wife went into labor and they hadto go, but, um, you didn't have
a backup, so then they don't get
their coverage.
And that's why I always tell, tellthem like, um, If you don't do
it today, there's a good chancethat it may not ever happen.
You know, I have a perfect exampleof this was a couple weeks ago.
I helped, um, a 50 million Forbesrecognized company get coverage with
a local affiliate that led to national

(30:30):
exposure.
Um, and initially we were told we'dget a couple weeks before that, um,
business reporter would show up.
Well, business reporter got Throwinginto something else and was going to
be focused on that next couple weeks.
So the general assignment reporter waslike, can you do the interview today?
So, you know, because I hadwalked this company through.

(30:51):
Probably a couple of days in advancebefore that pitch, they weren't
necessarily on board right away,but they're like, okay, we'll do it.
You know, the owner waslike, well, I need a haircut.
And I was like, well, doyou have a hat with a logo?
He goes, yeah, throw the hat on.
You'll be fine.
You'll forget about yourhair and you'll focus on the
questions.
And it went.
Great.
So just be prepared for those interviews.

(31:11):
I have that media plan in place.
Where are they going to do it?
Is there any private information upon walls that people shouldn't see?
Generally, if you tell a reporter,hey, like, this is where we got
to work with, you know, I reallyappreciate for these reasons.
If you try to blur this out,maybe can we shoot it an angle?
We don't see it.
They're going to understand.
Um, you'd be surprised thereasons why people had, they

(31:34):
didn't want something aired.
And I was very understanding, like,yeah, I don't want you to lose a business
or, yeah, I don't want you to get
sued.
So, um, have that plan in place, havethe place you want to do the interview
in mind already and just be ready.
I mean, they could callthat day, they could call
weeks later, but that's also a goodreason why you should follow up.

(31:55):
So you don't kind of get caughtoff guard and maybe you get a good
idea of when you might get some
Nice.
Okay.
That's, that's great to know.
And it reminds me of when, uh,Heather, my wife, she got on the
news here locally and it was forwedding planning and it happened to
be right at the beginning of COVID.
So it was like, well, before it was athing, but she still got her coverage,

(32:15):
but it was just like, Hey, what'sthis COVID thing that's coming around.
And it was like early, early, early days.
But um, I just remember it was so rushed.
It was like, yeah, I think maybethey gave her a heads up of
the day before, night before.
But either way.
And that's good.
These days.
I mean, if you get 24 hour notice, that is
unheard of because usually, like Isaid, most things are day up and they

(32:36):
get a couple hours to interview, shootthings, edit things, put it together,
go on air and take a deep breath before.
So people don't understandhow just fried they
Dang, man.
Yeah, well, it was K U S I.
So, you know, they do things.
I don't know
yeah, rest in peace,
Are they not around anymore?
no, K U S I, K U S I is, butI believe that gentleman just

(32:57):
passed away a couple years ago.
Yeah,
Coleman.
Yeah,
yes, um, just a pioneer really.
Um, but yeah,
you know, so you've, you've doneyour pitch, you've sent your
release, you followed up, um, youknow, and you kind of have an idea.
Maybe they say we just can't be

(33:18):
there.
That's when you have a media kit ready.
Um, and then most reporters andstations want to shoot their own stuff.
And you're going to hear them say that.
But if they just can't be there, at leastmaybe you could get on their website.
So when you provide that stuff, they'remore likely to put it on their website.
Like, Oh yeah, you gotsome B roll we can use.
That's approved.
Cool.

(33:39):
Um, And then that web story, like Imentioned, a lot of these stations
are owned by one big company, youknow, like a set of 50 stations is
owned by like gray, someone like that.
Um, so then when it gets pushedout on one, it generally gets
pushed out on every single
one of them.
Um, and if it does well on the web, a lotof stations, every morning, the people
in charge of making those decisions, uh,what's going to be covered that day, go

(34:03):
to the website numbers, the analytics,what's clicking, who's on what, how long
have you been hanging out there, what'sgetting the most interest And that's
what's decided for their A, B, C, D, and
E blog, uh, for their showsfor the day sometimes.
I have pitched very reporter oriented,uh, well thought out stories, and
I've been pushed to a viral cat.

(34:25):
You know?
Like,
you just never know.
But having that media kit ready, andchances are, They don't want to use it
if they can be there, but it's alwaysgood to have and make sure it's
well shot and invest money into it.
If you can, um, youdon't invest a whole lot.
There's a lot you could dowith an iPhone these days.
Um, And that would be it.

(34:47):
I mean, it's pretty simple, but thoseare the little things people don't
generally do, but when they didit, I was more apt to at least call
them and try to set something up.
You have to be understanding of day ofevents that just happen when they do.
Um, and if you're doing all that andit seems to not be working, you know,
try to get in on the morning shows,you know, like, especially if you

(35:07):
are in a big city where they haveweekend morning shows, oftentimes
they're struggling to fill those, um,
guest spots in a sense.
Yeah.
It seems like
that's a trend.
I, you get the morning shows on,they all kind of look the same.
Yeah, you could probably study aformat and be like, all right, I'm
gonna go for that kind of angle.
yes, and that gets your connection going,you know, it really is about who, you
know, um, and there's reasons why, youknow, like for my business, uh, per se,

(35:33):
I don't do media pitching all the time.
Um, because some of my businessesthat I work with aren't in areas
where I have connections, you know,and I know how much easier it is.
When you have those interconnections,so find a way to get in those actual
stations, shake some actual hands,put a face to a name, um, you know,
reach out to the reporters thatcover the topics that you like, or

(35:55):
the publications or the podcasts.
Um, and if that's not working, that's whenyou get to the point where you go, maybe
I need to hire someone that does this.
Um, because you're at that point, ifit's not working, there's something that.
It's just not clicking.
Um, and if you really want thatcoverage, feel you deserve that coverage.
Um, that's when you throw out somemoney, unfortunately, but what you'll

(36:17):
get in return will be far greater andyou know, it'll get easier and easier
because you'll be a face to a name.
You'll build that relationship andmaybe you'll be the wedding person.
Maybe you'll be the lead on, you know,driving stories like, you know, Um,
you, you wouldn't believe how importantin smaller markets, stories like car
maintenance during winter, uh, are,and every station has that one place

(36:41):
they go to, to do the interviews.
Cause then, you know, they'regoing to say yes, they know they're
going to be good because they'veworked with them over the years.
So yeah, build those relationships,try to schedule a tour last.
That would be my last resort isschedule, schedule a tour as a
company, um, just to get in thereand maybe do some internal pitching.
Oh, like actually at the,the news station itself.

(37:02):
And then, uh, okay.
Interesting.
That's our last ditch effortbecause it's tough to do these days.
Um, the security has gone up forobvious reasons in stations and you
know, some stations are good about it.
Some stations say, no, we don't want any
yeah.
Well, show me a fe
FaceTime tour or something, youknow, like , get me in there
Yeah.
Give me
got it.
Brandon, this is awesome, dude.

(37:23):
And I think of another way to extend this.
I would imagine is Haro, H A R O,you know, like help a reporter out.
I'm sure some of this pitchingcan translate that way.
I know
another one quoted is one that,uh, some teams I've worked on.
There's this gal on, on oneof them, uh, her name's Alana.
She's a badass.
She's works for Kimmy Seltzer,one of my clients, and.

(37:44):
She's all over the medialike in every single day.
I think she's on Haro andquoted q w o t e d And it's it's
similar to what you're saying.
Um, and she's getting yeah local coverageThere's national coverage on certain
shows, uh published on online shows.
There's a lot of These types of youknow networks, I guess have been created

(38:07):
online that kind of model the uh the local
yeah.
And online is super important.
Like I said, even if you're just gettingon web stories, that's very important.
You know, I worked for a station wherebriefly our Facebook numbers just greatly,
um, overshadowed our actual air numbers.
And so they tried to do Facebookshows and there are other stations

(38:27):
that I know who have tried to dothat, where, you know, it's like a
three 30 Facebook show or something.
Um, so you just never know.
So, you know, be open to.
Maybe the media pitch not looking the wayyou wanted, but you still get some sort of
coverage and then just, you know, Followup with those people when you do get that
coverage and build those relationships.
That's really what it comes downto, you know Are you gonna say yes?

(38:49):
Are you gonna be a good interview?
Are you relevant?
And are you going to help them out?
Yeah, help a reporter out.
That's literally what it's named.
So, dude, I love this, man.
So tell me, tell mebriefly about Super Bloom.
What you're doing there because Iknow you've now, this is your, it's
only been a handful of months, butI mean like, I know you're crushing.
You're already you're, Frickinbooked to the seams, you know,

(39:12):
because it's obviously necessary.
So quick shout out how peoplecan reach out to you as well.
yeah, you know, we, we do have, I'mactually kind of lined up right now where,
you know, I'm not actively really lookingfor more clients yet, you know, I'm a
team of three right now, I'm officiallya team of three as of about a week ago.
I'm about to be a team of four andbring on a marketing assistant.

(39:32):
I have a lot of, you know, after10 years in the spotlight, I'm very
private about my personal life.
I have a lot of great thingsgoing on in my personal life that
are requiring time, um, away.
So, you know, I know I need tobring on some help, um, and get a
good infrastructure in place beforeI start going, go here, go there.
But, you know, we do have Instagram,we do have Facebook, we have websites,
Super Bloom, digital consulting.
Um, um, Again, go to it.

(39:55):
You're going to go to it and see thatI'm not actively pitching for people.
Um, but I've been really blessed, man.
You know, Super Bloom itself, uh,comes from a lot of personal reasons.
A lot of, you know, I've been legallyemployed since sixth grade and I
learned a lot of my, my work valuesfrom my grandmother in the garden.
Um, some of those phrases I can'tsay because they're not family
friendly, but, you know, I hold inthe heart, um, there's a song called

(40:18):
Super Bloom by a band called Mr.
Wives that really, um, gotme through, um, the pandemic.
It's just, it's just a beautiful songabout, you know, going through some
stuff and when, you know, the pandemichit and the world shut down, this was
like the first band to put out an album.
Um, it was kind of like, no one'sgoing to put out new music at
this time, but they did it anyway.
And they had just been firedfrom the label and all that.

(40:39):
I just really.
Like their story of, of solderingthrough, you know, I was working in
a 10 story building, fighting thepandemic with my, my city at the time.
And it was tough.
And then when I drove intoArizona for the first time, um,
The super bloom was going on.
So, you know, super bloom itselfcame from an idea of, of family, just
being musically motivated as I am.

(41:02):
Um, and that personal experienceof coming into Arizona and going,
Oh my God, it is gorgeous here.
Um, and also, you know, there's theSEO side of things twice a year.
Uh, super blooms, one of the most searched
words
because it happens twice a year.
It is,
and you know, the super blooms.
It's happening right now.
I'm getting hits from all over and I'mlike, please don't reach out to me.

(41:23):
I, I don't have the time for you andI'm getting ready to go on vacation
next week and all that, but, um, Yeah,it's been fun to be an entrepreneur.
It's unlike anything I've ever done.
It's most challenging, but also themost rewarding thing I've ever done.
Um, you know, I moved out here, didn'thave a whole lot of connections.
Um, you know, after I left my job, thatwasn't anything that clicked in my head.

(41:43):
And I said, I'll get a job right away.
I got landed a lot of interviews.
I said no to some jobs, but at the endof the day, over 30 jobs told me, um,
we really liked you, you're a finalist,but we went with someone we knew.
So I sat there one day and myown super bloom kind of happened.
I said, what am I good at?
Because I can't compete withpeople that already have
these established connections.

(42:04):
As we mentioned, thoseconnections are very important.
Um, I said, networking was number one.
So I started networking, joined a BNIgroup, um, went to social media marketing
world, talk to everyone I possibly could.
Um, and wrote down the other list,you know, I'm good with video.
I'm good with photography.
I can edit much quicker thanmost people, but just because
of my setup, um, and all that.

(42:27):
Um, so, you know, beingan entrepreneur is crazy.
Um, I never thought I would do it,you know, when we were trudging
through Camp Pendleton, I said,I'm going to make music, uh, for,
for my life or, you know, be a radio DJ,
uh, yeah.
Um, and in a way, you know, I, youknow, I think you talked about hustle
and that flow chart of your life,you know, it's, I do a lot of things

(42:50):
musically, whether it go to concerts,I write music, I play guitar, um, for
that stress release workout a lot.
Um, being ADHD, you have to keepyour energy level as like even keel
as possible, which is really tough.
Sometimes diet's really important, youknow, to my fellow entrepreneurs, I
would say, dude, you're going to do it.

(43:11):
It just do the damn thing.
Um, that was the best piece of adviceI got from social media marketing
world was do the damn thing.
Um, if you're scared, you gotto jump over and, and just try.
If you don't try, you'll never know.
Um, and it's just been such ablessing and, you know, I really
lucked out with my clients.
You know, I would say, don'tbe desperate for your clients.
I know we're here for mediapitching, but you know, one bad

(43:32):
weed can ruin the whole garden.
Not that you go on flower puns, but, um,you know, it's just, it's been wonderful.
And to see what you've been doingas well, it's been really cool.
And the really.
Catch up on the last couple decadesand really see what you're doing.
It's been awesome exposing people andhaving your adorable family, which
you guys fought so hard for, um,which has just been incredible to see.

(43:55):
And, uh, it's such a beautiful thingbecause you guys are such good parents.
we all, we all have our own fightand, and, you know, I think you get
some cool stuff coming up too, too.
I won't, I won't release anything here.
Uh, thank you.
Private private for now.
I appreciate it.
So, um, but super bloom,digital consulting.
com and check them out on all the socials.
I love the whole super bloom analogy.

(44:16):
I mean, there's so many, it's, it's deep.
Your company needs tomean something to you.
And as someone who's ADHD and I reallypride myself on that, you know, that a
lot of people kind of keep quiet about it.
I was always.
Very self aware in other places I workbecause I was like, I feel different,
but I know it's not really a disabilityin a sense and it's not, um, but
we're very prone to hyper focusedhobbies in a sense where you go into

(44:39):
something and then you get bored, right?
So I sat there and said, howdo I make this sustainable?
And I said, what, whatmatters to me in my life?
And I said, my family, my faithand the people that support me.
And so for me, I had to comeup with a name that meant more.
Um, and it had to be.
It's kind of cartoony and I'm,you know, I'm kind of wacky in a
sense, but, you know, I, I'm alsoprofessional at the same time.

(45:03):
So, you know, I, I got that logodesigned the way I wanted it
to, and I was like, that's it.
That's, that's my why every single day.
And I think about my list of people thatrepresent Superbloom, um, and just, you
know, the struggles and the successesI've had, uh, over, over the years.
All these years.
Um, and just like anyone, wehave a lot of, um, one side

(45:23):
of the spectrum, the other.
So every day I wake up, I recite who thisis for and what it is for and my why.
And, um, that, that's what motivatesme every morning, get up and, you know,
do
it.
Do the damn thing.
There's not no better, uh,uh, advice out there, man.
Cause yeah, let your feet freak flag fly.
Do you build the airplanein the, in the sky?

(45:45):
What are all these damn things?
Like
be brave.
Be brave.
I mean, and we're our worst critics.
And, you know, I'm reallygreat at creating other
people's social media plans.
That's something else we do.
And my own social media planis kind of, you know, when I
have time and so it doesn't.
Really represent what we're able to do.
Uh, so when you go to all thosechannels and you're judging, go for it.

(46:06):
Uh, just understand that Icould either be doing my own
stuff or I could be helping you.
I mean, it's another analogyis the cobbler's kid's shoes.
You know, it's like,Oh, they look like crap.
You know, it's like busy, busyfixing other people's stuff.
So, um, no, you, you rock dude.
So thank you so much.
And this were, we'll make it actionable.

(46:28):
I might put it in the emailor we'll figure out a way,
but definitely keep an eye.
Um, on things and I appreciate you, man.
And this, this video, you know, ifyou're watching YouTube, all that stuff,
definitely consider subscribing and,and follow Brandon on all the socials.
I'm sure we'll be doing this again.
I'm sure we'll be seeingyou around as well, man.
Cause the beginning of great things.

(46:49):
vice versa.
Cause I mean, I had, I do have a podcast
What?
in the works and not the nearfuture, but, um, you've inspired
me to get into it a little bit, um,and just building that connection.
And, you know, as entrepreneurs,We succeed together.
So I really like what you do, um, exposingpeople because I mean, if we, we all
went together, it's kind of my phrase.

(47:09):
So, uh, thank you for your time, Joe.
You've been phenomenal as usual.
I'm not surprised.
Um, I mean, can't wait to see how
You as well, man.
All right.
Appreciate you, bro.

All Episodes

Local News Dynamics

Changes in the Media Industry

Pitching to News Outlets

Building Connections and Relationships

Entrepreneurship and Personal Motivation

Closing Thoughts

Two Other Episodes You Should Check Out

Resources From Episode

Episode Transcript

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}5 Strategies for Pitching to Media with Brandon LaVorgna