In our 24-7, constant communication society, we want real-time feedback and instant gratification. Sometimes though, what we want and what we get are two different things. Occasionally that’s not such a bad thing.
A recent client experience proved this point. Last fall we met with executives from Context-Based Research. We learned that the ethnographic research firm had partnered with its sister marketing communications agency, Carton Donofrio Partners, to conduct a study on consumer behavior during the economic crisis.
Excited about the scope of the research and its obvious news value, we told our client that we suspected the study results would yield substantial media coverage. We also speculated that the coverage would happen immediately, given the timely nature of the research. At least we were half right.
In December, when the results were ready, we issued a press release. The impending holiday season notwithstanding, we hoped the interesting findings would generate interview requests. But only one journalist bit. We were disappointed, but not deterred. We recognized that though the marketplace may not have yet been ready for analysis of the recent meltdown in December, that would probably not continue to be the case.
Over the next four months we issued four more communications, each focusing on different aspects of the study and targeting different groups of reporters (culture, economics, retail, and political journalists). Five communications about one study is a lot, but the research was compelling, broadly applicable, and, given the recession’s anticipated trajectory, it had continued news value.
In the end, our (and our client’s) patience and persistence bore fruit:
-Context executives were quoted in two New York Times articles in March. One article ran on the front page of the paper, the other was on the cover of the paper’s “Week in Review” section.
–The Baltimore Sun ran a feature in April. (The reporter told us she’d held onto our December press release.)
–The New York Post, the Omaha World Herald, and several other publications ran articles referencing the study and quoting executives from Context and Carton Donofrio Partners. The New York Post piece ran in December, while the Omaha World Herald didn’t hit until April.
–Money Magazine ran a substantial piece in its May issue quoting Dr. Blinkoff, Context’s founder, as did the Financial Times.
-A retail reporter at the Associated Press and a personal finance reporter at USA Today turned to Dr. Blinkoff as an expert source for pieces they were developing.
-An association interviewed Dr. Blinkoff for an article in their membership publication, then asked him to deliver the keynote at their upcoming conference in November.
-A literary agent called about turning the research into a book.
All in all, the coverage amounted to critical exposure and yielded new business leads for the firms. The lesson we learned: Though patience and persistence can feel outmoded in a Twitterized, hot-for-a-day news environment, sometimes it pays to take the slow road.