Before answering the “why” we must answer the “what”. So, what is a custom media list?

A custom media list is a list of names, designations, publications, and contact information (including phone numbers, emails, social media handles) of those reporters and influencers who will take an interest in your story ideas, pitches or media alerts. The custom media list needs to be updated every time you have a new story about your product to pitch.

 

Now, let me come to the why.  According to the website internetlivestats.com, there are 1.7 billion websites on the World Wide Web. According to the Office of Registrar of Newspapers in India, the total number of registered publications in India alone as on 31 March 2018 is 1,18,239. These numbers, even if we consider a tenth of these websites or newspapers, are frightfully large for any Public Relations person wanting to place his product story in the media. Add to this, the number of social media platforms where most end users spend a considerable amount of their time, and we are left with a vast number of media touchpoints for our product or story pitch.

 

The foremost job of a PR person is to get the story out to the end-users through reliable media channels while the story is still hot. Let me illustrate with an example of a company Last Minute. Now, the company announced a huge discount across all its stores in the last week of December. However, the news got out in the press only in the first week of January when the sale was over. Imagine the damage it caused to the topline and the company’s image.

 

The story behind the fiasco: The decision for the sale was last-minute; the PR person, Mr. Dunno, scrambled to get in touch with the media person known to cover such news in the Delhi edition of a leading national daily. However, too many competitors were offering year-end discounts and by the time he got in touch with the concerned person, newspaper slots were already filled. The press release was put in the queue and printed when its turn came- in January. This delay in the PR activity of sending out news about the holiday sale undermined all the efforts that had gone into planning and executing the marketing campaign of Last Minute.

 

How could this have been avoided: Mr. Dunno How could have made a ready list of media people holding positions in various print and online publications. However, the list should be customized to contain names, contact details, and article links of only those media personnel whose area of interest/line of work is in sync with company Last Minute’s line of business. With a custom media list, Mr. Dunno How could have reached out to not one but personnel in the media thus increasing the chances of the news about the sale being published in time.

 

However, building a custom media list is only the first step. An effective PR person will build relations with the contacts in the custom media list. A successful PR person will also keep the list updated, track the latest stories the journalists in the list are working on and initiate a dialogue by touching upon common areas of interest between the two parties. Apart from conversations on social media, relation-building through face-to-face personal interactions with at least 10-15 journalists on the media list is also important. This helps in engaging and garnering coverage for important announcements.

 

At the end of the day, a company needs to have active relations with people within the media since they will carry the company’s voice to their end-users. The more aware a company is of the news consumption preferences of its target users, the more accurate will the custom media list be.

 

Information today takes a few seconds only to circulate. Companies cannot afford to not have a ready custom media list, especially, when the news the company needs to circulate is urgent and time-sensitive. Let’s look at a few more situations where a well-made custom media list comes in handy.

 

• When the company needs to send out news refuting” fake news”
• When the company needs to announce pricing changes in reaction to predatory pricing by competitors
• When the company has a CSR story
• When critical news that could affect stock prices and investors needs to reach the public (once the stock exchanges and regulators have been informed)

In all the above scenarios, taking the story to the right audience is crucial. So is a custom media list.