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By Melissa A Vitale Like any industry expert, I find myself constantly in need of a glossary of some of the most-used terms of media relations. I’ve started a running glossary of PR terms that I anticipate to be updated as more come to mind. Public Relations: The dictionary defines this one as “the professional maintenance of a favorable public image by a company or other organization or a famous person.” Which doesn’t totally answer what exactly is public relations. Many PR firms have grown to include advertising, digital and social media marketing, but more focused public relations focus on press and public events. Most public relations agencies focus on garnering earned press coverage. Read on for what that means! Press: Coming from the term Printing Press, the press embodies any type of regular publication or news outlet. Examples are most often reporters, news channels, broadcast and radio news and talk shows, magazines, newspapers, industry publications and journals, regional magazine networks, magazine publishing houses, and even new media types like social media outlets, podcasts and blogs. Coverage: Short for media coverage, these are the results of PR campaigns often in the forms of digital or print articles in major-name news publications. See below for types of coverage. Earned / Organic Media: At its most basic definition, this is coverage that is secured without additional costs outside the publicist’s retainer. Some mentions of brands in stories or listicles are only included because the brand paid the publisher top dollar. Outlet of traditional print and web banner adds, advertising departments target ad-adverse consumers with advertorials – advertisements that look like articles. Basically, there are a lot of ways for a brand to end up on a magazine’s website or in the pages, but not all of it goes through the editorial department. Therefore, publicists specify the work we do as earned media or because we work with editors and writers to include our clients without paying advertising fees. Media Relations: How do publicists get that earned media you ask? Through media relations! If you’ve ever seen a show about a publicist, you know their network is everything. Our job is to maintain relationships with press and act as a reliable source. It’s a two-way street here journalists seek out publicists for reliable sources and latest products, while publicists benefit from the inclusion of their clients. Secured coverage: Coverage doesn’t just come overnight! Often times, publicists know about pending coverage in advance. When an article is confirmed but not published yet, it’s under secured coverage. PR Campaign: The course of a PR engagement. Publicists refer to this as a campaign because of the months-long and season-intersecting strategy that needs to go into play. When you publicize and represent a brand, you rep then for a length of time that may have multiple seasons that the brand is relevant. For a CBD lubricant brand, this brand could be popular for April’s 4/20 and May’s Masturbation Month so the publicist needs to plan pitches as early as January for 4/20 and February for Masturbation month and pitch them both up until the respective news cycle has passed. PR Campaigns can also be launched for individual launches or announcements. Retainer: The amount of money you pay a publicist per month. PR is like lawyers where you pay a retainer upfront; there is no Net 30 in PR. The retainer includes pitching, media relations and representation along with traditional services like media training which result in media coverage Minimum retainer: The minimum amount a publicist or agency will onboard a client. For freelancers this could be as low as $500 while agencies can start at $3-5K and go up to $25K as a minimum retainer Representation: Once you pay a publicists retainer, you are under their representation. Publicist often have meetings with top tier journalists and editors. Once you pay their retainer, your brand is going into those meetings through the publicist. You may have just started your PR campaign, but your publicist has a monthly breakfast with TODAY’s associate producer; your brand is in the eyes of the TODAY show the first week. That’s representation. Placement: Another word for coverage, the result of the PR campaign Pitch: Verb and Noun. You can pitch a journalist and you can send a journalist a pitch. This is what gets sent or spoken to a journalist to entice them to include a brand. Sometimes it’s an interesting fact like sales increases with unique causations, a seasonal inclusion (like gift guides) in stories they’re already writing, or other times it’s standalone trend stories that the brand best portrays, like a brand’s rebrand symbolizing the legitimization of a vice industry. The act of sending a pitch is the verb pitching. Pitching can also be done in person (these are some of the best ways to secure pitches IMHO) Inbound: Referred to a story opportunity that came from a journalist asking a publicist for sources that fit the topic. Publicists with multiple strong relationships often have inbound opportunities regularly so clients can see opportunities arrive even before a publicist as sent a pitch. Outbound: Referred to a story pitching that came as a result of a publicist's pitch or story idea. Exclusive: An exclusive is a story, interview or announcement that a journalist and their publication get to publish before anyone other publication Press Release: A brand approved writeup distributed to press or a newswire regarding a newsworthy company move (product release, rebrand, executive hire, partnership or event) Boiler Plate: The official general company "about" paragraph that goes at the end of every release. Typically 3-8 sentences long with links to social media for digital companies Media Contact: The name of the publicist or CMO for further queries on a press release or to set up an interview Newswire: A source of press releases that many regional and industry publications turn to for the most recent relevant news. Using a PR wire can often get a brand’s release on Yahoo, Market Watch or Business Insider Media Alert: Like a press release, but these don’t get published, they just get sent to a journalist around the time the press release hits the wire or the exclusive is published They often include a press release if there is one available but press releases are not necessary for a media alert. These can turn into published stories but can be valuable in keeping interested editors up to date about brand developments One-sheet: A one-page document with all the necessary at-a-glance info needed for coverage. Can be made for executive teams, companies, products or collections Outlet: News outlet, blog, newspaper, magazine, digital publication, broadcast or radio show Embargo: An agreement not to publish or release information before a specified announcement date Source: Someone who provides expert information, access or other valuable insight to journalists. Publicists are sources with their network but their clients are often considered sources. Firsthand witness: When given a tip, reporters try to find a witness to the tip. Double Confirmation: Journalists cannot just report on tips or everyone would be sending slander about celebs and politicians they hate. For scoops that press are interested, they need two confirmations or sources to cite to solidify their reporting Scoop/Tip: Sometimes I feel like media is a 1940s noir film with some of our newspaper lingo; scoop is one of them. A tip or a scoop is often advance notice of something before it's reached the general newscycle. MeToo started with a scoop about Harvey Weinstein than Ronan Farrow investigated and reporting. Media Assets: Digital and physical materials needed for a publicist to execute the campaign; headshots, product shots, lifestyle images, product descriptions, retail info, founder bios etc Editorial Guidelines: The rules that dictate what an outlet will and won’t publish. Sometimes outlets won’t include links to adult sites or brands; a certain outlet won’t feature publicly traded companies. Women’s outlets prioritize Womxn and non-binary voices over cis-male etc Editorial Calendar: A pre-decided calendar of what an outlet will focus their editorial content on each month. Can be for print and digital publications Greenlight: When the editor/producer has agreed to the commission on a pitch from a journalist. Lead-time: This is lead as in leader, not lead-balloon. This is the amount of time before a story gets published. Can vary from a few hours to six months away Long Lead: Outlets that publish in advance. Print is long lead with a typical 2-5 month lead-time of stories Short Lead: Outlets that publish with more immediate deadline. Morning news shows, digital outlets and blogs are short lead Breaking News: A national or global news story that takes over headlines and is universally covered. Celebrity deaths, marriages or births, political scandals, national or natural disasters, pandemics, social movements, and elections can all be breaking newscycles. Newscycle: The length of time a particular topic remains pressing in the news Editorial Lag, Delay, Hold: News outlets have to cover both evergreen and breaking news content. Sometimes, the breaking news overwhelms feature writers and all coverage turns to picking up the extra workload. This can put a hold on stories that were slated to publish on a certain date. These can also arise from internal disruptions like restructuring, unexpected staff departures or general shift in direction of editorial priorities. Product Request: When a company’s product is requested for consideration for a particular story that a writer is working on For consideration: If journalists and editors published stories about every product they get sent, publicists and outlets alike would be out of a job. Consumers want to see more than product recommendations and want to see a range of products. Writers are often puzzle piecing product recommendations based on a having a complimentary range of products. Therefore all product samples sent to press are always for consideration, as in its not guaranteed they’ll be included. Often times, interviews on a trend topic are often for consideration and are only used where it adds value to an article and carry the same potential to be excluded in the published article. Missed opportunity: Sometimes journalists have tight deadlines for their stories and if a brand doesn’t answer their request in time, the opportunity, while available, was missed Editorial Error: Editors are humans too. Articles get passed from writer to sometimes up to 3 editors before it gets published. Things get lost in translation – often thanks to spellcheck. In accurate information editors can usually adjust with a quick request Correction request: A submission to an editor or journalist to change information that is inaccurate in an article. On-the-record: Information available to be published Off-the-record: Information not available to be published. I’ve personally have never seen a journalist violate an off-the-record and have only heard about it in tales Recorded phone interviews: To avoid taking notes and distracting from an interview, journalists will record the conversation for their record. It will never be published in its entirety unless its previously agreed to be used for a podcast. Media Training: Interviews often have a time limit. Phone interviews can be capped at 30 minutes while broadcast can be as short as 90 seconds. That’s a short time to tell a brand story. Media training helps prep a client to be concise, to the point and ready for any questions that gets thrown at them. For those new to interviews, media training can be extensive day-long workshops. On-air Guest: The guest on a broadcast show; when in relation to PR, the client or brand rep is typically the on-air guest. On-air Talent: Typically the host or anchor but sometimes an on-air contributor Call Time: The time an on-air guest needs to be ready for an on-air broadcast Hit Time: The time an on-air guest will be on-air B-roll: The video and images about a brand or event that are showed during an extended video or broadcast interview to break up the visuals. Lower-Thirds: The bottom of the screen that rolls the title of the person speaking on a broadcast segment. Press Sampling: The best way to get a brand in front of an editor is to get the product in their hands; publicists do this thought sampling Mailer / Sendout: An often-themed way to present a new product or brand to press through sampling. For events like Pride and 4/20 these can be themed. While not guaranteed, these often have high overall success rates for inclusion Press Samples: Samples of a product that are designated to give to press. Unless the product costs more than $1,000 per unit, you can anticipate that these are for consideration and will not be returned Press Access: Press often chooses to cover one company over a competitor based on access. If cannabis farm A will give them a consumer tour but cannabis farm B will let them fly drones and take photos of the entire property, it's cannabis farm B that gets covered. Same with events where press have unfiltered access to CEOs, brand experts etc. Press Event: An event with the purpose to showcase something about the brand to the press ROS: Run of show, a who, what, when, where, why of an event News conference: an event where news is announced; can be planned or spontaneous Press List: The list of press confirmed or anticipated to arrive at an event Press Invite/Access Pass: For events, press should have separate invitations and access passes that grant them entry and deem them special access. Ad Value: Typically estimated unless PR firms have ad teams who know the actual numbers, this is the main method of evaluating the value of press coverage. Many clients want to discern an article’s success by the sales, but publicists aren’t sales associates. Instead, we look at how much money the client saved by working with us instead of trying to buy their placements through advertising options. Often times, one article in an outlet like Marie Claire or Rolling stone can be valued at more than the monthly retainer. This is why public relations is so popular for brands without extensive advertising budgets. UVMP / VMP: Unique visitors per month or just visitors per month. A method of gauging the reach of a press article. Media Kit: A 2-12 page PDF that includes images, brief written information answering the Who What When Where Why of a band for interested press. This can be sent once a journalist has interest in a brand to answer initial questions they have about the brand. Speaker Engagement: An opportunity for a client representative to speak – often in person but more recently virtual as well. Can be at an event, tradeshow, on or moderating a panel, etc. Photo Credit: Who a photo in a published article is credited too. Sometimes there are limitations on these. SEO: SEO has emerged as a dictator of headlines in recent years. Media houses have had to get creative to drive traffic to their websites to appease advertisers, keeping the lights on another day. They’re taking advantage of all of those late-night google searches that usually lead readers down a rabbit hole. “Why does my breath smell bad,” “How to regrow my hair,” “What do I do if I’m attracted to someone other than my wife”. Many media outlets have SEO teams that run reports on the most searched questions. They hand those reports over to editors who assign writers to answer those questions with an article. Instead of those millions of searches going to forums and blogs, reputable news outlets are sweeping up that traffic. Once users end up on a website, they can stay for hours on the suggested articles of the site. Media buy / sponsored content: Another form of advertising that sometimes gets crossed with PR Affiliate links: Affiliate links are more and more driving which products get mentioned in coverage or not. As subscriber rates dwindle, outlets need additional income streams to pay their staff. Affiliate links allow them to make commission on the traffic they bring to products. Types of Coverage There are three basic types of media coverage:
All three of the above can also be classified under one of the following:
For vice brands looking to explore cost effective public relations packages, learn more about MAVPR via: melissaavitale.com/services.html
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Industry Insight on the latest wellness craze By Melissa A Vitale If you own a computer or a phone, or basically just exist, you’ve probably heard some buzz about CBD oil in the last few years. CBD oil has risen as one of the biggest superfood ingredients in wellness, dining, beauty and even vaping over the past five years. It’s hard not to be curious about a supplement that people are saying changed their life. So…. Is CBD Oil Worth the hype? The answer isn’t so simple, because it’s both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Personally, CBD is my go-to for so many things. When I first jointed the cannabis industry, I thought it odd that all advocates were so gung-ho on hemp & CBD, insisting the plant was in every formulation they used. Now five years into the industry, I use anywhere from 5-15 hemp products a day. CBD skincare has allowed me to maintain an all-natural skincare regimen that actually works. I’ve reduced the number of massages I get with CBD balms and topicals and I literally have a CBD oil tincture in every room of my house. Even my cat has his own CBD topicals and bacon-flavored tinctures. So yes, CBD oil is worth the hype… EXCEPT: only when it’s quality CBD. That’s why it’s also a No. CBD is not worth the hype when it’s not premium CBD. There’s a lot of trash, what we call “snake oil,” on the market. Poorly manufactured or mislabeled CBD products are causing tons of consumer confusion and making it harder for quality brands to stand out. I’m going to clarify that in a bit. But first, let’s dive into the Wild, Wild West of Cannabis aka the CBD market. CBD oil: What the heck is it? CBD (Cannabidiol) oil is a dietary supplement first introduced to US Markets in 2014 that has gained rapid popularity and has saturated health, beauty and vaping markets since 2018 when the supplement was removed from the DEA’s list of Federally Controlled Substances. CBD has been found to be a powerhouse supplement for symptoms related to sleeplessness, anxiety, topical relief and inflammation. Now as a publicist, there’s only so much I can say on the issue – I cannot give you any medical recommendations, nor can I even cite many of the medical issues that CBD oil has been shown to be useful for. Thankfully a quick google search can help you dive into press articles on the topic, though be careful where that rabbit hole leads you. Check your sourcing and make sure the journalists are quoting quality sources (Doctors, Advocates & Recognized Brands). The human anatomy is hard-wired with the endocannabinoid system, a system of cannabinoid receptors throughout the brain and body. The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) was discovered in 1992 and controls neurologic, endocrine, immune, behavior and cognitive functions. Our bodies make our own cannabinoids and we have our own cannabinoids receptors. The system is located in the brain and all the major organs but especially the nerves and the intestines. When these receptors are activated, they enable two-way communication between body systems. Our bodies were designed to regularly supply our ECS with the nutrients (cannabinoids) it was designed for, in support of vital communications between the control centers of the body and every other system. In addition to the few endogenous cannabinoids the ECS is also activated by foods, drugs, activity, and phytocannabinoids, like CBD. Replenishing the naturally occurring endocannabinoid system, regular CBD (cannabidiol) tinctures and capsules can bring the body to homeostasis, allowing it to perform at its best. What does all that mean? Basically, since hemp was removed as a prime dietary source during the Reefer Madness scare early last century, humans have been undersupplying our bodies with the cannabinoids we need. Consuming CBD oil (or getting cannabinoids through other methods of cannabis) helps keep your endocannabinoid system regular which keeps the other systems that rely on the ECS—basically most bodily function—regulated. Why has it become so popular in the last five years? The 2014 Farm Bill defined industrial hemp as 0.3% or lower and provided for pilot programs, sales and research to begin on industrial hemp, which is why we have hemp products, including CBD, in the United States currently. The problem was hemp, despite its low THC content, as a member of the cannabis family, was still classified as a Schedule 1 drug by the DEA, even though it was legal to grow and sell and purchase by definition of the 2014 Hemp Farm Bill and even when other federal agencies, like the FDA, were approving hemp products like CBD. In December 2018 Congress put forth the second Farm Bill which included all the language known as Hemp Farming Act of 2018. The passage of this final version of the Farm Bill removed hemp products including hemp-derived CBD oil from the federal list of controlled substances and removed any federal regulations from growing and selling hemp products. The 2018 legislation also allows for wider audiences to be educated on the benefits of CBD products while providing agriculture protections for hemp farmers previously unafforded due to hemp’s federal controlled status. Besides these bills for CBD oil, and state-and-local ordinances, CBD oil is largely unregulated. The only thing the FDA, the agency overseeing CBD oil, monitors for is health claims: brands cannot make health claims such as “This CBD Oil is great for Epilepsy”. Brands can say “CBD has been shown to relieve symptoms associated with sleeplessness, anxiety and inflammation.” Outside of that, any health-related claims are in violation of FDA regulations of supplement health claims. Think about that: Other than claims, there is no oversight agencies that make sure what the company claims is on the package is actually in the bottle. This is why Third-Party testing is paramount, but we’ll get into that in a bit. First, let’s navigate a confusing topic in this sector. Hemp Seed Oil Vs CBD Oil: The confusion of Hemp Seed Oil versus CBD Oil is further evidence of the mess that is the current CBD market. Since the Farm Bill, CBD oil has become this year's must-have ingredient. Hemp and hemp-derived CBD oil have taken over formulations because they're both rich in the nutrients that soothe, heal, hydrate and pamper skin. Many consumers and retailers often confuse CBD Oil and Hemp Seed Oil, but while they technically come from the same plant--Industrial Hemp-- Hemp Seed Oil and CBD Oil are 100% different. Have you ever noticed that its relatively easy to buy marijuana seeds? Government restrictions on cannabis only apply to the psychoactive component THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) which is only present in the plant after photosynthesis. Therefore, cannabis seeds can be shipped across state lines because they contain no THC. The same is the case with CBD in hemp seeds. CBD is only present in the hemp plant after photosynthesis. Because CBD only occurs in mature hemp plants, CBD (Cannabidiol) oil is extracted from the harvested and dried out hemp plant. The CBD extraction process often determines the quality of CBD: CO2 is the cleanest, and most environmentally-friendly method that produces the most potent CBD oil. CBD oil is naturally anti-inflammatory and has shown to protect, restore, and brighten skin leaving the complexions feeling awakened and nourished. CBD applied topically can interact with the cannabinoid receptors in your skin to fight inflammation, promote healing, provide relief from short-term setbacks, and refine stressed, puffy or tired skin. Hemp Seed Oil, however, is extracted from pressed hemp-seeds, which contain zero CBD. The seeds are still packed with ingredients vital to healthy & nourished skin. Sustainably-sourced hemp has the highest naturally occurring polyunsaturated fatty acids like Omega 3, 6 and 9 and is rich with Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that can reverse UV damage. Hemp Seed Oil also contains Gamma Linolenic Acid, an anti-inflammatory compound rarely naturally occurring. Hemp seed oil is hypoallergenic and absorbs rapidly making it popular for chapped and dry complexions. You don’t have to look any farther than Amazon.com to see just how confusing all this is. Hemp Seed Oil producers know that consumers will pay higher margins for products with CBD oil in it; They also know that many consumers don’t know the difference between ‘hemp extract’ (CBD oil) and ‘hemp seed oil’ on the ingredients list. Amazon is a perfect example of this. Amazon prohibits the sale of CBD oil but consumers who rely on Prime for everything aren’t aware that the retail giant restricts CBD sales. Hemp seed oil sellers will bump up the price of their oil (usually $15 for a large bottle) to $60 to be a comparable price to that of CBD oil. They know they’re selling hemp seed oil and consumers will know it too, but only after they spent the $60. That’s why so many CBD brands sell on Amazon anyways: if there are going to be bad players who take advantage of consumers, at least let them have real CBD options available. As a publicist, Hemp Seed Oil vs CBD Oil has been my personal education mission. I represent quality CBD Brands. There are some Hemp Seed Oil brands, with their beautiful packaging and luxury price point, that have been stealing the spotlight under the guise of being CBD Oil. Even editors are confused by CBD vs Hemp Seed Oil and recommending products without any CBD oil under headlines like “Best CBD Face Oils” or "I tried this CBD Lube" and there's no CBD in them. How to find quality CBD Oil: The 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial-hemp derived CBD oil from the DEA's list of Federally Controlled Substances opening the floodgate of hemp-based and CBD-infused products saturating the market. With so many CBD brands available, it's hard for consumers to discern premium quality from marketing tactics. If you’ve ever spoken to someone who says CBD oil doesn’t affect them, it’s because they probably didn’t have quality CBD oil. When buying CBD oil, a few factors will help determine the quality and reputability of the product including:
What is CBG? CBN? You may have heard a couple other acronyms around CBD; the two hottest ones to be discussed in the space are CBG & CBN. I'm not a scientist or a doctor by any means, so my explanation will be a working one, at best. There are tons of other cannabinoids in the hemp plant besides CBD. CBG & CBN are cannabinoids that appear in smaller quantities in most hemp plants. However when isolated on its own, CBN has become a popular supplement for night time use as its a powerhouse for sleeplessness. CBG is now coming to the market as the next big thing in CBD as it provides more targeted relief for anxiety, digestion and pain. To take a deeper dive into each, check out the Leafly Articles on CBG & CBN. CBD & Beauty Now I'm going to try to make this a short section because as a former beauty publicist, I really could rip into this topic for a few hours. The CBD Beauty Market is one of the most saturated areas of CBD outside of tinctures. There are three main types of companies fueling the CBD Beauty Craze: - Beauty Companies adding CBD into their existing Formulation - New Brands creating CBD Beauty Products to jump on the fad - CBD Companies creating beauty lines with plant science at it's forefront There are a lot of CBD Beauty Products on the market that are obviously made to pick up on the fad of CBD and this makes it confusing for consumers. Nails and Hair do not absorb CBD so if you see anything like CBD Mascara, CBD Shampoo, CBD Nail Polish, these are gimmicks that I would avoid. The scalp however can really benefit from CBD so any hair mask or conditioner with CBD targeting the scalp not the hair itself is likely Something I see on the beauty market that makes me cry out in exasperation is anything that washes with CBD: CBD Body Scrubs, CBD Face Washes, CBD Toners. CBD needs time to sink into the skin, so using a CBD infused formulation to wash is just putting a very expensive ingredient (CBD ain't cheap!) into a product that doesn't sit on the skin. Consumers are quite literally washing money down the drain. Skip the washes and scrubs with CBD and focus instead in topicals and lotions that will give your body enough time to absorb the formulation like balms and face serums. With so many brands pumping out CBD Beauty products, I only use CBD Beauty products made by CBD companies who understand the potent ingredient and pair their formulations to compliment the power of CBD. Other companies are usually just throwing CBD isolate into a beauty formulation without a care of how everything works together. All that confusion above? That's usually negated when you buy from trusted CBD brands who know the plant. Thanks to my time as a beauty publicist, I learned all about natural & organic beauty and the mass consumer beauty market that pads incredible ingredients with fillers and stabilizers that don't do anything for the skin. While I prefer the way my skin feels with natural beauty products, I always felt they weren't as anti-aging and restorative on their own. Since discovering CBD Natural Beauty products, I've stopped using my retinol serums and anti-aging masks. Between all natural ingredients and the restorative and nourishing properties of CBD, my skin behaves better just from being fed skin superfoods. Something you should note about CBD Beauty products is that you're rarely going to see Full Spectrum CBD in Beauty; The full spectrum doesn't interact on the skin the same way as when ingested, so CBD Isolate is powerful in topical formulations. I'll leave all brands that I trust below from anything from Tinctures to Topicals. I've been very blessed to work with tons of great brands whose work aligns with my own. A trusted industry recommendation can often times save you all the time and research. I've done the work for you. Many of these brands are women-run. I'm not biased because I'm a woman; research has shown that women business leaders tend to cut the fat on the consumer model. There's tons of great brands for however you'd like to integrate CBD into your life! MAVPR Recommended Brands: Working with so may brands, it's no surprise that I'm often asked for my recommendation. With my position as a publicist and knowledge of the industry, it's easy for me to discern if a brand is quality or marketing gimmicks Tinctures: Elixinol; New Highs CBD Beauty: TRIBEAUTY, Her Royal Hempress, Soul Addict Topicals: TribeREVIVE Pain Relief Cream, Elixinol Extra Strength Balm CBD Vapes: TribeTokes, Her Highness CBD Lubricants: TOCA Pleasure Oil: Her Highness For Pets: Pet Releaf, Mary While I do partner or represent some of the brands above, I only recommend brands whose brand mission, consumer transparency and attention to quality is one that I would trust for myself and my family. I only work with brands I myself am proud to represent. Updated July 6, 2020 For CBD brands looking to explore cost effective public relations packages, learn more about MAVPR via: melissaavitale.com/services.html
By Melissa A Vitale For those purchasing pleasure products for the first time, the market can seem oversaturated with products of all colors, shapes and sizes with substantially less education on said intimacy items. Especially those new to self-love and masturbation, it may be difficult to figure out what will bring pleasure or what will leave a wave of buyer’s remorse. For a first-time vibrator consumer, investing $200 on a single product that doesn’t please can turn someone off the pleasure product industry indefinitely. Before you make your purchase, figure out what you want by thinking of a few factors:
If you're not sure what type of toy you'd like, there's only one way to find out: masturbate! I got this tip from one of my mom’s Redbooks when I was too young to be reading them (I would hazard as far back as 2003): touch yourself, but not like that… yet. When you put lotion on, don’t slather it on like you’re putting wax on a table - caress yourself. Make it a point to touch yourself. See where your hairs raise, where you get a tingle down your spine, what makes your nipples harden. Turn yourself on. Make it a dance. Once you’re turned on by your own sensations, masturbate... regularly and often. Learn what makes you cry out, what makes you lose your breath, what turns your mind to putty and then think of ways a toy can help you save some of the manual labor. MAVPR Recommended Brands: Working with so may brands, it's no surprise that I'm often asked for my recommendation. With my position as a publicist and knowledge of the industry, it's easy for me to discern if a brand is quality or marketing gimmicks Expert-Recommended products: OrganicLoven.com Beginner Pleasure Products: Emojibator Social Conscious & Inclusive Pleasure Accessories: Bijoux Indiscrets By Women For Women: Pure Romance, Dame Products, Unbound Suction Products: Womanizer Partner Toys: WeVibe Notable Mention (Albeit not a Vibrator): Chakrubs Kink & Fetish accessories: Extreme Restraints CBD Lubricant: TOCA Pleasure Oil: Her Highness Intimacy Essentials for Penis-owners: Promescent While I do partner or represent some of the brands above, I only recommend brands whose brand mission, consumer transparency and attention to quality is one that I would trust for myself and my family. I only work with brands I myself am proud to represent. Updated July 6, 2020 For Pleasure Tech brands looking to explore cost effective public relations packages, learn more about MAVPR via: melissaavitale.com/services.html
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