The Pre-PR Checklist

Everything a brand should have before approaching a publicist

By Melissa A Vitale 

As a publicist who has built a reputation for representing equally reputable brands, I've had success in launching brands with little more than a website and some product renderings when the vision and market for the start-up was so significant, journalists couldn't wait to write about it. 

It's true; many brands can get press before their idea has become an actual physical product.

However, since becoming a publicist, I've seen just how many people put the cart before the horse when it comes to PR for an idea or forthcoming product. It seems like whenever someone in my life (friends from high school, relatives, old boyfriends etc) has an idea, I'm one of the first five people to know about it. Why? Because they want to see if it's something that can get press. The answer is typically: yes, as long as they're a product to promote. 

Along with a physical product, there's also a number of things a publicist needs to be able to represent a brand to their press contacts through the many ways we place our clients in the line-of-sight of press.

As a publicist, I have set methods of putting brands in front of press. It's not just through in-person meetings and events, but also through phone calls, emails and even, yes, tweets & social media. In order to do that, a publicist needs a number of items in addition to a physical product. 

Below is a definitive checklist of everything a brand should have before going to a publicist. Like I said, I can launch brands with less, but the more marketing materials a brand has, the easier it will be to convey brand message to press. Not only do publicists use these marketing assets, but images and product descriptions are essential for 

Digital & Physical Assets Essential for Public Relations: 

• Company Boiler Plate & Mission: A company boiler plate is a basic "about the company" that includes the availability of their product and general information about the brand. The company mission is a statement clarifying what the goal of the brand is. Publicists need to keep their messaging in-sync with existing brand messaging so all available company info is cohesive. 
• Founder Bio & Founding Story: A bio can range from a few sentences to a whole page detailing the relevant experience of the founder that makes them uniquely poised to lead their startup and dominate their target market. A founding story weaves their experience with their motivation for creating the brand. 
• Founder / Spokesperson Headshots: A professionally taken headshot of the person at the brand (usually the founder or formulator) who will be quoted in press. This cannot be a drunken iPhone photo of you at your cousin's wedding just because you were wearing a tux. These images will be used by Forbes, Money.com, Inc. They need to represent your brand. Especially in vice, these do not need to be suit+tie; but the professional headshot should depict industry leadership 
• Product Shots: Photos, typically with white or no background, of the individual products. These will be used for pitches and by press in published stories 
  
• Lifestyle Shots: Photos, typically themed and stylized. For products, these can be taken to look like they're on a beach, in a luxy bathroom, being used by a gorgeous model etc. These will be used for pitches and by press in published stories
• Product Descriptions: The product description a publicist uses is how a journalist will describe the brand; these need to be in-sync throughout any communication
• Website & E-commerce Platform: Unless your brand is retailing in every Kohl's or Forever 21 (something with a massive consumer reach) you'll need to have a place to buy your items online. If not, your products cannot reach the audiences that read the stories press want to feature you in. AKA: Obsolete to press
  
• Physical marketing materials: This can range from business cards, brand booklets and individual product sheets to branded note cards, stickers and Social-Share-Encouragers 
• Press Samples: Press need to try a product before recommending their readers spend money on something; otherwise they would lose their credibility real fast. Most samples sent are "for consideration" which means the press will try it out, never return the sample, and potentially, never even feature the product. Many PR firms can send out quantities of 50+ SKUS just for consideration before seeing placements. As a note, MAVPR is used to working with startups and maximizing smaller quantities of samples. Still, even with a conservative sample budget, brands should be prepared to part with a minimum of 20 products
• Press Sample Sizes: While this is by no means necessary, it takes away some of the financial pressure stated above felt when gifting for consideration. Often times, publicists can use these to our advantage by sending out sample sizes with a promise of a full-size when there's a relevant story.  Instead of 20 full sizes, publicists can send 20 samples out and keep the full-sizes for specific story requests

For those brands ready to explore public relations, be sure to check out MAVPR's suite of services: 
https://www.melissaavitale.com/services.html