How to get exposure on TV

By Tina L. Pugliese, APR, Pugliese Public Relations

One of my former clients, a caterer, was one of the few candy manufacturers in Washington, D.C.  For Easter, the company made hundreds of pounds of chocolate bunnies and giant eggs filled with candy.  I decided to send a huge chocolate egg filled with Easter treats to Willard Scott at NBC in New York.

Willard opened the egg in front of the viewing audience and shared the delicious contents with his co-hosts.  He mentioned my client and thanked him for this beautiful and tasty treat.

During the next few weeks, orders for these eggs came flooding into my client from all over the country.  I’m not sure he was prepared for the response, but he did fill all the orders.

In my public relations business, I also represented several Washington restaurants.  For Thanksgiving one year, I persuaded one of my clients to invite a local TV reporter to a Thanksgiving dinner at his restaurant the week before the holiday.  We staged a Thanksgiving dinner for about 12 people in a private room at the restaurant.

The table looked spectacular.  There was a beautiful floral centerpiece, candelabra, roasted turkey with all the trimmings, and several different pies for dessert.  The reporter and his crew were astonished at the spread.  The entire dinner was filmed as a family affair with the reporter joining as one of the guests.  It was run as a short human interest segment on the television affiliate a few days before Thanksgiving.

Reservations at the restaurant peaked.  Those who couldn’t get a reservation ordered a turkey dinner from the restaurant to take home.  We had created a spectacular event, and we all got to enjoy the delicious food.

This same client asked me if I could get him a regular guest spot on one of the local Washington television affiliate’s morning shows for a cooking segment.  Since I had worked with the producer many times, I approached her with this opportunity.  She said that it sounded like a great idea to have a regular cooking segment on the show; however, she expressed concern about the logistics of preparing hot food on the set.

I went back to my client, and we discussed this challenge.  He offered to have a cooking surface built that he would donate to the television station.  It would include an electric stovetop and heating ovens built into a table that was on casters for ease and mobility.  In exchange, I asked that he be a regular guest on that cooking segment twice a month.  The cooking segment would be featured five days a week.  Having this “prop” allowed the producer to invite other guest chefs on the show to participate in the new cooking segment.

The producer accepted our offer.  Eventually, some of my other clients were also featured guests on this show — all because the problem of how to cook on the television set was solved.  It was a win for all involved.

Tina L. Pugliese, APR is an executive coach and counselor for Pugliese Public Relations, a communications firm in Boynton Beach, Florida. Pugliese is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, and is the author of the book, Public Relations for Pharmacists, and e-books, Marketing Your Business for Success, How To Work With The Media, and Public Relations Manual — A Guide for Entrepreneurs.  She can be reached at (561) 889-3575 and by email at Tina@PugliesePR.com.  Her web site is www.PugliesePR.com. 

Article excerpted from e-book, Public Relations Manual — A Guide for Entrepreneurs, by Tina L. Pugliese, APR.