Summer happy, some are not

In PR we like to think of ourselves as daring and creative, yet every year we walk zombie-like into a summer PR blackout. Rainier PR looks at the extent of this phenomenon and what consumer tech companies should do about it.

The conventional wisdom at this time of year suggests PR folk should shut up shop for six weeks and wait for summer to finish. Then, come September, hit the journalists with everything you’ve got.

If you’re a hack reading this you’re probably thinking: great, another piece of self promotional junk that’ll give me a laugh and fill the last few minutes til I can get outta here and go on holiday and forget work for the next month and a half.

Or at least that’s what we PRs like to think.

Copy required
But the reality is almost all mags, and without fail all newspapers, continue to publish during summer, and they all need copy to fill the pages.

For some reason we all lose sight of this fact and hold all news during summer, then release the PR frenzy with a flood of launches and announcements the moment we see the first leaves fall from the trees.

Last year consumer tech journalists attended on average (excuse the rounding) zero launches between mid-July and mid-August, and eight press events between early September and mid-October. And this is just the individuals, so a team of four will have been to 32 launches between them in a single monthly editorial cycle.

How can every launch possibly get the breakthrough coverage that the PRs are looking for?

Holiday reading
On the other side of the equation, ‘quality’ media consumption actually increases during holiday periods according to research conducted on behalf of Rainier PR. Two thirds (63 per cent) of us increase time spent reading/watching TV and newspaper during holidays, while less than one in five spend less time.

So it seems while some of us leave it all behind and head off to an exotic location and won’t pick up a newspaper, those left at home can pull out the sun lounge - or more likely the sofa – and read the paper cover to cover or get stuck into some serious summer telly watching.

It is newspapers that attract the most holiday attention. Three quarters of survey respondents spend more time – in the majority of cases at least an hour more – reading the dailies. Think of it this way: can you remember the last time that you actually read the entire paper, not just frantically scanned the headlines (Sundays don’t count)?

Summer PR tips
In PR there are no golden rules, yet we all seem to conform to this ‘conventional wisdom’ of playing dead during summer. We ignore the increased ‘quality media time’ and the dearth of news, then fight for scraps coverage amidst the glut of announcements.

So do we need to rethink our summer PR programmes?

As always, there is no single answer. It depends on your messages, your audience and the natural cycles of your product availability.

If there’s a good reason to launch in June, July or August, then by all means do it, but follow these pointers:

• Check whether your key journalist targets will be around. This is only prudent and should be done anyway, regardless of time of year (people do take holidays outside the summer silly season!)
• It’s summer and no one wants to work too hard, so make it fun, relaxed and relevant
• Many journalists (like the rest of us) are covering for holidaying colleagues, so be considerate of their time
• Be aware that summer deadlines can shift, so check the calendars
• Great pictures always help sell a story. This is even more so during summer where colour and flesh are at a premium
• There are a glut of headline grabbing activities during summer, so schedule carefully to avoid Wimbledon, cricket, Silverstone, Live8, G8, Olympic announcements, music festivals, rugby tours…

So this summer, instead of retreating into endless planning meetings scheduled to take advantage of (read: fill time during) the summer media blackout, stop a moment and consider whether there are opportunities passing you by.