Ask for PR and Ye Shall Receive
Last weekend I attended an event for an organization I'm involved with called WeeCycle. It was an Easter event at the Children's Museum. We volunteered to face paint in exchange for getting a booth so we could spread the word out about our organization.
A photographer came to the event. He was snapping away pictures at our booth. Unsure of who he was or what he was doing, I approached him and asked him if he was with the museum. He said he was with the Denver Post.
I immediately put on my PR hat and asked him if he would consider mentioning WeeCycle in his photo caption or article. I gave him the 30 second elevator pitch of who we are and what we do. He told me he would think about it. I thanked him graciously.
Sure enough, the next day, I opened up the Sunday Denver Post and there it was, a nice picture of face painted kiddos along with a caption mentioning WeeCycle. Score!
If I hadn't approached the photographer and asked for a mention, would we have gotten one? Perhaps... but I'm sure glad I asked.
Remember, if you want PR, ask for it. It's like the lottery - you gotta to play to win.
