How do you engage with PR?
The tie-in is a well-known phenomenon in the world of PR. Brands respond to an event or another party, creating news of their own. This article explains how to get started on this yourself.
Tie-ins
By responding to developments in society, politics, or the news, you smartly utilize the momentum. Essentially, 'hijacking the news' to 'steal' the spotlight for yourself. Handy! Here are two common ways to create reactive news:
- Firstly, you could disagree with something or someone. Such polemics score in the media because a contrast that can be amplified is created.
- Naming, interpreting, criticizing or praising a particular development is also another way to garner media attention.
These two forms of tie-ins are discussed in this article. Be mindful with reactive news that your message isn't too commercial.
Capitalizing on a hype
Below you'll find a successful example of a tie-in. The data center company Equinix explains why the Pokémon app is illustrative of the rise of AR (Augmented Reality). The company cleverly used a hype to explain a relatively complex product (cloud computing). In this way, the company leverages in-house knowledge and connects it to a currently pressing topic.
Responding to legislation
"The new Balanced Labour Market Act is already outdated," we read in an opinion piece in het Parool. According to the lawyers Nadia Adnani and Kim Deelen, this law will not promote the desired balance between flexible and permanent work (while that's exactly the intention of this law).
By criticizing legislation, a contrast with the government is created. This is attractive since the media aims to check the power. Therefore, such an opinion piece has a good chance of success.
Capitalizing on a news moment
There are countless news moments that recur annually that your brand can tie into. From King's Day, Prince's Day, summer holidays, ski season to major sports tournaments. Or consider New Year's resolutions at the beginning of the year. Take, for example, the contribution below from Naomi Ellemers, social and organizational psychologist and university professor, in the FD?
During the first days of January, we are often occupied with 'New Year's resolutions' to improve our behavior. (...) Research in behavioral science is very informative about the pitfalls of good resolutions, and how you can avoid them. You may have heard or read about it before. Nevertheless, it's useful to have a number of tips listed.
Conclusion
The tips above should help you to get started with a tie-in yourself. A handy overview of all news facts can be found on the website issuekalender.nl.