Grand Opening!

This week a new sign appeared at the entrance to the office park where I hang my hat.

“China Wok Grand Opening!”

The thing is, China Wok has been there for as long as I can remember. At least four years. Serving up hot and sour soup that clears your sinuses way better than Sudafed. There’s no new ownership, no name change. Nothing whatsoever new.

It’s not really surprising. The owners of China Wok are trying hard, and they know that their fellow human beings tend to be infatuated with whatever is new. Or seems new.

We in PR tend to make that same shortcut too often. We’ve heard journalists demand fresh ideas and to-the-minute announcements for so long, we may think that if we don’t have any, our hands are tied. It’s called the “news,” not the “olds,” for heaven’s sake.

But anyone who pitches magazines knows that’s not really the case. Month after month, Better Homes & Gardens will run an article about making over a room in your house, Outside is going to have one proclaiming being in nature is good for you, and Cosmo will have one about… you know.

And this principle increasingly applies even to top-tier dailies and broadcast.

Last month a Today show producer told my Inner Circle that exclusivity is not a requirement to pitch her and her colleagues. And that a topic having gained traction on social media can actually be a plus, not a minus.

One of our Inner Circle members placed a story in the New York Times recently about an eye-catching program at her company… that’s been running since 1995.

To be sure, you need to be more creative than the equivalent of slapping a “Grand Opening!” sign on your stale restaurant. But avoiding media relations because you “don’t have anything new” is just another PR mind virus that you can kill and enjoy more coverage and more opportunities yourself.

P.S. Today I’m speaking at the PR News Media Relations Conference in DC and then visiting the Washington Post. I’ll have thoughts on both for you in coming posts.