The Super Bowl of Super Bowl pitches

Think you have nothing to pitch for the big game this week?

You might be surprised.

Here’s an inspiring media pitching win with a wonderful twist at the end. It shows the power of leaning into cultural moments, even if your org or client feels too small to show up.

Let’s rewind to this week last year, when the world was gearing up for the Chiefs vs. Eagles.

In Philadelphia, solo PR pro Edel Howlin was working the phones. Called each of her seven small-but-mighty clients and asked one question:

“Are you doing anything different for the Super Bowl?”

Lo and behold, one of her nonprofits, Black Girls Love Math, was holding a Super Bowl-themed “math slam” the day before the game.

Edel got the deets and then emailed a CBS Philly contact who often works weekends. The reporter loved it but warned: with a tiny weekend crew, she’d only get there if nothing bigger broke.

Nothing did. She showed up. Her story aired that night.

It gets better.

While Edel was watching the Super Bowl the next day, she got an Instagram notification. It was a DM from the local TV reporter that said:

“Edel!!! It was on NATIONAL CBS!”

Yep, a dozen girls in West Philly – showcased by a scrappy nonprofit director and equally scrappy PR rep – ended up on CBS Evening News on Super Bowl Sunday.

It’s such a sweet story you can see why the national desk picked it up. If you have two minutes, it’s really worth watching.

Edel also landed the story in the Philadelphia Tribune and with local news radio. (She also scored placements for her seafood market client’s Super Bowl oyster special.)

What does this fun win have to do with you?

It’s not too late for this year! Try a 15-minute brainstorming session and make a few calls to see if your clients or organization have anything that can feed the media’s bottomless appetite for Super Bowl content. The game is on NBC this year, so local TV should start there.

And going forward, put a meeting with yourself on the calendar. Brainstorm possible story angles even if your org or client doesn’t appear to be doing anything cool.

Next week, my Inner Circle gets a training on five “snooze-to-news” principles and 15 actual pitches that created something from nothing and landed serious coverage (NYT, Fortune, TIME, loads of local TV). The training is for members only.

Want access to future trainings like this and more wins like Edel’s? Join the Wait List and we’ll let you know when doors reopen.