Package your news for PA’s ‘Christmas basket’

Timing is everything in the PR world, knowing when to launch your campaign is vital, one wrong move may see you making that dreaded call to your client to explain why their campaign got no coverage, and let’s face it, you don’t need any more awkward conversations, Christmas day will be filled with those!

We know how hard it is for PR’s and communications professionals, you can have a fantastic story with great images and video and still not get pickup because it clashes with the news agenda. Going up against other hard-hitting news stories that push yours out of the mix is like a kick in the baubles!

Christmas is fast approaching, you should be focusing on pressing issues like your Christmas parties and what to get your colleagues for secret Santa. So, we thought we’d make your life easier by sharing some nuggets of wisdom on how to increase your chances of getting PA to run your stories over December and the new year.

One way to increase your chances of pick up, is by getting your story in PA’s ‘Christmas basket’…

What is the ‘Christmas basket’?

The Christmas basket is where PA newsdesks hoard a range of news stories, including videos and images ready for slow release over the Christmas period to put out on the wire when there’s less happening in the news.

A Nirvana for PRs, getting your news story in the basket of festive wonder means you can almost guarantee that your client will get some sweet coverage over Christmas. So, put your feet up and tuck into your Christmas dinner while we do all the work. PR’s are allowed to switch off for Christmas too you know.

Martin Keene Group Picture Editor at PA says:

“The news agenda will be winding down between now and the Christmas holiday. We will be looking back at the best bits of the year gone by, and towards whatever 2019 has to offer.

“It’s traditionally a quiet time, but there are still newspapers and websites to fill. We are on the lookout for exciting picture stories that we can prepare in advance, put in our ‘Christmas basket’ and release during those days when the wires are slow.

“They don’t need an immediate festive theme – that can make them time-sensitive and we will have seen enough Christmas jumpers – but need to be driven around an interesting picture idea,  an engaging story about a member of your staff who went well over and above the call of duty during the past year, or has an amazing project planned for 2019.”

Give your clients the gift of extra coverage this Christmas

Being part of PA, TNR often get asked for advice on how to get content on the wire. PA have a clear style of content that they follow and being the most trusted source for news with a legacy of 150 years as the UK’s largest news agency, PA always have their values at the heart of everything they do: fast, fair and accurate. A bit like Santa.

For your story to be nestled in the magnificent metaphorical Christmas content hamper, you need to have good newsworthy content that fits with PA’s style. This is something TNR can deliver for you; when we create your editorial video content we also create a PA edit for free and offer it to the video desk here for you at no extra cost, we also offer your images to the picture desk at PA if you do a photo shoot with us. Being part of PA means we know what they want and we consult with the news desks here beforehand to ensure they are interested in running your news on the wire. We can’t guarantee that PA will run your content, however this year alone, we had a 99% success rate of content we created for clients being run the wire as PA content! Impressive right?

Something we can guarantee though, is the quality of our work and highly experienced team of editorial video and photography experts. Don’t take our word for it, we deliver content for most of the top 150 UK PR agencies and leading brands and we had 30 wins and nominations for our content at PR Week Awards, PRCA National Awards and PR Moments Awards in 2018 alone.