If you grew up in one town, attended high school in another, graduated from college in yet another and were hired to work in a fourth community, what would that make you?
First, what it would not make you is especially unusual: many others have traversed a similar path. Rarely does someone stay put through the various stages of life.
From a public relations standpoint, however, it would make you potentially newsworthy in four different markets. Once you develop a general news release, it’s a simple matter of inserting (or at least emphasizing) the relevant local hook to secure coverage in those multiple markets.
Consider it a variation on the well-worn mantra “Think Globally, Act Locally.” Only in this case, it’s Think Local–and keep Thinking Local–until you’ve plumbed the depths of all the possible news hooks.
A recent Inside Edge PR case in point: the hiring of a Director of Economic Development for the Kenosha Area Business Alliance.
So, circling back to this post’s original line: if you grew up in Niles, attended high school in Wilmette, enrolled at Marquette University and were hired to work in Kenosha, that would make you Brian Rademacher, whose KABA hiring has made the media rounds in all four of those locales.
For example, here’s the Wilmette TribLocal version of KABA’s hiring of Brian.
What do you think–are there instances where this focus on finding a bevy of local hooks might go too far?
