“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
–Wayne Gretzky
That philosophy surfaced on the PR front last week with a news release providing insights and counsel on snow and ice management. The release had been in the works for over a week for McAdam Landscaping, a longtime Inside Edge PR client.
Then Old Man (Early) Winter cooperated with the blizzard to make it especially timely. You can see the release online at TribLocal.
Here is a particularly interesting detail that I learned in the course of developing the release:
Clients must also be conscious of new legislation in the state of Illinois. With the passage of the Snow Removal Service Liability Limitation Act in 2016, property owners can no longer transfer liability to a contractor for losses that were not the fault of the contractor.
“This is very important legislation for our industry and even more important for clients to be aware of,” said (Scott) McAdam Jr. “Prior to this Act’s passing, a property owner could transfer all liability to the contractor, even if the contractor fulfilled their obligations and were not at fault. With this Act, the client assumes some of the liability for potential losses, so choosing a quality contractor will greatly reduce that liability.”
Speaking of liability in another vein, you don’t want to get caught flat-footed when a “change in the weather” (metaphorical or literal) offers an opportunity to serve your client’s want (coverage) while also taking care of the media’s need (timely, newsworthy content).
The media relations moral of the story: don’t wait until news breaks–anticipate the break, and be ready to deliver quality content when it does.
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