4 pitch ideas when your client has absolutely no news to share

It’s exciting when a client has a groundbreaking announcement or product launch.

It’s go time for our team to find pitch targets, get everything ready and execute successfully, but not all clients have big news all the time.

In quiet times or for companies that rarely have news, it’s the PR team’s job to come up with new ways to talk about our clients and to pitch opportunities for them to share their expertise.

The first few ideas might come easily, but after months of pitching and nothing new, the idea well can run a little dry. How can you come up with winning pitch ideas in a dry spell? Employ these ideas:

1. Brainstorm with your team.

Even though we slack and chat and have calls, proactive pitch ideas aren’t always the main topic of discussion. Set aside time for your team to have a rapid-fire brainstorm session, or just discuss what you have been pitching lately. Your teammate might have thought of an idea and needs some help perfecting the pitch, which can spark new promotional angles.

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2. Goof around.

Breaking up the seriousness and joking around with your team can help you come up with fresh ideas. When the Fyre Festival drama was unfolding, I joked to my colleague that we should pitch one of our clients (a private island) as a safe waterfront destination where you won’t stay in a refugee tent.

I was joking, but it turned out not to be a bad pitch idea. Joking around about other hazards you might want to avoid on a vacation, we thought of a few more ideas.

3. What’s trending?

To make sure that what you’re sharing is relevant, you should know what people in the industry are discussing. Consider newsjacking, in which you take a popular topic and use it as a peg for what you want to pitch.

How can your client share expertise about this subject? It has to be related somehow, but using the topic to lead into information about your client can be effective.

4. Think of the past.

Regardless of the industry, it’s common to pitch our experts or spokespeople to discuss upcoming trends or the latest news.

Of course, this is a solid angle, but if it’s getting stale you can flip it around and consider the past. What was this industry like, and how did we get here? It might be a good way to position your client as an expert, by showing what already failed and the new direction the industry is taking.

How do you come up with new pitch ideas? Please offer ideas in the comments section.

Laura Shubel is a senior account coordinator at Caster Communications. You can connect with her on Twitter: @LauraShoebell or LinkedIn. Connect with Caster Communications on Twitter, too: @CasterComm.

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