Go For The Gold: Pitching Lessons Learned From The Olympics

I, like many of you, have been watching the Olympics. In the midst of all the action and cheering for my favorites, have seen some real PR lessons.

In the U.S. broadcasts (and, I presume, those of many other countries), the reporting of the games has consisted of much more than who ran fastest, jumped highest, and executed the perfect tumbling pass. The reporting also included personal profiles, background stories, and interviews with the key players associated with the athletes in the games.

Thus, when Paul and Morgan Hamm from our own frigid state of Wisconsin were being featured, we saw pictures of the barn where they had originally started experimenting with gymnastics and heard the stories of them literally swinging from the rafters until their father decided that he'd better get them some formal training to keep them from killing themselves. This theme was then repeated frequently throughout the competition.

Then when Paul Hamm won the Men's All Around Gymnastics title we heard the words "It's a gold!... From the attic of a barn in Wisconsin, to the birthplace of gymnastics. One of the greatest comebacks in sports." (Apparently, it's not necessary to use complete sentences in sports reporting.)

These background pieces add life, emotion, and spirt to the event, fleshing out the what we know about an athlete into more than just 60 seconds of their amazing effort, but as a person with a history.

But more importantly for us, these asides give us crystal clear examples of hooks that work with the media and audiences alike.

By paying careful attention, we can take those hooks and build stories around them for our own businesses and causes. This will give us not only more reasons to get in front of the media, but also the possibility of a landing story that will build your company's personality and memorability with the public.

Here are a few of the hooks that I saw being used in the Olympics that you may wish to pitch:

1. The history hook

In the Olympics, this was the most frequently used hook. The Wisconsin barn, the shots of the competitor in past games and the reflections of their coaches and parents all fit into this theme.

PR professionals can also use this hook to great advantage. Every company, product, or cause has a history. Most of them started in some place or situation that could be crafted into an interesting side story about your business. Consider HP's beginning in a Palo Alto garage, Dell's start as a student selling computers from his dorm room (then eventually dropping out), and FedEx's famed beginning as a term paper that only got a C because there would be no demand for such a service.

What's your history? There's a story there!

2. The against all odds hook

This hook is seen in the Olympics in the US beach volleyball player's abdominal injury that almost kept her out of the games, the Iraqi soccer team that was perceived as having no chance to win any games, and the Romanian gymnastic team's dilapidated training facility. Yet still they produced...

Many companies face seemingly insurmountable odds. FedEx shipped just a couple of paid packages on the first day and an early payroll was met through Las Vegas winnings. Chrysler was bailed out of bankruptcy, and many politicians have come from being a total unknown to win major offices.

What challenges have you faced? Have you had a patent denied, been turned down by Wal*Mart, or fought off a major competitor's avalanche of promotions? You've got a story there (and remember, people love an underdog!)

Also, remember that you can use this hook even if you haven't actually won yet. Stories about David fighting Goliath run every day.

3. The first ever hook

The first ever hook happens when something new occurs. Israel's first ever gold medal and the US's first medal in fencing are examples. Quests to overcome longstanding dynasties are also a first story (even if not yet achieved) like the years old record in the high jump and several swimming events.

Whenever you are first with something, be sure to take full advantage of it with the media. You don't even have to be the first worldwide, just the first in your region, like starting the first Starbucks in town.

Again, remember that you don't have to actually achieve the first to get a story from it. If you've got some viable potential to cure cancer, there's definitely a story there before you (hopefully) land the cure - the quest to cure cancer.

4. The power of a team hook

We saw many of these in the games. Certain athletes were on the gymnastics team simply because they could nail a great vault. Other stories profiled the different lives and histories of members of the team, pointing out how that diversity created strength.

This is a very viable story for many of our businesses. The team profiled can be within your company, such as the stories of the group that was tasked to build the new product. It can be outside your company, showing the group of outside customers you consulted to refine the product. Or it can be your partnership with one or more companies to build something that you couldn't do alone.

And finally, let me point out one more thing. As I've watched the Olympics, I've been pulled into stories, have cheered when someone did something amazing, and have been involved.

But last night, I went to my daughter's first volleyball game of the year. They were playing to 25, and had to win by 2. When the game finally ended at 40 to 38, I sat back, soaked with sweat and hoarse from cheering, and I was sitting in the stands! As I waited for the next match to start, I realized that even though this game was played at a whole different level than that seen in the Olympics, I had enjoyed it immensely and had been totally immersed in the experience for the 30 minutes of tie-breaking. This one involved me, those whom I know and love, so I cared.

This brings up the one, probably most powerful pitch:

5. The local hook

You probably saw many reports about your State's members of the Olympic teams and how they performed. This is localization of a broader story to apply it to your specific locale. And of course, the gyms, high schools, relatives, and businesses where those athletes work got publicity in the process.

Never forget the power of localizing a real, powerful national or international news story by showing your involvement in that story. Show how you fit in, how your products and services contribute or could solve that issue, how your employees are affected, etc. This tactic brings a great deal of success, because it ties into news that's already there, as opposed to trying to drum up interest in your own story.

Using pitches like these can be very powerful because they can create much more than the traditional few sentences of publicity. This is the stuff features and real stories are made of!

Did I miss anything? What hooks did you see in the Olympics that I should have included. Drop me a note at don@101PublicRelations.com and let me know!

Need help in refining your pitches to the media? Check out Secrets of Perfect Pitching To Reporters

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Tags: Olympic hook ideas