Cabot Calcium Crisis Challenge

Getting Ink on the Calcium Crisis Challenge!

Who couldn’t use a little publicity for a good cause?

If you would like the media to cover you Calcium Crisis Challenge event, here are a few tips and templates to help you along.

  1. Your best bets are the local daily and weekly newspaper(s) in your area. Local TV stations are more likely to cover the event if you provide them an active visual (i.e., a song or skit performance).

  2. A press release should be sent to the Health Editor, Food Editor and/or Lifestyle Editor at your local newspaper seven to 10 days in advance of the event. (You can find out who to contact either by calling the newspaper’s main number or looking at the bylines in the paper.)

  3. To invite media to cover your event, send a media advisory the week prior to the Lifestyle Editor, Health Editor and/or Food Editor at newspapers, and the Assignment Editor at TV stations. A few days prior to the event, follow up with phone calls to determine whether the media plans to attend. This also serves as a good reminder.

  4. Note on all media materials when you’ve sent the same material to several editors at the same publication.

  5. If the event has numerous components or highlights happening at a specific time, be sure to notify the media.

  6. If the media do not attend the event, you can still get coverage! Send a photo along with the names of the winners and the press release the day of, or day after, the event. A black & white 5" x 7" glossy photograph is ideal, but can take time to develop. Most newspapers use digital photography, as long as the resolution is high enough.

  7. Photography should represent the event’s vitality and must be accompanied by a caption including a brief description of the photo and a left-to-right identification of all the people in the photo.

  8. Consider asking the year book staff, pep club or a couple of enthusiastic drama club members to help publicize the event. Doing so is a great marketing exercise for students ... and perhaps could earn extra credit?

For help contact: Calcium Crisis Challenge Coach — Cabot Creamery — 1 Home Farm Way — Montpelier, Vermont 05620 — 802-433-6102 — coach@cabotcalciumchallenge.com.