Blog: Lessons of 2012: Press Releases

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When we released Regardez, Ecoutez et Repetez back in 2009 I basically spent two and a half GRAND to get ONE piece of good advice: don't just send press releases to music magazines.

That came from the PR company we hired to promote the album for us - everything they actually DID was insultingly woeful and cack-handed, but the ADVICE stuck in my head, so that when I came to plan the Massive Promotional Campaign I decided to have a go at it myself.

As you can see from the Dinosaur Planet Press Releases Archive, I wrote a LOT or press releases. Some of them were pretty normal - announcing the album itself and various videos - but MOST of them were at least TRYING to reach different audiences. I worked out (CORRECTLY) that the Normal Music Media weren't going to be interested in us as we were NEITHER silly trousered young haircuts with voluminous BEARDS, NOR an act that had had huge hits several decades ago, gone through THE DRUGS and were now making The Best Music Of Our Later Career. ALSO we don't actually know any STAFF at these organisations, nor was I going to cough up more CA$H for someone who MIGHT.

THUS I looked to other avenues which you wouldn't usually associate with ROCK AND ROLL. I did a press release focusing on the fact that it was all about Peterborough for PETERBOROUGH -based outlets. I did one about small children liking the album, using an ACE photograph, and sent it to family supplements and magazines. We LEAPT on stuff like a recently published Theory Of A Dinosaur Planet or similarities with Doctor Who.

I sent out THOUSANDS of press releases and almost NONE of them got used ANYWHERE. The important thing to note here is the word "ALMOST" - because SOME of them DID. I wrote one about how Don't, Darren, Don't related to "Red Shirts" in Star Trek and sent it to sci-fi websites, and it got features in io9 and got us our most hits for YEARS. I sent the story about the SCHOOL PLAY version to various teachers' magazines, and this week it appeared in the NUT ACTUAL Teacher Magazine. We've already had a BATCH of schools get in touch as a direct result!

We had a really good response from comics sites too, almost as if People Who Like AWESOME ACTION are GOING to like a rock opera about Space Dinosaurs, as well as Science Types and General Geeks. It's made for a rather ODD list of recommendations for future press releases, but one I'm rather proud of. Other bands may be able to put quotes from Q and NME on their posters, WE can have ones from The Smithsonian, The Chartered Institute of Librarians and The Peterborough Evening Telegraph!

SO the lesson learned HERE is pretty much the same as all the others - you CAN do it yourself, and you SHOULD do it yourself, but don't feel you have to APE Traditional Music Industry Professionals, try DIFFERENT things. And, even more importantly, don't be upset if you send out HUNDREDS of press releases and only ONE person shows any interest - that one person's interest could turn into something AMAZING!

posted 14/1/2013 by MJ Hibbett

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Comments:

Not sure what you have done with Dinosaur Planet in schools, but we got a giant copy of Julia Donaldson's "Room On The Broom" from the library the other day and there's a really good page at the back about how best to adapt it to a school play or a short musical piece.
posted 14/1/2013 by Pauly

I liderally just hit a button authorising the release of FUNDS for a PR campaign... and then read the above. :/ Maybe I should ring some Peterborough-based outlets.
posted 14/1/2013 by Charlie

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