PITCH PERFECT
This is the ideal length for a media pitch email
What is UNDER 200 WORDS
In a crisis, this is the first thing you should always do before responding publicly
What is GET INTERNAL ALIGNMENT and NOTIFY CLIENTS OF RECOMMENDATION
Name one top trade publication a healthcare PR pro should have top of mind
What is STAT NEWS, FIERCE HEALTHCARE, BECKER'S HEALTHCARE or MODERN HEALTHCARE
This document outlines goals, strategies, and tactics — usually the first deliverable for a new client
What is a PR PLAN or COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
A pharma client wants to pitch their new cholesterol drug to the NYT. Their hook: 'it works.' Pitch or Pass?
PASS — no differentiated news hook. Every drug is supposed to work!
This type of journalist is your best first call for a rare disease drug launch
What is a HEALTH/SCIENCE REPORTER or HEALTH TRADE JOURNALIST
This short document, usually 3-5 bullet points, gives spokespeople approved language to use during a crisis
What is a KEY MESSAGE or Q&A DOCUMENT
This term describes a journalist or outlet that covers a story purely because a competitor did
What is a FOLLOW-ON or REACTIVE story
This is the document you send a journalist that summarizes a client's news (preferably in one page)
What is a PITCH LETTER
A hospital just performed the city's first robotic-assisted knee surgery. Local news only — or go national?
LOCAL FIRST. 'Firsts' need a broader human angle to earn national coverage
This is the #1 reason journalists say they ignore PR pitches
What is LACK OF RELEVANCE or NO NEWS HOOK
True or false: In a healthcare crisis, "no comment" is a perfectly acceptable response
What is FALSE — silence implies guilt and damages trust. We build proposed responses to arm our clients with the right way to respond!
Consumer health media has shifted heavily to this type of content format since 2020
What is VIDEO / SHORT-FORM SOCIAL CONTENT
Before a spokesperson does any media interview, a good PR team does this to prepare them
What is MEDIA TRAINING
A health tech CEO wants to go on record saying their app 'cures anxiety.' Pitch or Pass?
PASS — major regulatory red flag. 'Cure' language triggers FDA scrutiny
This strategy involves offering one journalist a story before taking it wider
What is an EXCLUSIVE or EMBARGO
This is the term for a pre-approved plan that outlines exactly who does what when a crisis hits
What is a CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
This outlet broke the story that effectively killed Theranos' reputation
What is THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (reporter: John Carreyrou)
This is the term for a meeting where you proactively introduce a journalist to a client before there's any hard news to announce
What is a DESK SIDE or MEDIA BRIEFING
Your biotech client's trial data is embargoed until Friday. A journalist texts asking to confirm rumors. What do you do?
PASS! HONOR THE EMBARGO. Acknowledge you can't confirm, offer to connect post-lift. Protect the relationship AND the client.