What are the elements of a persuasive pitch? How does each element contribute to the likelihood of procuring media coverage?

What will be an ideal response?

Having a newsworthy story is not enough to guarantee coverage by media and other connectors. Pitching is a way to convince connectors to cover a story in a manner that is aligned with a firm's positioning and the MPR campaign goals. Gaining such commitment requires persuading connectors of the value in covering a subject. Typically, five obstacles obstruct obtaining media mentions and word-of-mouth.

First, marketers need to establish that they are credible - reliable sources of information - and that their organization or its experts are genuinely qualified to present information on a topic and will be respected by audiences as authorities or experts. Second, marketers must be capable of fostering trusting relationships with connectors. Connectors who do not trust an information source might tend to report negatively to audiences about that source. Third, the beliefs and values of a connector and the connector's audience shape the audience's receptiveness to a message. In other words, there has to be a certain level of alignment between a marketer's story and the beliefs and values held by both connector and target consumers. Fourth, a marketer needs to make perfectly clear to a connector why covering a particular story will benefit the interests of the connector and the connector's audience. Finally, marketers should exercise restraint in the quantity and timing of information they supply to connectors. Too much information can clutter a firm's message and not all connectors are searching for every conceivable pitch all of the time. If marketer's follow these basic rules and can be trusted to deliver an interesting, detailed story, then a connector will often pay attention.