Like many other families with school-age children, summertime is our vacation time. In the media and PR world, summertime is known as a downtime when major efforts slow and preparations begin for Fall initiatives. Over the years, clients have resisted pushing out news in the summer in favor of waiting for the September buzz of activity when more eyeballs will be reached. But, is it really an effective strategy?
No one can dispute that readership or viewership wanes in the summer. But I have to wonder – with life less hectic and fewer conferences to attend and competing announcements to navigate, is quantity a better argument than quality? Personally, this is the time of year that I have (and relish) to really sink my teeth into industry articles and news – spending those extra 5-10 minutes to fully read and digest a relevant business or trade article, rather than quickly reading the headline and lead in the midst of ending one conference call, sending an email and running to an appointment. And, with journalists inundated with thousands of pitches and barely able to give anything its proper due during other times of year, summertime yields the opportunity for more extensive in-depth coverage of a news announcement or a trend story.
In fact, over the years, some of our best work and most extensive coverage for our clients has occurred in the summer. Last year, the agency helped client Localeze become a significant part of the Facebook Places launch in August, which yielded tremendous coverage and helped the business listings identity management provider become a household name in the industry. So, perhaps summertime deserves a new reputation among PR folks– the untapped prime-time?