It’s not easy to be newsworthy: How to be effective in influencing the agenda building in the cultural market?

As a good PR you want your press releases to be in the news agenda but it’s not easy to be newsworthy. Of course, there is a bunch of literature trying to give you tips on how to make relevant the information you possess but there is more than skilled writing needed to make it. Many bodies interact in the negotiation of what is newsworthy and your best asset is, as always, knowledge. 

You must know how to sail your waters. Every market has its particularities and the same trick might not be useful in several contexts. So yes, great part of your job is staying up to date of what is going on in your market of action. Is not so significant for a news TV channel that Ty Segall released a new album in 2018, but for a music festival is of extreme relevance because an album release is newsworthy for the music industry therefore those artists with new albums are more likely to be part of the lineup of the music festivals.

Yes, I am aligning TV with music festivals as both news media channels. Deal with it.

The cultural market has its organizations, industries and agendas (Bantimaroudis, 2017) and, as part of this conglomerate, the music festivals have a heavy weight. They are telling us not only which music is worth listening but which beers, shoes, cloths, etc are supporting the music we love, thus, which brands we can like.

Moreover, music festivals have become a parade of what is hip, innovative and socially valuable in and outside of the music world. Artists from other disciplines can find a stage; the most advanced media gadget can be tested at the festival terrain and you can sign up to support a good cause.

Why am I saying this? Because as a good PR you must know what is relevant in your field and, if this one is culture, you should take a look at what music festivals do. A study in which they compare a couple of the most successful music festivals concluded that what is pushing those festivals forward is their innovation in creating social and environmental value (Brito & Terzleva, 2016). This means that audiences are looking more into consuming ethically and not just consuming, and that stakeholders like corporate sponsors, governments and local communities that are eager to support cultural events, are appreciating that you contribute to this values.

In short, make sure that, if you’re a PR in the cultural sector, you bear in mind the demand for innovative creation of social and environmental values and that you try to add those incentives in your press releases. And this tip comes out thanks to reading a couple of articles and attending a few music festivals, so read about and live your filed because not all are press releases in this world!

References:

Bantimaroudis, P. (2017). Introduction. Setting Agendas in Cultural Markets. New York: Routledge.

Brito, M. de & Terzieva, L. (2016). Key elements for designing a strategy to generate social and environmental value: A comparative study of festivals. Research in Hospitality Management, 6:1, 51-59. DOI: 10.2989/RHM.2016.6.1.7.1295

About the author:

Carla Navarro is a Social Sciences traveler, from a not finished BA in Sociology to a nearly finished MA in Communication Science passing by a completed BA in Social and Cultural Anthropology and a MA in Visual Anthropology. She feels that this will be her last stop and will finally put her knowledge into a proper job, although she decided to start a music documentary festival in Amsterdam.