“As Seen On” – Top Press Coverage from June 2022
Our publicists were on fire in June! It felt like every time I cleared a top tier or wishlist placement from my inbox, another one came in! Check out some of the best of our top press coverage from June 2022.
Freshé receives PEOPLE Food Award
National award in a top-tier publication? Tick! PEOPLE Magazine published their annual PEOPLE food awards and chose Freshé’s salmon-based Moroccan Tagine as “best-tinned seafood.”
This placement is particularly exciting because the food startup is placed right next to powerhouse CPG brands like Duncan Hines and Bertolli. Not only that, but the PEOPLE Food Awards appear both online and in print.
When Orca Communications publicist Michelle Molison got an email from the PEOPLE editorial team with information on how to apply, she just knew she had to share it with Freshé. “We completed the info together and I submitted it to the editorial team for consideration. Then I got an email saying they were interested in samples. We sent samples to several reviewers for a taste test,” Molison says. “They’ve worked hard to create a healthy, delicious, sustainably sourced, and innovative product and want to continue sharing it with others.”
The award provides wonderful bragging rights. Plus, millions of people have now had a chance to learn about the brand.
Current Foods Exclusive in Forbes, nod from The Washington Post, and other press
Sushi-grade vegan seafood brand, Current Foods, had another incredible month of press coverage. This is due in part to two major newsworthy events. The company attended the Summer Fancy Food Show, which drove coverage in several trusted food industry publications. They also received national top-tier press coverage in The Washington Post as one of ‘6 food trends to watch for in 2022 and Beyond.” We always encourage our clients to tell their PR team about any and all trade shows they plan to attend. Some of them double as press events and can be a great way to earn brand recognition.
Aside from the trade show press coverage, this month Current Foods had an exclusive story published in Forbes. The article includes interviews and a preview of a major investment.
Securing an exclusive is just part of the PR strategy we implemented for this rapidly-growing food tech/D2C vegan seafood company.
Herb & Lou’s in Oprah Daily
You know it’s been an incredible month for your publicists when a mention in Oprah isn’t the only braggable win of the month! Herb & Lou’s Infused Cubes received a coveted spot on the Oprah Daily Father’s Day Gift Guide.
This is an example of never knowing how editors may use our pitches. We originally contacted this editor about the holiday gift guide, but they felt it more fitting for their Father’s Day Gift Guide. PR is all about working with editors to find the right angle for the right publication at the right time. Nothing is a guarantee when dealing with earned-media, but this certainly shows an example of a PR win!
Fly with Wine in Food & Wine Magazine
Summer travel is back! And that’s good news for our innovative Fly with Wine client. They have a wine suitcase that editors can’t seem to get enough of! This month the popular Food & Wine Magazine included the VinGardeValise in a roundup of great wine gifts to give this year.
Food & Wine is considered a top-tier publication. Their website has a 6.5 million reach.
Riverstreamz in Bloomberg Businessweek
We work with all kinds of companies in different industries. Last month, we welcomed technology staffing company Riverstreamz to our roster. This company came to us looking for a PR boost and we delivered. A reporter with Bloomberg Businessweek interviewed the CEO in an article about Returnship vs. Internship.
This is valuable thought-leadership and credibility for the staffing company to discuss how it keeps 65+ workers (among other age groups, of course) in the workforce! “Orca was really fortunate that our client Riverstreamz was flexible and fast to respond to the reporter’s request to interview one of its older employee placements as the reporter needed something to open her story,” says publicist, Rita Tennyson. “Being responsive to the reporter makes all the difference in making a hit the most effective or, in some cases, even happening at all!”
Cuddle Clones on WGN
Many companies come to us looking for TV coverage. Some morning lifestyle TV is changing to a pay-for-play model, but earned opportunities still exist! This spot for Cuddle Clones on WGN in Chicago, the 3rd largest TV market in the country, is an example of an earned-media placement.
TV producers are extremely picky about visuals. Your product must have an exciting visual component to it to be considered for TV. The product should also be a conversation starter. Cuddle Clones definitely delivers on that!
Lumicharge featured by an Amazon Influencer
The folks behind Lumicharge know that live shopping is a growing eCommerce and social media trend. So, when they asked their Orca publicist to find live shopping influencer opportunities for them, we went to work! “Through necessity comes innovation and the LumiCharge Smart Lamp fulfills a multitude of wants and needs for a broad media consumer base,” says publicist Bridget Argana-Hope. An affiliate marketing platform certainly helps facilitate coverage, especially if the client is asking for an Amazon influencer. Bridget says, “As part of my pitching strategy, I mention the clients’ affiliate programs, which seem to be a current requirement for coverage in most major media, blogs, and Amazon editorial and influencers.”
Influencers are broadening their services and channels. And just about every social media platform that exists today is growing its presence in eCommerce. This can be part of your PR strategy or as part of a standalone influencer marketing campaign.
Putt-a-Bout in Fox News
Study after study shows that PR is more cost-effective than advertising. One challenge of PR is that you don’t have full editorial control over the end product, but one of the pros is that a single PR mention is worth thousands of dollars. In this case, the ad equivalency for Putt-a-Bout’s placement in a Father’s Day product roundup on Foxnews.com has an ad equivalency of $93.1K*.
Runners Up…
We really had just too many big placements to feature them all this month. Check out Raycon in Men’s Journal, GRILLKIT in HuffPost, Buddy Beat Light in LA Weekly, and SkyPots in AllRecipes for more examples of press coverage secured by our publicists in June 2022. You can also contact us to learn more about our coverage, our clients, and our strategies. We’d love to put a game plan in place for your brand!
*ad equivalency values from Cision