Marti Mayne
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Placing a Value on Publicity
Media coverage is worth money: Richard Gazer of Agua Azul in southern Mexico had plenty of chores
waiting on a busy July day, but chose instead to check the publicity leads
posted for member inns on BedandBreakfast.com, and learned about a writer
looking for innkeepers now based in warm, sunny destinations, but who
originally came from western Canada. While a response to this request seemed
highly unlikely, Richard and Brooke Gazar, expats from Calgary, Alberta, fit
the bill exactly. Richard contacted the writer, and was delighted with the
outcome: " Our write-up and two color photos will be in the November issue of
Western Living, western Canada`s premier lifestyle magazine, with a readership
of over 750,000 people. I could never afford this type of advertising!"
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Public relations professionals report on the value of a mention in an article,
including the number of readers or viewers, as well as the cost of that
coverage if it were purchased as advertising. Given the cost of a full-page
color ad in Western Living, the article about the Agua Azul is worth about
$20,000. Hundreds of other BedandBreakfast.com members have been equally
pleased to find their name in print; the media attention often has a value of
10-20 times the cost of membership. In the past year BedandBreakfast.com has
scored over 100 million impressions for the B&B industry, with a dollar
value of close to $200,000.
Editorial coverage valued higher than advertising: Studies show that
potential travelers are more likely to be convinced by a newspaper or magazine
article or TV story, than by an advertisement. A PR Week study stated
that 68 % of participants placed more weight on news coverage than advertising
when determining their trust of individual companies. The Travel Industry
Association of America of America (TIA) surveyed 1300 Americans in July, 2001,
and found that 61% of travelers (82 million U.S. adults) said they read
articles about travel, or watched or listened to travel shows on TV or radio.
"The figures show beyond a doubt, that newspaper travel sections, travel
magazines, television travel shows and travel websites all play an important
role when Americans plan their vacations," said TIA president William S.
Norman.
Long-term benefits of editorial coverage: You can benefit from an article
in which your B&B was featured (or mentioned) for several years after
publication. For example, Sandy Soule wrote an article about 30 great getaway
inns, published July, 2000, as the cover story in
New York Magazine
. Three years later, many of the B&Bs recommended in the article are still
using this recommendation on their websites and in their promotional materials.
Similarly, four BedandBreakfast.com members were recommended as romantic
favorites for the November 2003 issue of Redbook in a quarter-page article. The
estimated value to each inn, based on the $40,000 cost of a full page ad, was
$2500, and each property booked a number of room nights as a result of the
coverage. Best of all, they can now include the following phrase in their
marketing: "Selected by Redbook as one of the four most romantic B&Bs in
the U.S."
Quality photography adds value: Don't underestimate the role of
photography in promoting your B&B to the media. Good pictures play a key
role in expanding the coverage your B&B might capture in a story. A few
years ago, a B&B called "The Forest, A Country Inn," in Intervale NH, sent
information about a special package to the Boston Herald, accompanied by a
professional photo of a lovely tree in full color during fall foliage. The
photo caught the attention of the travel editor. The result? Instead of getting
a column inch of space for their package, the Herald ran a quarter-page article
about the inn, including the striking foliage photo. The phone rang for six
weeks. Room sales totaled $10,000, not counting repeat guests.
Inspired (or perhaps spooked?) by a BedandBreakfast.com press release, USA TODAY
ran a Halloween article about the Ten Best B&Bs to Sleep With A Ghost. The release
was compiled from innkeepers' responses to our publicity lead requesting
stories about haunted inns. The USA Today editors then asked for pictures, and
two of the inns that responded promptly with professionally shot, seasonally
appropriate, high-resolution photography were included. Prospect Hill B&B of
Mountain City, TN, ended up with an 18" photo of their inn, with an ad value
over $16,000 in the print edition, with a circulation of 6.8 million readers!
Time equals reservations: The "Ten Best B&Bs to Sleep With A Ghost"
press release is the perfect example of how the effort taken to respond to a
publicity lead can result in huge coverage. Over the past two years, similar
releases were been picked up by newspapers, Internet sites like Frommers.com
and CNN.com, and radio stations from Ireland to British Columbia. A small
investment of your time can have a major payoff when it comes to answering
publicity leads. Remember, even if you are not mentioned directly, promotion of
the B&B industry benefits us all.
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Respond to BedandBreakfast.com publicity leads. Be sure to keep your
answers concise, responding to the question that has been asked. Your email must
include a complete signature, including your name, the B&B's name, address,
phone number, email and website addresses. Answer all leads promptly to
increase your chances of being considered.
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Keep website content updated with search engines. A study completed
recently by Middleberg/Ross showed that 81% of journalists use search engines
daily because it gives them more targeted control over the information they
find than the deluge of press releases hitting them.
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Have professionally-shot photography available both digitally and as photos.
Having good exterior and interior shots ready send when requested, can be the
determining factor in whether your B&B is included, and how much coverage
you get. Be sure to have photos available as high- and low-resolution digital
files, as well as slides or printed photos for those who can't accept digital
photos. (Photos on your website are low-resolution, and are unsuitable for
printing.) Seasonally appropriate photos, showing your inn with summer flowers,
fall foliage, and/or Christmas decorations are an added plus.
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Plan ahead. The national magazines in which you yearn to be included are
already working on next year's issues. Your website should include an entire
year's worth of information and dates for all your special packages.
Cross-marketing seasons will not only help land you a place in the travel
stories, it may alleviate the last-minute booking syndrome.
BedandBreakfast.com Media Coverage
Our efforts to promote the B&B industry really paid off in October.
BedandBreakfast.com exceeded its former record month by more than four million
impressions, posting more than 18 million impressions last month, with articles
appearing from throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The New York Times wrote a positive story about
B&Bs riding out the travel downturn, quoting Marti Mayne and recommending
BedandBreakfast.com B&B as the first choice for information, including Hot
Deals and the BedandBreakfast.com Report
Washington Post writer Gary Lee wrote an article about how to find a good
B&B, which was syndicated and appeared in newspapers throughout the U.S. The
article listed BedandBreakfast.com first under online guides, stating it was
"user-friendly, allowing for selection according to amenities and location".
Atlanta Journal Constitution featured five of the inns mentioned in the
fall foliage getaways release from the Southeast.
Redbook Magazine featured The Goldmoor Inn, Aunt Sadie's Garden Glade,
Johnson Mill B&B and The Hancock Inn as the four most romantic B&Bs in
their November issue after receiving BedandBreakfast.com's top romantic picks
release.
Frommers.com featured many of the ten best B&Bs to sleep with a ghost
from BedandBreakfast.com's press release in an article on Chillingly Cheap
Treats
National Geographic Traveler featured Thanksgiving Specials provided by
BedandBreakfast.com for the Colonial House Inn & Restaurant and The Old Bridge
Inn on their online A List, October 7, 2003. The October issue of the magazine
explained that a "$100 inn room is usually cheaper than a $100 hotel room,"
because of all the added value B&Bs offer, and referred readers to
BedandBreakfast.com for more information.
As you can see, through our PR efforts, your packages and features are listed on
some of the nation's most powerful media - sometimes with links directly to
your site, and always with links to BedandBreakfast.com. We hope you'll keep
your news coming, and respond when the publicity leads we send pertain to you.
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