David Meerman Scott - Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas Into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage

Copyright 2012 by David Meerman Scott. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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The Rules Have Changed

The eyes of the U.S. national news media were focused on America's heartland on the afternoon of August 13, 2011. They were drawn by Iowa's Ames Straw Poll, the first chance for Republican presidential contenders to test voter sentiment.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles east in South Carolina, another story was unfoldingone that quickly overshadowed the Straw Poll. Texas Governor Rick Perry officially announced that he, too, was running for the Republican nomination.

Rick Perry newsjacked the Iowa Straw Poll.

Eight candidates had barnstormed Iowa for weeks, spending buckets of money and time on a state with few electoral votes just because this was the first opportunity in the marathon of primaries to post a score. The media, eager to spot a Republican frontrunner in the 2012 U.S. presidential race, turned out in force.

In the end, it hardly mattered that Michele Bachmann came in first with 28.6 percent or that Ron Paul was runner-up. Who was in the TV news spotlight that night? Rick Perry. Who were all the online news sites and bloggers talking about? Yep, Rick Perry. What story was above the fold in next morning's newspaper? You guessed itRick Perry.

Rick Perry got more media coverage from the Ames Straw Poll than any of the candidatesand he didn't even set foot in Iowa.

By announcing his candidacy on the same day as the Straw Poll, Perry garnered mention in more than 8,000 news stories. Better yet (at least from Perry's perspective), he all but pushed the actual winner off the front page. For all her hard work and long hours in Iowa, Michele Bachmann ended up as little more than an afterthought in media coverage.

On that first day, no one knew if Rick Perry was ready for national prime timebut it was abundantly clear that his media strategists were.

What's going on here?

In a 24/7/365, second-by-second news environment, savvy operators realize there are new ways to generate media attention.

The rules have changed.

The traditional PR modelsticking closely to a preset script and campaign timelineno longer works the way it used to.

Public discourse now moves so fast and so dynamically that all it takes is a single afternoon to blast the wheels off someone's laboriously crafted narrative. The shot can come from anywhere, even a lone blogger on the other side of the world. And it can be put together in under an hour by anyone who sees an open net.

That's the power of newsjacking. It creates a level playing fieldliterally anyone can newsjackbut that new level favors players who are observant, quick to react, and skilled at communicating. It's powerful tool that can be used to throw an opponent or simply to draft off the news momentum to further your own ends.

Newsjacking is powerful, but only when executed in real time . It is about taking advantage of opportunities that pop up for a fleeting moment, then disappear. In that instant, if you are clever enough to add a new dimension to the story in real time, the news media will write about you.

Newsjacking favors quick, observant, and skilled communicators.

Paris Hilton was arrested with her boyfriend in Las Vegas in August 2010, he on misdemeanor DUI charges, she on felony drug-possession charges.

In a tweet to fans on September 1, Hilton said: These rumors going around are so ridiculous, untrue and cruel. I'm not going to even pay attention to them, because I know the truth.

Whatever, Paris. I could not care less about the perils of being Paris, except for what happened soon after the story brokewhich I absolutely love.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. spokeswoman Jennifer Dunne told the Associated Press that Hilton was to be barred from Wynn Resorts properties Wynn Las Vegas and Encore.

Newsjacking.

Now the media has another news hook. Not only has the party girl been arrested, but she is banned from Wynn Resorts properties! This melodramatic punishment quickly becomes an element of nearly every story about Hilton's arrest. It's huge news. Hey, isn't Paris Hilton a hotel heiress? Meow, what a deliciously catty story!

A quick Google news search of that period for Paris Hilton Wynn brings up a remarkable 5,286 stories from news outlets around the globe. The story may be about Paris Hilton, but Wynn Resorts crops up in more than 5,000 news stories.

Anyone familiar with how corporate PR spending effectiveness is measured by frequency of mentions in the media will grasp the implications. In one day with one call, I'd guess Dunne likely snagged more media mentions than Wynn's entire PR budget managed to achieve in the entire preceding year. And apart from the cost of Dunne's salary, it didn't cost a dime.

Newsjacking can be worth millions of dollars.

Oakley, makers of high-end sunglasses, had to spend a bit more than a dime in October 2010whatever it costs the company for 33 pairs.

But as 33 Chilean miners emerged into the bright sunshine of Southern Hemisphere spring after 69 days trapped in subterranean darkness, each one sported a cool pair of Oakley shades (Oakley Radar with Black Iridium lenses in Path and Range lens shapes, to be exact). Research by Front Row Analytics (featured on CNBC) suggests that this simple real-time product placement newsjack was worth 41 million U.S. dollars.