Newsjacking for Credit Unions

I’ve mentioned many times in this column how important it is for your credit union to get mentioned in the news on a consistent basis. When reporters repeatedly use your credit union as a source for financially related stories, consumers begin to see your financial institution as a leader, a trusted leader. And, as we all know, everybody wants to do business with somebody they trust.

But how do you get mentioned in the news regularly? With today’s 24/7, real-time media cycle, it’s easier than ever to capitalize on breaking news. It’s called newsjacking: injecting your ideas into breaking news so you can become part of the bigger story.

Renowned marketing and PR author David Meerman Scott has a new book out titled, Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media. In his book Scott shows us how “to gain attention by harnessing the wind.” What he means by this is to always remain vigilant regarding news so you can capitalize on a breaking story for your organization’s benefit. As a marketer, not only do you have to know your industry trends, but you also need to know news.

For example, Scott describes how Texas Governor Rick Perry stole the spotlight during the last Presidential election (2012 for those of you who forgot) on the Republican side. At the outset of the campaigns, the national news was focused on the Iowa Ames Straw Poll – the first opportunity for Republicans to gain insight on voter direction. As the Iowa numbers were announced, Perry announced his candidacy for our nation’s top office while on a visit to South Carolina. Obviously, this was big news for Republicans, as Perry was an immediate frontrunner.

Other Republican candidates had already spent weeks and “buckets of money” blanketing Iowa trying to get an early lead in the primaries. But Perry’s announcement, well timed of course, captured the nation’s attention – and headlines – more so than the Iowa results. The true beauty of it: He never stepped into the state of Iowa. That’s newsjacking.

Remember those Chilean miners who were trapped in the mine for 69 days? According to Scott, the folks at Oakley were watching this story closely because they had something to contribute. You see, when you spend over two months underground with no light, your eyes become super sensitive to light. So as the rescue became imminent, Oakley jumped into action.

The sunglasses company produced 33 pairs of specially made shades for the miners as they emerged from the mine to protect their eyes from the sun’s brightness. Before each miner emerged, they donned a pair of Oakleys to wear to protect their eyes. Of course, the media was there in force to cover the rescue and Oakley fully capitalized with massive recognition via news photos and video – which, according to Scott’s book, resulted in an estimated $41+ million revenue grab from a $4,950 investment in specially made sunglasses. They also had 119,000 Google references, which were all shareable via social media. Not bad.

That’s how you newsjack.

Here’s another one Scott pointed out: Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson was hosting a party on his private Necker Island retreat when lightning struck the wooden structure where the party was being held. One of the guests was actress Kate Winslet, who heroically rescued Branson’s 90-year-old mother from the resulting fire.

Obviously, news outlets got wind of the story and Winslet’s great save. The London Fire Brigade also got wind of it and offered Winslet an opportunity to train with firefighters because of her heroics. She accepted and the story blossomed from there, allowing the London Fire Brigade, which has more than 300 women firefighters, to capitalize on Winslet’s stardom and promote fire safety at a level that would have normally cost millions of pounds for an advertising campaign.

OK, one more: Oreo cookie capitalized on the 2013 Super Bowl blackout with its clever ad (which the company shared on Twitter) – “You can still dunk in the dark.” This quick thinking gained worldwide attention along with tons of media placements for the company. It almost became a bigger story than the Super Bowl.

Again, that’s newsjacking.

So what does this mean for credit unions? It means that any time there is a financially related story on the rise, your credit union needs to be there front and center to capitalize on the initial media rush for maximum coverage.

Any news in your community or even nationally that has to do with:

• mortgage lending issues (homeownership lending advice);
• debt epidemic (due to recent recession, how can your CU help consumers get out of debt);
• philanthropy efforts (jump in and give);
• significant stock market dip or rise (investment advice);
• natural disasters (how to gain access to funds for emergency needs, be there to provide help);
• technology trends (hello Apple Pay; provide your members with your credit card for use with Apple Pay to be the top card with this new technology);
• tax season (tax advice);
• back to school (college loans); and
• insurance (auto and home).

As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities – and more – to newsjack for your credit union’s benefit to gain more exposure in the consumer’s eye. It also positions your credit union as a primary media resource. That’s huge.

What has your credit union been doing to newsjack? We want to know to pass on the word.

Mike Lawson, principal and founder of the PR/marketing firm DML Communications and the online CUbroadcast show, has two decades of journalism, public relations and marketing experience. His unique and robust knowledge allows him to meet the varied needs of editors, end-users and clients. Lawson's expertise enables him to enhance his clients' market exposure through media relations, social media tools, advertising efforts, target marketing strategies and more. He also speaks on PR, marketing and media issues to audiences nationwide.