Playbook Pr Media Integration

PR and Earned Media Integration Playbook

Use When

• Build or improve a repeatable Pr Media Integration workflow for a client or delivery team.
• Turn an approved objective into roles, controls, handoffs and measurable actions.

Do Not Use When

• The task is a single-channel presence plan; use the closest platform-* skill.
• The task is upstream positioning or channel choice; use the closest strategy-* skill.

Required Inputs

Capability and Permission Boundaries

Read supplied artefacts and search relevant evidence. Treat review, audit and planning as read-only. Editing the requested draft is allowed; publishing, messaging, production changes, personal-data processing, spending, destructive actions and certification claims require explicit authority. Use network access only for authorised verification.

Degraded Mode

If accounts, files, network, rendering or current evidence are unavailable, return the narrowest useful qualified Pr Media Integration playbook plus an evidence-gap list. Mark each unavailable check not assessed; never convert it into a pass.

Decision Rules

Workflow

1. Confirm the consumer, objective, market, decision owner and permission boundary; stop if the objective or owner is missing.
2. Inspect supplied evidence and verify volatile claims; record missing inputs rather than filling them with assumptions.
3. Apply the decision rules, preserve useful existing material and draft the Pr Media Integration playbook.
4. Test each action against platform, privacy, safeguarding, brand and approval constraints; stop and escalate a blocking risk.
5. Run the quality and anti-slop gates. If a check fails, correct the draft and rerun it before handoff.

Outputs

Evidence Produced

Quality Standards

Use British English and the specified market context. Recommendations must be executable with the stated capacity, current claims must be verified or qualified, and acceptance conditions must be observable. A worked example must use a labelled scenario, not fabricated client evidence.

Anti-Patterns

• Inventing a client fact, benchmark, budget or approval. Fix: cite the source or label the assumption and its effect.
• Copying one channel or client pattern unchanged. Fix: tie each choice to the named audience, objective and evidence.
• Stating volatile platform or legal details from memory. Fix: verify the current official source or omit the claim.
• Treating an inaccessible account, file or metric as healthy. Fix: mark it not assessed and bound the conclusion.
• Publishing, spending, messaging or changing production state from planning authority. Fix: obtain explicit action authority.
• Delivering actions without owner, timing or acceptance. Fix: assign all three or return the item as an unresolved gap.

References

• Anti-AI-slop production gate
• East African English standard
• Use the directly cited sources and companion skills in the domain guidance below; verify time-sensitive claims before use.

Required Input

Before generating any deliverable, ask for the following:

1. Client business name and industry — trading name and sector (e.g., fintech, agri-business, hospitality, healthcare)
2. Country/city — default is Uganda/East Africa; specify region if different
3. Existing media relationships or press coverage — any journalists already known, publications already featured in, or previous press clips
4. Story or news hook — what is newsworthy right now? (product launch, milestone, award, data, social impact, partnership)
5. Target publication or programme — preferred outlet(s), or ask the consultant to recommend based on objective
6. Primary objective — brand awareness, investor visibility, public sector positioning, crisis defence, or other
7. Spokesperson — full name, title, and preferred contact method (email/WhatsApp) of the person to be quoted or interviewed

Do not generate the playbook until all seven inputs are confirmed.

Section 1 — The Social-PR Integration Model

Earned media — press coverage in outlets such as Daily Monitor, NBS TV, or The Africa Report — is the most credible channel available to a brand. Audiences in Uganda and across East Africa trust a newspaper article or television feature far more than a sponsored Facebook post; the editorial endorsement signals third-party validation that no amount of paid media can replicate. Yet earned media has a short shelf life: a press article appears for one day, a broadcast feature airs once, and both disappear from public attention unless the brand actively amplifies them. Social media is the amplification engine that extends the life and reach of every piece of earned media, turning a single day's coverage into weeks of credible, shareable content.

The integration works in both directions. A strong social media presence makes a brand significantly more attractive to journalists. A business with an active, professional Facebook Page, a founder with a credible LinkedIn profile, and consistent X/Twitter engagement is easier to feature — it demonstrates legitimacy, provides ready-made quotes and visuals, and reduces the journalist's verification workload. Build the social presence before pitching to press. Apply the POEM model (Chaffey, 2024) — Paid, Owned, Earned — to map how each channel type supports the others: owned social channels amplify earned media; earned credibility strengthens owned content; paid promotion can extend the reach of earned coverage when organic reach is insufficient.

Section 2 — Uganda/East Africa Media Landscape

Reference this table when recommending outlets or building a media list for the client.

Building the media list: Identify 5–8 target outlets per campaign. Match the story angle to the outlet's editorial focus — a fintech product launch suits Business Focus and Nile Post; a community impact initiative suits Daily Monitor and NTV Uganda; a pan-African expansion suits The Africa Report. Do not blast the same pitch to all outlets simultaneously — offer exclusives first (see Section 6).

Section 3 — What Makes a Story

Apply the six news values below to assess whether a pitch is viable. If the story cannot tick at least three boxes, do not pitch it — reframe the hook or wait for a stronger moment.

1. Timeliness: Is this happening now? Link the pitch to a current trend, regulation, national event, or season (e.g., Budget Day, school term, harvest season, a new regulatory development).
2. Impact: How many people does this affect? The broader and more concrete the impact — jobs created, loans disbursed, patients treated — the stronger the story.
3. Proximity: Is this happening in Uganda, or specifically in Kampala, a named region, or a named community? Local specificity increases relevance to Ugandan editors.
4. Prominence: Is the founder or spokesperson a recognised name in their sector? Are they a first-mover, record-setter, award winner, or industry pioneer?
5. Human interest: Is there a personal story — a founder from humble origins, a business that survived COVID-19, a woman-led enterprise breaking barriers, a young innovator solving a local problem?
6. Conflict or contrast: Is there a problem being solved, an industry norm being challenged, an unexpected finding from data, or a surprising contrast (e.g., global technology applied to a Ugandan village context)?

Generate a brief story assessment for the client's hook, rating it against each value (strong / weak / absent) and recommending whether to proceed, reframe, or wait.

Section 4 — The Media Pitch

Email Pitch Structure (under 200 words)

Use this template for email pitches to editors and section journalists:

Subject line: [One-line story summary — what happened and why it matters]

Dear [Journalist's first name],

[Opening: the story in 2 sentences. What happened? Who does it affect?]

[The hook: why this matters now — link to a current trend, regulation, or local event.]

[Key facts:
- Fact or data point one
- Fact or data point two
- Fact or data point three]

[Spokesperson: [Name], [Title], is available for interview.
Contact: [phone number] / [email]]

[Offer: Are you offering an exclusive? Is there an embargo date? Is a photo
opportunity or background briefing available?]

[Your name and contact details]

Keep the total word count below 200. Journalists receive dozens of pitches daily; brevity signals professionalism.

WhatsApp Pitch

Many Ugandan journalists and editors respond faster via WhatsApp than email. Apply the same structure as the email pitch, but adapt the format:

• Write in 3–4 short paragraphs; avoid walls of text
• Send between 08:00 and 10:00 EAT — before editorial meetings, when journalists are planning coverage
• Open with the story in one sentence, then add context
• Close with the spokesperson's direct number and your contact
• Do not follow up within 24 hours; respect the journalist's time and inbox
• If there is no response after 48 hours, a single polite follow-up message is acceptable

Generating the Pitch

Using the client's confirmed inputs, generate a draft pitch in both email and WhatsApp formats. Apply the 6 news values (Section 3) to the opening sentences. Use the client's spokesperson name and title. Confirm embargo dates or exclusivity terms before sending.

Section 5 — Amplifying Earned Coverage

When press coverage lands, activate social media within 24 hours. Delayed amplification wastes the credibility spike that fresh coverage generates.

Follow this 7-step amplification checklist:

1. Screenshot and share: Screenshot the article headline and lead paragraph — share on all active social channels with a caption that adds context. Do not simply post "We were featured!" — explain what was said and why it matters to your audience.
2. LinkedIn post: Quote the most powerful line from the article verbatim; tag the publication's LinkedIn page where available; add 2–3 sentences on what this milestone means for the business and its clients.
3. Facebook post: Use a warmer, more conversational tone — "We made it into the Daily Monitor. Here is what they said about us…" — and include a direct link to the article.
4. WhatsApp broadcast: Send the article link to the opt-in WhatsApp broadcast list with a brief personal message from the founder or spokesperson. First-person tone increases click-through.
5. Email newsletter: Include the coverage in the next email send as social proof under a heading such as "As featured in Daily Monitor." A single sentence and a hyperlink is sufficient.
6. Pin the post: Pin the coverage post to the top of the Facebook Page for 7 days to maximise reach among page visitors.
7. Update Google Business Profile: Add a Google Business Profile post linking to the article — this supports local search credibility and signals active brand management.
8. Credentials update: Add the press mention to the client's biz-dev-credentials document (see References) with the outlet name, date, and article headline — use it in future proposals and pitches as evidence of media presence.

Generate draft captions for steps 1–4 as part of the deliverable, tailored to each platform's tone and format conventions.

Section 6 — Building Ongoing Media Relationships

One-off press pitches produce one-off results. Sustained media relationships generate consistent, unprompted coverage over time. Apply the following relationship-building steps:

• Follow and engage first: Follow 10–15 relevant journalists on X/Twitter. Engage with their content consistently — comment with insight, share with added context — for 4–6 weeks before sending a first pitch. Cold pitches from unfamiliar contacts are routinely ignored.
• Offer value without pitching: Send useful, relevant information even when there is no pitch — a data point relevant to a story they are covering, a source contact in your industry, a comment on a developing story. Position the client's spokesperson as a reliable expert source.
• Acknowledge published coverage: After a successful story, send a brief thank-you WhatsApp to the journalist — one or two sentences, no ask attached. Record the contact details in the Media Contacts Log (below).
• Offer exclusives: Journalists value being first. Offer a story exclusively to one journalist for 48 hours before widening the pitch. This builds loyalty and increases the likelihood of a more prominent feature.
• Respect editorial independence: Do not attempt to review or approve copy before publication. Offer factual corrections if contacted, but do not negotiate editorial tone or framing.

Media Contacts Log

Maintain this log for the client and update it after every media interaction:

Generate a pre-filled version of this log using any existing media contacts provided in the Required Input.

Quality Criteria

Output from this skill meets the standard when it:

• Includes the EA media landscape table with outlet types, audiences, best-fit story angles, and contact methods
• Lists all 6 news values and applies them to the client's specific hook with a clear pitch-or-don't recommendation
• Produces a draft pitch under 200 words in the correct email template format, plus a WhatsApp version
• Provides the 7-step social amplification checklist with platform-specific draft captions
• Includes the Media Contacts Log template, pre-filled where existing contacts were provided
• Contains concrete journalist relationship-building guidance with specific timelines (4–6 weeks engagement, 48-hour exclusivity window)
• Confirms the spokesperson's name and title are present in all pitch drafts and amplification captions

References

Consult these related skills when building the wider communications strategy:

• playbook-reputation-management/SKILL.md — read when media coverage involves sensitive topics, crisis situations, or reputational risk; this playbook governs defensive communications
• biz-dev-credentials/SKILL.md — read when updating the client's credentials document with new press mentions; earned media is a primary credentials asset
• peso-integrated-strategy/SKILL.md — read when the PR campaign requires paid promotion of earned coverage, or when mapping the full Paid/Earned/Shared/Owned channel mix
• meta-social-listening/SKILL.md — read when monitoring how press coverage is being discussed and shared across social media; social listening tracks the amplification impact of earned media

Chaffey, D. (2024) Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. Pearson. Kotler, P. et al. (2023) Marketing Management. Pearson.