PR News: Pitch Fever is in full swing!
Industry Trends & News, PR
We are still celebrating PRs who make the magic happen on Synapse!
Already pitching? Good. Because this week, we’re adding three new ways to win:
- Trending Pitcher: post in this week’s hottest category.
- Colleague Recruiter: bring two PR pals who publish their first pitches.
- Random Pitch Prize: every pitch counts as a raffle ticket.
The Agency Leaderboard* and First Pitch Club are still live, and yes, there are prizes and shoutouts!
*first board dropping on Friday!
Right, now welcome back to The Loop – your weekly scroll of fresh PR tips, news and dates…
🔥 MUST READ
…advice we’ve spotted from the experts
Strategy Director and The Drum’s PR Leader of the Year, Amy Gibson, shared a reality check wit for anyone wondering why results have slowed and your digital PR strategy isn’t landing like it used to. Her message? The game has changed, and your strategy should too.
“10 reasons why your digital PR strategy isn’t working: You are executing the same digital PR strategy you were 2 years ago.”
👉 Read Amy’s full post on LinkedIn
🗞️ PR-Y STUFF
Here’s what we think you should see this week:
- AI tool floods UK newsrooms with automated pitches – Press Gazette reports that a new automated PR tool is overwhelming journalists with AI-generated emails, with many of them poorly written, irrelevant, or even nonsensical. Reporters say it’s making inboxes harder to manage and putting more pressure on genuine PR efforts that rely on human relationships and tailored storytelling. read more
- Young Britons still trust social media for news, despite misinformation fears – New Ipsos research finds that while 16-34-year-olds in the UK are aware of misinformation risks, they still trust and rely heavily on social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram as they are now key entry points for news. read more
- PRWeek Pay Gaps Report: Progress, but work still to do – PRWeek’s biggest-ever Pay Gaps Report reveals signs of progress with gender and ethnicity pay gaps in PR narrowing slightly year on year. But despite improvement, transparency remains patchy, and many agencies still aren’t publishing their figures. read more
- How AI is rewriting the PR brief – AI is reshaping how PR teams prepare, structure and deliver client briefings, from faster insights to more predictive storytelling. But as PR News points out, the key isn’t automation alone, but knowing how to ask the right questions. read more
- 50 biggest UK news websites in August – Press Gazette’s monthly ranking shows Daily Star saw the strongest boost among the UK’s 50 biggest news websites in August, according to the latest data from Ipsos iris. read more
- Why you should pitch now for Christmas – Freelance journalist Rosie Taylor says the Christmas pitching window is already open, because waiting until November is too late. National media are planning festive features now, so if you’ve got seasonal data, expert commentary or real-life case studies, get them out there this week. read more
🔎 JOURNO REQUESTS
Here’s what journalists are currently looking for on Synapse:
Reach plc:
- Looking for a listicle from a health expert on top 5 sex positions for over 60s
- Looking for the prettiest Christmas Markets to visit in the UK
- Looking for the ten best Christmas markets to explore in Europe
- Looking to do a feature on the top 5 cruises launching over the next 12 months
Express:
The Sun:
Daily Express/Daily Mirror:
- Looking to speak to at least four doctors about Donald Trump’s health and concerns related to it for the future
- Looking for quotes ASAP following Russia’s aerial incursion into Poland
Newsquest:
- Looking for expert comments on whether this one ingredient can make bacon perfectly crispy every time
- Seeking expert advice on why it’s advisable to always travel with two forms of photo ID
- Looking for expert comment on the dangers of ficus trees to homes and property
- Looking for expert comments on ladybirds swarming and how to keep them away
- Looking for expert opinion on why burning rosemary can boost your wellbeing and provide benefits around the home
- Looking for some expert commentary from a pest or home/garden expert on why removing one item from your garden can help avoid attracting the pests
- Looking for an expert comment on whether lemon juice helps remove limescale from toilets
- Looking for an expert opinion on why you should pour washing-up liquid down the drain
- Looking for an expert comment on whether lavender keeps rats away
Real Homes/Future:
- Looking for designers to explain how to style throw pillows, with top tips on choosing size, patterns, quantity, fluffing up, etc.
- Looking for home and heating experts to explain the common heating mistakes households make
- Looking for designers to explain the valuable everyday pieces in grandparents’ kitchens that might be worth a lot
Freelance:
- Looking to speak to UK autism experts about the Trump autism/paracetamol row
- Looking for case studies/comments on the rise of intentional living – why slowing down can accelerate your happiness
MailOnline:
Or head to the marketplace now to look our requests yourself.
📆 NEXT MONTH’S HOOKS
…because we don’t want you missing out on stuff in November .
🛍️ 3rd: 1 in 4 Brits start Christmas shopping early – according to Google Trends, Christmas shopping ideas peak.
🎆 4th: Bonfire Night – 27% of Brits attend a fireworks display, worth £248m to retailers, according to MailMetro.
💷 6th: Bank Rate Announcement – Monetary Policy Committee meets again
📈 7th: Google Trends shows spikes in “gift guides” from this week onward
🎖️ 8th: Searches for ‘Christmas adverts’ peak
🎄 9th: ‘The Christmas Chronicles’ searches peak in the UK, according to Google Trends
❄️ 14th: Hyde Park Winter Wonderland – London’s attraction opens doors for visitors
👑 14th: King Charles’ 77th birthday
🎬 14th: ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ – UK release date, starring Dave Franco
💳 20th: Searches for ‘Black Friday deals’ begin to rise.
🧙♀️ 21st: ‘Wicked: For Good’ – UK release date
🛒 22nd: 71% of last year’s Black Friday shoppers pre-planned purchases, according to MailMetroMedia.
📊 26th: UK Autumn Budget announced – overview of the UK government’s plans for taxation, public spending, and the economy.
🖤 28th: Black Friday
🦊 28th: ‘Zootopia 2’ – UK release date
*(in case you still want to see October key dates, check out our last newsletter or visit our website.)
Have a story that’s ready to go?
Head to the marketplace now or simply send it to pitches@synapse.media (or add us to your media list) and we’ll make sure it reaches the right journalists.
Questions about Slack Notifications?
Send us a message at support@synapse.media. We are always happy to help!
FAQs
Registration is simple! Click here to here and then fill out your information. Our team hand verify all of our users within 24 hours. Once your account has been approved, you’ll receive an email inviting you to log in.
If you have any questions or problems, get in touch with support@synapse.media
Our team hand-verify every single one of our users. Synapse is designed for journalists, reporters, editors and those in the media sourcing stories. It’s also designed for PR professionals. We have our own verification process, but if required, we’ll always get in touch with you directly to get some more information on your day-to-day role and to make sure Synapse is right for you.
There are over 3000 amazing people on Synapse; all of whom want to revolutionise the media relations industry. Our PR user base is from across the UK and covers a mix of agency, freelance and in-house professionals. Our journalist user base is similarly broad. There are national publications, trades, regionals and freelancers all using the platform.
No! At the moment, Synapse is completely free to use for all users, so register today and try it out.
We’d love to. But we’re not quite there yet.
Synapse believes that journalists have the right to their own data, and that by giving journalists control over their data, PRs will receive more accurate and timely information that isn’t currently available on any other database.
This means that we need to work with journalists to register them on the platform, rather than adding every UK journalist without permission. This is something our team is working on every single day.
Have a journalist or publication you’d like to see on Synapse? Get in touch and let us know at support@synapse.media
We launched on 21st September 2023 with over 1800 users already pre-registered. Since then we’ve grown to over 3000 users, onboarded national publications and have more news to come. Watch this space!
Our users are so important to us. You literally keep us going each and every day so we’re always here to help. From solving tech issues, demoing the platform to posting pitches and requests on your behalf when you’re just having one of those weeks, we put our users at the heart of everything we do.
If you want to read more about our users’ experiences, you can check out their stories here or get in touch with support@synapse.media
Depending on whether you have a journalist profile or a PR profile, you’ll have access to slightly different AI tools.
For PRs, you can save time by exploring our intelligent recommendations of which journalists to pitch to. Our AI will make recommendations based on proprietary data, saving you hours of research time.
For journalists, our secure AI assistant is there to help you as you write your stories. You’re in control of whether you use the tool and to what extent with options of a bulleted summary through to a full generative article.
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