PR Fresh Hits: May 5, 2021

OMG, there is a new media network in town and they are doubling down on community

In the volatile media landscape, journalism is seeing a glimmer of light with the launch of Overstory Media Group, a new media organization founded by Farhan Mohamed, former EIC of Daily Hive, and Andrew Wilkinson, co-founder of Tiny.

With a focus on community-level storytelling, the network aims to create direct relationships with their audience through email newsletters, podcasts, events and experiences. At launch, they have a few channels in B.C., including Capital Daily, Burnaby Beacon, Fraser Valley Current and Vancouver Tech Journal, with plans to expand to 50+ communities in the next two years.

This launch comes as the industry has been seeing a shift to newsletter, bite-sized content that gets delivered directly to readers in daily or weekly formats.

We think this means that media relations needs to be increasingly tailored (say no to BCC blasts) and the pitches need to be that much more specific to the communities we’re trying to reach.

Celebrating the mom-figures in our lives for Mother’s Day

PR is notorious for exploiting every holiday to get their brands into relevant content, and Mother’s Day (and the hundreds of gift guide pitches) is one of the biggest.

This year, we’ve noticed that brands are taking a softer stance to be more sensitive to those who may not have moms in their lives. With some brands even offering opt-outs for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day newsletters.

Three Ships, an online clean beauty brand based out of Toronto, is one of these brands implementing the opt-out campaigns, and the reception has been very positive.

We anticipate more brands to follow suit in the coming years with more holidays (ex. Valentine’s Day, etc.) being put under this lens as well.

Epicurious leaves beef behind: no more beef recipes being published

We all know the impacts that the beef industry has on the planet and how consumers are changing their eating habits in light of that. Epicurious, one of the most influential food publications in North America has just made a big move: no more beef in their recipes.

“Today Epicurious announces that we’ve done just that: We’ve cut out beef. Beef won’t appear in new Epicurious recipes, articles, or newsletters. It will not show up on our homepage. It will be absent from our Instagram feed.”

“Rest assured, the beef recipes that were published in 2019 and before are still on the site; they are not going anywhere. Likewise, Epi’s agenda is the same as it has always been: to inspire home cooks to be better, smarter, and happier in the kitchen. The only change is that we now believe that part of getting better means cooking with the planet in mind. If we don’t, we’ll end up with no planet at all.”

This signals that they are acknowledging the role they play in sustainability and putting their money where their mouth is.

Written by Crystal Kwon, principal at front+centre - a PR firm for challenger brands. If you want your work featured, email hi@frontandcentre.co