Consumer PR: earning coverage for products people buy

Story angles that work for consumer brands

Journalists do not cover companies, they cover stories. These are the angles that most often earn consumer brands coverage:

• Product reviews: offer units to reviewers who cover your category
• Inclusion in "best of" round-ups with clear comparison points
• Consumer surveys that reveal a surprising habit or trend
• Shopping moments such as Prime Day, Black Friday and back to school

How to run consumer brands PR yourself

1. Pick one story. Choose the strongest angle above and write it in one sentence. If you cannot, the story is not ready.
2. Build a short list. Find the 20 to 50 reporters who have covered consumer brands recently. A short list that fits beats a long list that does not.
3. Write a personal pitch. Three short paragraphs: the news, why it matters to their readers, and what you can offer such as data, interviews or images.
4. Follow up once. Three to five working days later, add something new rather than "just checking in".
5. Track what lands. Note who replied and what they wrote about, so your next pitch is warmer.

What reporters on this beat want

• Lifestyle desks plan gift guides and seasonal features months ahead. Pitch early.
• Include price, stockists and high-resolution images in the first email.
• Retail trade titles want hard numbers: like-for-like sales, store counts, basket size.
• Tie consumer stories to shopping moments such as Black Friday, back to school and holidays.

Mistakes to avoid

• Pitching a product without the price or where to buy it.
• Ignoring commerce and deals writers, who drive real sales.

Who covers consumer brands

InsightFuse lists 2,019 journalists, editors and producers whose role or outlet points to consumer brands coverage, across 66 countries. Here is where they work and what they do.

Browse journalists on these beats

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Frequently asked questions