Third Time's a Charm for Johnson & Company in Getting Positive Coverage in Negative Story

Knowledge and preparation are key for pitching to major media

There aren't too many times that a negative story gets a positive spin. But because of the tireless efforts of Johnson & Company's (jo&co), The Virtual Agency™, a potentially negative mention was turned into a mostly positive light.

After experiencing months of unprecedented stock growth, dot-com companies were in a downward slide during the second quarter of 2000. This story was receiving a lot of press from significant media players. Originally talking to various media outlets about Vignette's quarterly earnings announcement, Lynette Simmons, a long-time jo&co account executive, focused strictly on pitching that announcement.

One of the media targets was CBS MarketWatch.com, an on-line market news update. As a partner with Niehaus, Ryan, Wong (NRW), the agency handling the Vignette PR account, Simmons coordinated her efforts with the broadcast bureau there to make sure she had the right angle and information.

Once Simmons customized a pitch to this type of media outlet, she began the process of getting in touch with an editor at CBS MarketWatch.com. After being rerouted twice to different editors, she finally talked to Mike Tarsala, the editor handling the upcoming story about the slide of Internet stocks. Simmons did some quick thinking as Tarsala started talking about his story highlighting the negatives of the Internet stock tumble.

"It would have been really easy for me to give up after two phone calls to the wrong person," Simmons said. "But jo&co's philosophy is one of dogged determination and persistence. The third phone call gave me the right person, and I was able to capitalize on talking with him."

She quickly told Tarsala about what Vignette did in relationship to the Internet arena and highlighted Vignette's past performance in relationship to its stock prices and earnings. While she had Tarsala's ear, she continued to tell him about how Vignette has been a leader in the content management arena, how the Austin, Texas-based company was announcing a significant product announcement and beginning a new direction for the company.

Vignette not only got coverage in an otherwise negative story about Internet companies, the CBS MarketWatch.com mention featured an entire paragraph dedicated to Vignette's main business now and in the future. The story also mentioned Vignette's new product and how it would help the overall e-business market.

When it comes to pitching, Johnson & Company's motto is to be prepared. Simmons knew Vignette's history about its past earnings and stock performance, and she also knew its future plans in announcing a new direction for its company. Because of this knowledge, she was able to capture the attention of an editor that was in the middle of deadline, and writing a story with a negative slant against the financial performance of Internet stocks.

"NRW attributes jo&co's pitching and efforts to turning a potentially all-negative mention into something mostly positive and getting much more extensive coverage than the other companies mentioned in the same article," Simmons said.