Boost your media pitches with multimedia


If you're pitching the media a story, there's one element you shouldn’t overlook: multimedia. According to a Public Relations Society of America Inc. (PRSA) article, about 87% of journalists use the multimedia assets—such as images, data visualizations, and videos—in their stories.

In today’s fast-paced, content-saturated media landscape, media attachments can play a critical role in story engagement and make your work stand out in a crowded inbox. Some examples include: 

  • Eye-catching imagery (e.g,. real life researchers in the field, microscopic images, or relevant plants and animals)
  • Videos
  • Links to a relevant social media post
  • Audio clips, links to podcast episodes
  • Interactive graphics
  • Infographics or data visualizations

Whether you're managing your own outreach or partnering with the University Marketing Communications (U-MarComm) PR team, it's worth thinking about what assets you can include to bring your story to life. A compelling photo or even a simple infographic can help explain complex ideas or give your audience—and journalists—an easy way to quickly understand and connect with your story.

We also encourage you to look beyond stock photos and connect the dots from your story to reality. Consider photos of projects happening in and outside of the University, researchers in a lab, or audio samples straight from your faculty member.  

And don’t worry—you don’t need a professional camera crew to make an impact. Many smartphones today can capture high-resolution images and video that are sufficient for media use. A quick video interview, a behind-the-scenes snapshot, or even a narrated explainer can go a long way in capturing a journalist’s interest.

Including multimedia in your pitch doesn’t just increase the chances of coverage—it also makes it easier for reporters to do their jobs. 

For multimedia brainstorming to coincide with pitching, reach out to the U-MarComm PR team at [email protected] to collaborate on telling your story in the most engaging way possible.

Topics: Media Relations Photo and Video