For one of our clients, we develop programs with youth organizations. The leaders of one of the those groups, FCCLA -- Family Career and Community Leaders of America -- were in New York for meetings with us. They had been able to score some tickets to be in the studio audience Tuesday for the live telecast of Good Morning America in Times Square, and they were hoping to be noticed by the anchors of the show and, hopefully, invited to tell about the organization.
Just showing up there -- or similarly, in the group on the plaza outside The Today Show studio -- is no guarantee to getting airtime, other than possibly having your face shown as the cameras pan the crowd. But in a case like that, only your family and friends will recognize you.
So here's how we improved the chances for some real air-time that would have more meaning than just being shown waving at the cameras.
We put together a brief email message explaining that leaders of the group -- representing about 164,000 members nationwide -- would be in the studio audience, along with a thumbnail description of what FCCLA does. We kept it short and to the point, with contact info, and we sent it to two of the show's senior producers and one of the hosts.
When the group arrived at the studio, they were asked who could be a spokesperson, and that young person was miked. And finally, toward the end of the program, host Robin Roberts mentioned they had some important guests in the audience, citing FCCLA and using some of the info we had sent in our email. One of the student leaders was called on to tell more about the group and why they were in New York.
So thanks, in part or maybe more than in part, to some advance work, FCCLA got more than a minute of national exposure on Good Morning America.
We had similar success several years ago with The Today Show, by sending in advance some info on a group planning to be in the audience to weatherman Al Roker and his producer.
Getting exposure by being in the audience at these shows is a gamble, but you can improve your odds by getting some concise and compelling information to the show's producers the day before, so they'll know who you are and why you're there.