Hello there
Missed last week’s Q4 Strategy Live? Catch the replay here.
Check the PR calendar for this month’s key dates and Requests for timely opportunities.
Ready to hit the gift guides? It’s not too late to upgrade to Pro and start sending your Christmas product suggestions. We have 46 gift guides open and waiting for your pitch.
THIS WEEK:
Editor workshop: How to get your products in the online Christmas gift guides this Q4
📅 Thursday, 25th September | 🕐 1:00pm
We’re sitting down with Victoria Evans, Founder & Editor-In-Chief at City Kids Magazine, to find out what makes a gift guide product stand out, when to pitch and the mistakes that get pitches ignored. Upgrade to Pro now to join.
COMING UP:
Onboarding call
📅 Tuesday, 30th September | 🕤 9:30am
Join live here when the call starts.
Rosie & team PR Dispatch
New season, new press angles
Hello, September 👋.
Now that the summer slowdown’s over, journalists are switching gears.
Here’s a snapshot of what’s hot this month:
❄️ Autumn and winter stories are in the spotlight
It’s not just about pumpkin spice. Cosy home, food, fashion, lifestyle – seasonal products and stories are in demand.
🔮 Fresh PR trends
Taylor Swift’s new album has spoken: orange is everywhere this season, so if you’ve got an orange product, pitch it.
Also, check out Pinterest’s latest trend report for inspiration, and don’t forget to dip into our PR Strategy: Planning resource for key awareness and national days.
🎯 New year, new you
Calling wellness, fitness, healthy food & drink, and organisation brands… long-lead press are already working on January features, so get your products and story suggestions in while the window’s still open.
In an Hour This Week
Ready, set... Q4
Q4 is especially crucial for most eCommerce brands. With Christmas and peak sales season approaching, you’ll want to maximise product visibility. Use the Strategy Planning resource to align your pitches with key seasonal dates and awareness days. What products or profile angles will be most relevant - are your asset and imagery ready?
In last week's Q4 Strategy Live Rosie talked us through a PR strategy plan for Pro member Molly Mahon and gave each of our members who applied for the Strategy audit a hook to get them started. Get ready to feel inspired and watch, learn and gather some ideas for your own brand. You can catch the replay here.
Christmas Gift Guide Checklist & Hooks
Christmas is in full swing. This checklist has you covered, from timelines and must-have assets to punchy hook prompts and ready-to-use templates to help your pitches stand out.
What To Do This Week
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90% of your PR efforts should be proactive.
WHAT:
Pitch to 5+ ‘Proactive Opportunities.’ Across product placement or profile press.
Follow up on last week’s pitches.
Why? Journalists often check their inboxes first when looking for products or businesses to feature.
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Core requests
Press requests offer great opportunities, though journalists often check their inboxes first, so proactive outreach is key. Around 10% of PR involves responding to these fast-turnaround requests.
Gift guide requests
Christmas gift guides ramp up from July to December. Dedicate extra time to these during the festive season. Upgrade to Pro here for Gift guide database access.WHAT:
Check ‘Request’ page.
Only respond to relevant requests to ensure you are building positive press relationships.
Why? You’ll instantly increase chances of being featured because the press are actively looking for that certain product, comment, experience or opinion.
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The press often features brands without replying, so track potential coverage and quickly share mentions across your channels to maximize impact.
What the Press Are Working on in September
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Recently Updated
Current Request Opportunities
Current Gift Guide
Requests
Academy+ September Highlights
AI prompts
Our AI prompts are here to help you come up with press-worthy angles, write subject lines that get opened and tweak your pitch in seconds.
Christmas checklist & hooks
Christmas press is in full swing. This checklist has everything you need to jump in, assets, timing, and punchy hook prompts to make your pitch stand out.
Monitoring coverage
As we gear up for festive PR, make sure you’ve got media monitoring set up so you never miss a piece of coverage.
What We’re Reading & Listening To
Drowning in admin? 14 hacks to take back control
Guardian
September has always carried that back-to-school energy, inspiring productivity hacks. From inbox resets to smarter diaries, to bring focus and a sense of calm.
The 2025 Pinterest Autumn trend report
Autumn is bringing more than just pumpkin spice. Check out Pinterest’s latest report to see what’s trending this season: from beauty, fashion, food and homeware.
Brand awareness + performance = BFFs
Tracksuit
Latest research from TikTok and Tracksuit shows that brands people already know get nearly triple the conversions of those they don’t. Download the report here.
Newsjacking
Newsjacking puts your brand in the spotlight, turning trending topics into your chance to stand out and keeping your brand part of the real-time dialogue. It boosts your chances of press coverage and shows you're a leader in your industry.
Find out more about aligning your brand with trending conversations here.
Upgrade to Pro for access to our weekly newsjacking topics and be ready to jump on the next relevant trend.
Personal Brand Framework
What do Grace Beverley, Richard Branson, and Jo Malone have in common? They’ve each built a standout personal brand—and with our new Personal Brand Framework, you can too.
Today, the press and audiences want more than a business; they want the story behind it. Your perspectives and opinions.
The framework is now live on Academy+ available to Pro and Enterprise members - upgrade to access.
