Hello There
September is here, schools are back in session, and autumn is in the air. Keep an eye on the PR calendar for key dates this month and next to get your pitches in.
We now have 52 Christmas gift guides confirmed, with 16 publications closing between now and September 5th.
Keep an eye on the deadlines by filtering recently updated, and if you haven't yet started, make this the week.
COMING UP:
Welcome Call
📅 Tuesday, 9th September | 🕤 9:30am
Join live here when the call starts.
Q4 Strategy Live
📅 Wednesday, 18th September | 🕐 1:00pm
Fill out the form here if you’d like to be considered for the live brand audit. Deadline 3pm September 16th. Join live here when the call starts.
Guest Workshop: Lara Sheldrake
📅 Wednesday, 2nd October | 🕐 1:00pm
Topic: Balancing purpose, visibility & profit as a founder. Join live here when the call starts.
Guest Workshop: Char Dixon
📅 Wednesday, 16th October | 🕐 1:00pm
Topic: 6 marketing must-knows to sell through social media this Christmas. Join live here when the call starts.
Rosie & team PR Dispatch
Current Newsjacking Topics
Primark drops chic Art Deco homeware – right as Pinterest predicts the style will dominate this autumn →
It's time to look beyond pumpkin spice – 10 fall colors designers swear by for a cozy, seasonal, and timeless look →
John Lewis targets gen Z with Topshop revival tie-up →
Jump on relevant trending topics to get your brand into the conversation. Find out more about newsjacking here.
In an Hour This Week
Give your homepage a seasonal refresh
Take an hour this week to update your website homepage so it reflects the shift into autumn/winter. Swap out any
summer-focused imagery or messaging for content that feels relevant to the season ahead. Think warmer tones, seasonal photography or highlighting giftable products. Journalists often check brand sites when researching, so a fresh, seasonal homepage instantly makes your brand feel timely and PR-ready.
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.
.WHAT:
Check both core and gift guide ‘Request’ pages.
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.
Scroll. Click. Stay Ahead.
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.
