How Warner Bros. is using newscraft to promote ‘Man of Steel’

If you’ve seen the new movie “Man of Steel,” you’ve probably asked yourself at least once: How did Henry Cavill pack on that much muscle and get that cut to play Superman? 

To promote the movie, Warner Bros. persuaded Muscle and Fitness magazine to devote its cover and much of its recent issue to answering that question.

The celebrity workout is a common form of newscraft, especially for promoting a movie. In recent years, we’ve seen similar approaches involving Daniel Craig in “Casino Royale” and Robert Downey Jr. in “Iron Man” and “Sherlock Holmes.”

The package includes an online video/plus component of workouts, nutrition plans and other tips.

So let’s break it down from a newscraft perspective:

• Target audience: Men who want to build a physique like Kal-el’s.
• Story angle:  Three workouts to help you create a Superman body.
• News peg: The June 13 release of “The Man of Steel.”
• Nut graf: “If you're looking to get Superman strong in time for the film's June release, ConFITdent has a diet and training plan that'll get you there. Check out their three-part workout to get a superhero back, shoulders and chest.”

Like all well-executed newscraft, the package puts the customer into the story while making the product -- in this case, the movie -- the star of the show.

Piggybacking on the notoriety of a blockbuster movie (or any other intellectual property) can be tricky. M&F obviously is collaborating with Warner's. If you make a direct connection between your product and anything Superman without an agreement in place, you will likely get a nasty letter from the lawyers at Warner's or at D.C. Comics.

But you can create newscraft that refers to the movie indirectly in the text and avoids using images and phrases that are protected by law. 

For example, let's say your client offers executive training. One of the key moments in "The Man of Steel" is when young Clark Kent learns to control his super hearing and his super vision by focusing his thoughts. You might create a newscraft story for the client with a headline like, "Five ways to become a Super CEO by focusing your mental powers."

You can tie the story to "Man of Steel" by referring to that key scene in your lead or your nut graf. It's fair game. Magazines and newspapers do it all the time. 

But haven't you already missed the news peg? Yes, you've missed the premiere in theaters. But you can get ready for the DVD/Blu-Ray release, probably in time for Christmas. And there's always the inevitable sequel.

How Home Depot uses newscraft to engage the do-it-yourself customer

When I first heard about The Home Depot in the 1990s, folks didn’t describe it as “a big box store where you can get home-improvement supplies at a decent price.”

There was a lot more passion about Home Depot back then. It was the home-improvement place where you go to learn how to do just about anything yourself.

There were workshops almost every day. The stores even posted a schedule out front.

You could learn how to lay flooring, or tile a shower, or paint a kitchen, or hang a ceiling fan. The employees were DYI experts. Ask, they could tell you.

That seems pretty much gone, the inevitable result of a company that grew real big real fast – and lost its bond with its customers.

You can still register online for weekend workshops. But the employees don’t seem as enthusiastic or as knowledgeable or as passionate as they did a few years ago.

And the company’s web site puts the emphasis on selling you something rather than making you a part of a DYI community. That’s a damn shame.

To its credit, Home Depot continues to post a lot of newscraft on its blog: The Apron.

For example, here’s a recent post, “How to build an outdoor serving cart.” And here’s a Ways-To story on outdoor lighting ideas. (What’s the news peg? It’s summer. Folks are moving outdoors. )

The site also offers a library of well-made How-To videos as well as a customer project forum.

It’s hard to knock Home Depot's effort. Any brand journalist can learn a lot just by studying the blog.

What’s disappointing is that the company's  newscraft takes a back seat to run-of-the-mill crap like holiday sales and special financing.

Home Depot could easily spark a powerful How-To movement among its customers; instead, it is settling to be the Sears Roebuck of the 21^st century. Zzzzzz.

How Zippo can use newscraft to sell lighters and outdoor gear

For my generation, when you say “Zippo,” you are talking about the Harley-Davidson of cigarette lighters.

Even for those of us who never smoked, there’s something special about the sound a Zippo makes when you flip it open, the feel of striking the wheel with your thumb, and the aroma the lighter gives off when fluid becomes flame.

Cigarette smoking isn’t as popular as it used to be (thank the Almighty and the Surgeon General), but the Zippo remains an icon. So how do you apply newcraft to a legend? And how do you expand the market beyond smokers?

You could target the innate desire among humans to collect things: pretty things, shiny things, valuable things. With a little research, and perhaps a survey or two, Zippo could produce newscraft stories like:

• The top-10 most collectible Zippo lighters – and where to find them.
• How to customize a Zippo lighter for your father, husband or boyfriend
• The world’s 10 most valuable Zippos

Zippo could also expand its market by show non-smokers the value to keeping a lighter in their pocket, purse or glove compartment.

• Five ways to use a Zippo without ever lighting a cigarette
• Six ways to use your Zippo when camping or hunting
• Four ways a Zippo can save you and your family in an emergency
• How to safely start an emergency fire – with or without a lighter.

Though most famous for lighters, Zippo also makes and sells a wide range in innovating gear for the outdoors life.

The Zippo website offers the 4-in-1 Woodsman: a mallet, hatchet, stake puller and bow saw all in one gadget. What the site lacks is a demonstration video or an e-book that demonstrates how the Woodsman can make life easier for the camper – especially a novice. You don’t sell by telling someone how great your product is; you sell by showing them.

Example: Take a group of newbies on a camping trip. Show them the ins and outs of the outdoors life while teaching them to use the Woodsman. Shoot video of the whole thing, including their testimonials. Create a brief introductory video, plus several longer videos demonstrating each of the Woodman’s functions. Call it something like, “The novice camper’s guide to the outdoors life.” Or, “How to become a camping pro with the 4-in-1 Woodsman.”

Indeed, Zippo could create a stand-alone site that offers all sorts of How-Tos and Ways-Tos for the new or the experienced outdoorsman. The company could also take their newscraft on the road, demonstrating their outdoors products at any event that attracts folks who enjoy the outdoors. Or the company could create its own annual outdoor expo to showcase its ideas and its products.

The key with newscraft is to let the teaching do the selling. And to always give the prospect a “next step” toward becoming a customer.

How McDonald's can use newscraft to attract more birthday parties

McDonalds sells hamburgers and fries, right? So do a lot of restaurants. What makes Mickey D’s different is its appeal to young children.

When my daughter was a youngster, she would almost hyperventilate when she saw the Golden Arches. She wanted her Happy Meal, dammit, and she wanted it now.

But what she loved more than her Happy Meal was any birthday party thrown at a McDonald’s PlayPlace. When she was a pre-schooler, we used to hang out in the local Playland area on hot summer days. If there was a party going on, she’d find a way to get herself invited – even when she knew none of the kids.

So how could newscraft work for McDonald’s? One obvious way is to generate lots of How-Tos and Ways-To for parents on how to throw a great birthday party

McDonald’s could take a survey of kids and find out their favorite party themes. That could lead to a newscraft story, “Learn the 10 parties themes that today’s kids love most.”

The company could talk to parents and get tips on: “How to throw a great birthday party for your child on a tight budget.”

They could ask party planners to come with some ideas for a story called “The 10 most outrageous ideas for a child’s birthday party for less than $50.”

Each of these ideas would work as web copy or brochures that include a toll-free number to the McDonald’s Party-Planning Hotline or a stand-alone web site with even more ideas – plus, of course, a landing page for reserving party space at your local McDonald’s.

If well executed with strong visuals and props, these ideas could earn a spot on “Good Morning, America.”

Welcome to my blog about my new book: Newscraft

I have just published a new book via Amazon's Kindle Books. It's called: "Newscraft: How to produce brand-journalism content that attracts customers and sells more products."

What is newscraft? It’s term I coined to describe a very specific form of brand journalism.

In short, newscraft is a hybrid that blends traditional journalism methods, tested copywriting techniques and proven SEO strategies to create a 600-800 word story that attracts highly targeted readers (online or offline), converts readers into prospects, and helps your client to move products out the door.

It works as well for business-to-business clients as it does for business-to-customer clients.

Is this book for you? Yes, if you are any of the following:

1. A professional in public relations or in content marketing who wants to carve out a niche in brand journalism, but lacks experience as a news reporter.
2. A journalist who is moving into public relations or content marketing, but lacks a clear understanding of how to make a career as a brand journalist.
3. A executive who want to understand how to get more impact – that is, a higher return-on-investment – from their company’s efforts in public relations or content marketing.

Please check it out. It's just $2.99 (cheap).

If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow it for free on your Kindle. You can also read it on your iPhone or iPad using the Kindle app.

If you do read it, be sure to send me any suggestions for improving it for future editions.