In “Renovating a Magazine for the Social Media Age,” the New York Times reported in depth on the new editor taking over Architectural Digest, the venerable publication. Each year there are two issues devoted to luxury hotels, and our boutique NYC luxury lifestyle PR firm has been fortunate enough to get our properties featured over the years.
Amy Ashley, the new editor, is changing the name of the magazine to “AD,” and promises to make it livelier that is has ever been. In recent years, despite higher than ever numbers of readers, the outlet has gotten a bit stodgy and predictable.
So if you are a luxury hotel, or you own a new home, how do you go about getting featured? First of all, recognize it is very competitive to get onto the pages of AD, but with social media and the online version expanding, there are more opportunities for coverage. But there we’ve put together some tips on how to go about it.
Here is a step-by-step approach:
- Take scouting shots – Obviously, hiring a competent photographer is the right way to put your best foot forward. Take a range of shots encompassing the various aspects of the hotel rooms, suites and lobby, as well as spa and outdoor areas.
- Style and accessories is key – Make sure to have a tray of tea service, or breakfast, flowers, and other decor items to warm up the shot. Make it inviting and relaxed to look warm and comfortable.
- Write a pitch letter – Draft a letter to go with your shots, which highlight the features of the rooms and public spaces, emphasizing what makes them unusual and different from what they may have already seen.
- Time to consider – Give the editors time to review your submission. This can do by sending an email to the editor responsible for compiling hotels for review by the editor-in-chief. It is wise to make friends with the editor’s assistant to call and find out if your materials have been received.
- Follow up in a few weeks again to make sure they have what’s needed – Try to reach out to the right researcher responsible for gathering details on hotels for consideration, and see if they would like any other information.
- If you’re lucky enough to get selected, plan on a long lead time for features – AD runs on a very long advance, up to 16 months. So be patient.
Exclusive! Remember, if you commit to a feature in AD then it is an exclusive to them. That means you cannot get it published anywhere else while you are waiting for that story to appear. Don’t breathe a word of it. Once it appears, you can then get widespread coverage,
Where else can you get coverage on the design of the hotel? With travelers more discriminating than ever, securing exposure in other media the read is the right way to go. One great site is Houzz.com, which connoisseurs of design prowl like crazy.
Since luxury hotels want to reach those people, it is time to go to town with pitches to blogs and post on social media. Instagram is the biggest right now for travel, along with Pinterest – and provides direct referral to your site. Meanwhile, Facebook is loosing ground due to the extensive pop-up ads, and general personal nature of the site. Of course, if Facebook is working for you, keep going, but we’ve found in our social media programs that these pull like crazy.
Would you like to discuss how we could promote your hotel or service, and the likelihood of getting into AD? Let’s talk! 212-947-9247.
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