How the Pros Do It: Making “Into the Deep” Into National News

Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau partnered with integrated communication agency Fahlgren Mortine to raise awareness of a first-of-its-kind deep-sea exhibition that opened in spring 2022.

The campaign sought national media coverage for the new “Into the Deep” exhibit to inspire leisure and business travelers to experience the Monterey County region with overnight visits.

Fahlgren identified 100 media outlets to target throughout the year, researching journalists with an affinity for stories highlighting the top destinations for the coming year. Fahlgren also mined for story angles tied to the Into the Deep exhibit that would resonate with national morning show targets: CBS Mornings, Good Morning America and TODAY.

In December 2021, Fahlgren Mortine found a CBS Mornings’ TikTok video featuring footage of a phantom jellyfish sighting in Monterey Bay. The team leverage this timely content to connect with the show about the new exhibition. They saw that the footage aired as part of the show’s “What to Watch” segment and used LinkedIn to find the producer of that segment. They sent a custom pitch to that producer and followed up several times. Based on questions from the producer, they uncovered additional research on how deep-sea life could be helping to protect the planet.

The CBS Mornings segment was six minutes and broadcast to an audience of nearly 7 million people. It also appeared on CBSnews.com, which garners more 22 million unique visitors monthly. The campaign also secured 58 earned media placements in outlets such as Outside Magazine and USA Today.

See the Fahlgren Mortine case study to learn more.