Maxxing the odds

Pitch, please

Wisdom 💡:  Reporters aren’t tired of PR pitches, they’re tired of pitches that give them no reason to care. With journalists drowning in irrelevant, overly promotional outreach, Peppercomm’s Ro Thompson makes the case for getting back to basics: know the reporter, understand their audience and pitch an actual story, not just a client with something to announce. AI may make it easier than ever to crank out outreach, but relevance, context and a little humanity are what actually earn attention. Because the best media relationships aren’t built by hitting “send” more often, they’re built by proving you’re worth opening.

Maxxing the odds

Wit 😁:  Caesars Sportsbook has had some work done, and it enlisted NFL legend Clay Matthews, along with his hilariously enhanced jawline and muscles, to make sure nobody misses the makeover. The new campaign pairs Matthews’ absurd “looksmaxxed” transformation with upgrades to Caesars’ app, from a refreshed design to new rewards and Flex Parlays. After teasing his suspicious new physique through TMZ, Caesars turned internet speculation into earned-media buzz before revealing that the whole thing was prosthetics and makeup, not AI. In a sports betting category crowded with heavy hitters, Caesars is betting that a little cosmetic work and a lot of humor can get bettors to give it another look.

Say what now?

Wisdom 💡: For an industry built on choosing the right words, PR has a surprisingly complicated relationship with what they actually mean. Strategy becomes tactics, engagement becomes likes, thought leadership becomes “we had a thought,” and words like “authentic,” “innovative” and “transparent” have been buzzworded within an inch of their lives. It would all be funny if fuzzy definitions didn’t lead to fuzzy expectations, meaningless metrics and the occasional “off the record” disaster. The lesson for communicators is simple: before choosing the perfect words, make sure everyone agrees on what they mean.

Pepper Pick

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