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and Veranda), who notes, "We go to a lot of showhouses to check them out, so being involved in these can win [media] attention. It's a great way to show off what you can do and pro- vides an opportunity to photograph your work and vision – and since there's no client, that really distills what your vision is." Not surprisingly, when it comes to media, photography matters. Top editors look for great, high-resolution photogra- phy, including high-resolution before shots (since many media outlets like to showcase the dramatic transformation of a space through before and after photos). Additionally, access is critical. According to Selzer, "We like to know we can go back and shoot the location with our preferred crew and styling [if we like the project]. So it's best if the designer knows their client is amenable to a photo shoot before pitching the project." PITCH PERFECT While a well-designed, easy-to-navigate website with great photography can help garner media attention, it's also a good idea for designers to be proactive by pitching media with their best projects. However, media experts agree that a blind or blanket pitch is not the way to go. Rather, projects should be targeted to the appropriate editor or producer only after studying the media outlet and carefully choosing a project that's likely to be a good fit. Kansas City designer Karen Mills, former host of the Living Large luxury design radio show, who has been fea- tured by 100+ media outlets, including USA Today, ABC National News, Elle Décor, The Wall Street Journal and more, suggests, "For TV, start locally – find out who the producer is, pitch them on your idea. But do your research first; don't just throw a bunch of things at them and hope it sticks." She notes that each publication, website or TV show has its own style, perspective and voice. She notes, "The more you know about each one, the more likely you are to be successful in pitching them." Miller concurs: "I don't feel anyone should ever go to an editor and say 'Here's this project' if they don't know who they are, what they write and how they write it. Understanding how print journalism and larger digital publications work – produc- tion lead times, editorial calendars, regular departments, etc. – is important." Neither should designers send out mass emails with proj- ects. As Selzer explains, "We're not likely to reply to an email that appears to be mass distributed. Let us know that we're being given first crack at the project. Coverage in local outlets or on blogs is fine; we just wouldn't want the project to have already appeared in another national print publication." As far as the best way to pitch, Selzer notes, "We encour- age designers to email us images of their projects directly and to tag us (#BHGHome) on the project images they post on Instagram. We'd love to receive an email that showcases one project, maybe 3-6 photos [plus before shots), ideally A well-designed website will enhance your outreach and can lead not only to great media exposure but also new business, according to designer Peter Salerno, whose website began getting hits from Russia two months before the firm signed a contract for two kitchens in Moscow, including the one pictured above. Both showhouses and design competitions can be avenues for garnering media attention, as seen in this kitchen, designed by Brandon LeRoy of the Salt Lake City-based Jackson & LeRoy in conjunction with team member Jeremy Jackson, and Elizabeth Wixom and Kimber- ly Rasmussen of Establish Design. The finished project became such a sensation it earned 3 million social media views and 30,000 visitors through its inclusion in the Utah Valley Parade of Homes, as well as second-place honors in the Traditional Kitchen category of the Sub-Zero and Wolf Design Contest. Photo: Phillip Ennis Productions of Bedford, NY Photo: Courtesy Sub-Zero Group, Inc. January 2018 • KitchenBathDesign.com 83