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How to be media friendly
Six Sigma PR Consultancy 17 May 2013 | 1:02 pmA great deal of public relations effort still goes into courting media coverage and to maximise your chances you naturally need to be media friendly. So try comparing your organisation against this ten-point checklist and see how you perform. I’ll be very surprised if you can say you’re doing all of this and more! 1. You have helpful people who know the organisation inside out as the first point of contact for journalists. These people see themselves as facilitators not gatekeepers, and are known by your switchboard, whatever the country. Their contact details are easily found and include direct-dial phone numbers and out-of-hours mobile numbers. These always get answered and never go to voicemail. The nominated out-of-hours person has the personal mobile phone number of your organisation’s chief executive. 2. Part of your website and content is dedicated solely to visitors from the media seeking information and resources. It doesn’t mandate registration, qualification or log-ins. It includes a well-thought out FAQ, RSS feeds and searchable content, intelligently tagged to deliver the best results quickly. Sweden’s Swedbank clearly understands this. These media resources include company logos and images, but make sure you deliver what you promise, unlike airports operator BAA in[…]
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The beauty of Twitter
Flagship » Pressure Chamber Public Relations Blog | Flagship Consulting 16 May 2013 | 10:24 am
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Twitter has long played a part in our PR campaigns for clients, but today I spotted two stories about Twitter showing how imbedded this social media channel now is in our news reporting.
The first story related to Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the daughter of the new Pakistani Prime Minister, who has been credited with increasing his party’s appeal to a younger voter. She is not just the ‘pretty’ face of modern politics; she has strong opinions and has made many speeches on her country’s poor record for female education. The reporter credited her for setting out to woo people through social media and using Twitter to connect with many voters and that she had matched Imran Khan in using this channel.
On the opposite page in the newspaper (yes, I still read a newspaper – sometimes on screen but this time in print) was the story of the astronaut, International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield. The story focused on the release of his in-space recording of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, with space and the space station as his backdrop. But it also talked about how he has engaged over 800,000 people with tales of trivia, about life in a space[…] -
Top five PR tips for recruiters
Blue Sky PR » Blog 3 May 2013 | 9:43 amAs recruiters look to maintain a competitive advantage, get in front of key clients and attract some of the best candidates, many will turn to PR for support. However, it is all too common to find organisations jumping head first into PR without the necessary in depth planning. Any communications activities such as this are strategic, long term investments which will require a level of forethought in order to be truly successful. So, if you’re looking at PR as an option, what do you need to consider? Take a look at our top five tips we shared with TIRA readers: Set objectives for your PR plan. It may seem obvious, but there are often examples of companies ‘doing PR’ with no clear idea why. Before you invest in anything, ask yourself what it is you want to achieve. Do you need to get more candidates or more clients? Do you want to get on the radar for an acquisition or do you need to recruit more consultants? Once you and your stakeholders have this agreed, the next step is to have a plan and build a timeline. Make sure this includes a long term view with an integrated mix of channels. The[…]
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Luther Pendragon – Dancing with the Devil
JustinMcKeown's Blog 8 Feb 2013 | 9:29 am
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The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has dropped Luther Pendragon, claiming it did so as soon as it learned the agency has decided to work for tobacco company Phillip Morris.
Good! I’m glad that the ABPI has distanced itself from an agency that is prepared to promote a company that sells products that kill and injure the health of millions each year.
But why would a firm like Luther Pendragon be willing to damage its own reputation? Taking cash from PMI comes at the same time as a new graphic ad campaign showing a cancerous tumour growing from a cigarette.
Perhaps this conversation that I once had with the leader of an international PR company sheds some light.
Me: With the rapid expansion of the business across the world, how can you be sure that the company is acting ethically in each territory? For example, how do you know that there is no “rogue” office working with the tobacco industry? Or working with a despotic regime?
Leader: It is not as easy as you make it sound with obvious Good Guys and Bad Guys. Many believe that everyone has a right to PR representation, including the tobacco industry. Some people might feel uncomfortable[…] -
Beat the energy defecit
Media Training OnlineTV and radio tend to suck the energy out of people's voices. To come over in what sounds like a 'normal' way means you have to put quite a lot more energy in your voice than would in an everyday situation.
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