Media Relations. The Essentials. Edinburgh. Aberdeen. Glasgow. Fife

Transcription

1 Media Relations The Essentials Glasgow Edinburgh Aberdeen Fife The BIG Partnership 5 Park Circus Place Glasgow G3 6AH The BIG Partnership 14 Links Place Edinburgh EH6 7EZ The BIG Partnership 11 Thistle Place Aberdeen AB10 1UZ The BIG Partnership High Street Kirkcaldy KY1 1LU info@bigpartnership.co.uk

2 Introduction Zoe Ogilvie - Director, The BIG Partnership Scotland s leading communications consultancy Number 1 in the UK outside London Founded in 2000 Offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Kirkcaldy, Liverpool 300 clients across all industry sectors including the Scottish Government, energy operators and supply chain, financial services, professional services, consumer goods, sport and tourism

3 Introduction Elaine Maslin- European Editor, Offshore Engineer Previously business reporter at P&J Prior to that business editor of Eastern Daily Press Offshore Engineer is an internationally recognised, monthly trade magazine with a global circulation of 37,000

4 Aims of today s session To gain an insight into media relations To understand how the media works and what it needs To develop a media relations plan To help use the media more effectively

5 What is PR The Institute of Public Relations defines PR as: the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and understanding between and organisation and its publics. The BIG Partnership would add: for the purpose of achieving a specific objective.

6 Why is PR important? How is reputation created and managed? Is it worth investing in? 1. Reputation Management

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21 Reputation Management Reputation n. 1. The general estimation in which a person or thing is held by the public 2. What is known, said, or thought about a person

22 What makes a reputation?

23 Investors Performance Community Leaders Analysts Brand Products & Services Advocacy Groups / NGOs Opinion Formers Employees Citizenship Reputation Innovation Business Leaders Suppliers Government Leadership Workplace Customers Regulators Governance Business Partners

24 Reputation considerations It s not all about what you say Media / communications is only part of the picture It s about the way you behave towards your stakeholders The sum total of your stakeholder s experience of your organisation Across all aspects of your business

25 Is it worth investing in? World s #1 golfer for 11 years World s wealthiest athlete Highly prized, valuable global brand Sought after by high-end sponsors Reputation professional, family man, clean living, focused, achiever, excels in field Earned $100m a year in endorsements Tag Heuer, Gillette, AT&T, Accenture, Gatorade, General Motors, Nike

26 Cost of reputational damage 2009 extramarital affairs led to widespread media furore $23million lost in endorsements in 2010 alone Tag Heuer withdrew this year - $10million Lost $4.6m for management team at IMG Total estimated economic cost of his downfall to all affected parties estimated at $12bn

27 Reputation & Value Relationship Does this apply to commercial organisations? Yes! BP share price crashed 50% after Deepwater horizon tens of billions wiped off value News Corporation lost 20% of value since phone hacking scandal Had to close News of the World the UK s biggest selling newspaper Forced to abandon BSkyB bid Reputation Institute research shows 50% of public would give a reputable company the benefit of the doubt in a crisis

28 Assessing your reputation Who are our stakeholders who can impact on our ability to conduct our business / achieve our goals? What issues do they care about? What are your core reputation assets that must be protected? Which channels do our stakeholder use and trust to gain information about the issues they care about? What opportunity do we have to enhance our reputation? What will motivate our stakeholders to think more highly of us?

29 Researching your reputation What research do you already have in the organisation? Customer satisfaction surveys Staff surveys Analysis of correspondence Analysis of media coverage Commission bespoke research Opinion polls Audits of stakeholders Focus groups Measure the impact of business developments / issues on reputation How did negative media coverage affect stakeholder opinion / behaviour?

30 What role does PR play? A radar for your organisation PR consultancy has antennae Scanning the external environment Detecting issues / feedback / reaction Feeding those into the organisation at board / management level Intelligence to inform decision making Planning proactive programmes of dialogue

31 Why engage with media? What makes news? Top tips and avoiding pitfalls 2. Media Relations

32 The media why bother? Media = conduit to the public, your clients, current and prospective investors and staff Perceptions are based on media coverage You are all news consumers of news

33 Benefits of engagement It s a really cost-effective channel more so than advertising Build profile and reputation Help them understand the work of your organisation Improve accuracy and balance of reporting get your message across Build a positive relationship which will endure through good and bad

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44 Formulating a media relations strategy Identify key publications for your audience Consider circulation and readership Consider all channels Print national, regional, local, trade and technical, community and in-house channels Broadcast TV, national, local and community radio, digital channels Online online sites of mainstream publications, dedicated online sites, blogs

45 What makes news? 1.First 4. Human Interest 2.Biggest 5. Topical 3.Best

46 Elements of a media plan Milestone news announcements hard news, contracts, new developments, new products, employment, growth, financial results Softer news announcements CSR, charity, people stories Forward features Soft features people profiles, recruitment and training Platform pieces Topical reactive comment Technical features

47 Tools for media relations News releases Features Photo stories One-to-one interviews Media briefings Press conferences

48 What journalists NEED NOW Instant reaction EXCITING People, not products or procedures EXCLUSIVITY New angles, new hooks, the scoop DEADLINE By their deadline Prepare your pitch in advance 30 seconds / to grab attention and convey relevance of your story to the journalist s readers.

49 What do I need to prepare? What am I going to say? How do I take control of the interview? How can I come across better? Media Interviews info@bigpartnership.co.uk

50 Golden Rules Don t Lie Speculate Say anything you would not like to see in print Go off the record Answer off the cuff Say no comment Do Prepare Control the agenda Communicate your key messages KISS Avoid jargon Check facts and figures if you need to

51 Interviews taking control YOU are the expert Prepare three key messages Communicate these messages and repeat as required Back up with examples ideally using people Don t wait to be asked! Acknowledge the question and move back to your messages It is not a conversation!

52 Key Message Formula KEY MESSAGE The health and safety of our workers is our number one priority EXAMPLE We have invested 10 million in the last two years to improve safety at our facilities PEOPLE All of our 2,000 offshore employees underwent rigorous refresher health and safety training in the first quarter of this year and last week I attended one of our sessions in Aberdeen to see for myself the new skills our people are learning to keep them and their colleagues safe.

53 Bridging & Signposting That s a really interesting point you raise but what I think is really important is. That s certainly a factor, but what we re really talking about here is. There are two key considerations one two The most important point to make is. What you have to remember is. The crucial factor here is

54 Rules of Engagement Don t be scared of the media Build constructive, enduring relationships based on trust Expect the bad with the good Always deal in facts never, ever lie Have a real story to tell not spin or marketing puff Be available and responsive Demand balance and accuracy

55 Q&A