By Linda Forrest
As we here at inmedia are coordinating our upcoming vacation schedules and as next week has two major holidays in North America that kick off in earnest the sorts of summer activities that Nat King Cole envisioned in the song whose title is above, we begin to hear the common summer rumblings from clients and prospects about whether media relations efforts are best left to the Fall.
There’s a common misperception that summer media consumption drops away to almost nothing and that your investment is better spent holding off until the Fall. This very topic was explored in detail last year at OCRI’s Zone5ive, by Veronica Engleberts of Vector Media, a media planning and marketing agency here in Ottawa. The presentation has really stuck with me because it provided effective proof points to support the idea that marketing needs to be a year-round activity and that those companies that go fallow as the mercury rises are losing momentum by sending their marketing efforts on summer holidays.
Consider this, from Veronica’s presentation: “If every one of your prospects took a vacation at some point in July or August, it would amount to an average of 11% of prospects in any given week. Can you afford not to advertise to the other 89%?” Excellent point. Yes, people do take holidays, but not all your customers or prospects are away for the entire season. Why miss the opportunity to make some noise when perhaps your competitors are taking the summer off from getting their messages out?
With regards to media relations in particular, which is our bailiwick, there are even more compelling reasons to carry through with your campaigns. A lot of the media outlets that we target on behalf of clients are trade publications, some of which are glossy print publications with long lead times, sometimes three months or longer. So, by ceasing the conversation with these publications in the summer, we would, in essence, be scuppering our chances at seeing some coverage in the Fall editions. Our actions now are targeting opportunities through the balance of the year and beyond. Effective media relations is a consistent effort that is cumulative; it’s important to maintain regular contact with our targets through myriad tactics as you can never be sure when the tipping point will be that will secure the most impactful coverage available with that outlet. It’s quite possible that the editors are suffering from a content famine in the summer, prior to the feast that is that Fall when everyone ramps up their efforts once again.
Does this mean that I’m advocating sending out a news release on Canada Day or on Independence Day? Of course not (unless it’s really bad news, of course, and you’re hoping to bury it…) But to take the rest of the summer off is a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
By Linda Forrest
One of this morning’s newsletters directed me to a fellow blogger’s post on all of the silly reasons you don’t need PR. The post was written with the blogger’s tongue firmly in cheek and had me chuckling, but I’m sorry to report that, silly as they may seem in this context, we hear these points all too frequently as arguments against the business case for engaging with a PR company like ours.
By Linda Forrest
Prior to the release of an announcement, there is a lot of work to be done. Not only must we develop the content, but often times we must run the potential content past a series of third-party gatekeepers. This is where things can slow down and timelines can get pushed out.
The good news is, you’ve gotten this far and your partners or customers have agreed to talk on your behalf or participate to some degree in your media activities. This third-party validation opens up a range of PR activities, from customer win announcements to case studies and speaking opportunities. When it comes to distributing a release though, a document that will live in your company’s newsroom for considerable time and be found by any Googler searching for a company name, those parties involved want to ensure that materials are on message and accurate.
To that end, understandably, often times our clients’ partners and customers will want approval on the information and/or quotes being attributed to them prior to dissemination. Sometimes, this can mean that materials need to run the internal approvals gauntlet at third-party organizations.
Depending on the size of the organization, or how high up the chain of command your information needs to be vetted, this can take considerable time. Typically, though not always, the larger the organization, the longer you’re going to have to wait for sign off. There’s a good chance that the materials will have to float up through a sophisticated communications department to a c-level executive, and come back down through the ranks back to your hands. These departments are busy with announcements and initiatives of their own and so sometimes your news will have a lesser priority in the sign-off pile.
Still, getting the facts straight and the endorsement, implied or explicit, of a third-party partner or customer will go a long way for your public relations campaign. The best advice comes from the Boy Scouts – be prepared. Begin the conversation early and be prepared to hold your announcement or pitch until all of the stakeholders are on the same page. Most of the time, it’s worth the wait.
For those of you in the midst of playing the waiting game, in the meantime, ensure that all of your other ducks are in a row, so to speak – the media list is prepared and updated, the balance of the media kit is ready to go, and once you’ve got the approved materials, all that you need to do is hit send.
By Linda Forrest
A few weeks back, I wrote a post on copyright compliance, a subject near and dear to my heart given that I used to make my living in the music industry, a business that once derived much of its revenue from the proper and fair restitution for copyrighted musical compositions and master recordings. The fact that neither I nor my husband, both music industry veterans, make our current livings in music should speak volumes and somewhat inform readers as to where we stand on the issue.
Yesterday, Canada’s media was aflutter with the announcement of the introduction of new copyright legislation, meant to quell the tide of copyright infringment in this country and to update an archaic law that was in effect long in advance of the past decade’s digital revolution. Just what this means in terms of its application to PR and the appropriate handling of clippings remains to be seen but as the big hole in the plan at this point seems to be the lack of a clear plan on how to enforce the law. This has always been the challenge in the music industry as well. A running joke amongst my former music industry colleagues used to be the vision of the SOCAN police charging into Mom and Pop shops to collect tariffs and license fees for playing CDs. Rightfully, the owners of the copyright should have been paid for the “public performance” of their works, but in reality, it just wasn’t feasible to “catch” everyone infringing on these rights, so the industry let it slide. It’s been an excedingly slippery slope…
I could go on all day, but I won’t.
I did also have a comment about Francis’ post about the interview never being over and wanted to say that this extends to PR folks as well. More than once, early in my career, my name ended up in the paper when I thought that I was just having a casual, off-the-record conversation with a reporter or journalist. The last thing you want as a PR practitioner is to be caught unawares and having to respond to your client’s concerns when they read in the paper “company spokesperson, YOU, said (something that hadn’t yet been announced or ananecdotal quote that’s off message… or worse).” Always remember you are the steward of the relationship between your client and the media and act accordingly.
When dealing with the media, always ensure that the boundaries are clear. If you’re going to spill the beans on an announcement early, make sure that the reporter understands the terms of the embargo and get them to agree to the embargo in writing, if possible. Embargoes are not necessarily water tight, but they’re useful for communicating to the media that you’re keeping an announcement under wraps until the appointed date and for communicating to your client that you aim to protect that information or, (if this is the unfortunate case) that you had written agreement with the reporter or editor or outlet and that they breached that arrangement and there will be stern words and potentially further action on your part for them breaking that agreement.
Just like in life, it boils down to a) watch what you say and b) watch who you say it to!
By Linda Forrest
In a perfect world, clients would have unlimited resources, in terms of both time and manpower, to devote to their PR program. In such a utopia, our jobs would be a whole lot easier, never having to put the governor on and being able to run with the PR ball in all directions… but alas, we live in the real world where this is just not the case.
In the real world, resources are constrained and thus the PR effort must by definition be limited. The program must be oriented, not only to meet budget considerations, but also to have the best effect on the client’s bottom line. Determining what that program will be and where to focus the PR effort is a considered process, one that I’ll go into in some limited detail below.
The first question that must be asked is who are you trying to reach, who is your market? Hopefully, you’ve long ago answered this question yourself and thus tailored your marketing efforts as a whole to speak to a particular target group, a group that may consist of both purchasing decision makers and influencers. Once you have a clear view of who you’re trying to reach, it then becomes about how you will reach them. With the media marketplace growing daily, it’s important to have the correct mix of both media channels (print, online, radio, television) and types of outlets, depending on your business (consumer-focused, horizontal trade publications, industry vertical outlets, etc.)
Most of our clients have target markets in particular industry verticals, such as healthcare, legal, or financial services. It’s also often the case that our clients work across a number of verticals, not just one. Then, the decision has to be made as to when and how much effort is put against the trade publications in these verticals.
If you have an established presence in a particular vertical, garnering coverage in trade publications – by way of news items, bylined articles, and most importantly, customer case studies – will affirm your success in this market. If you are looking to build your presence in the market, by the same token, coverage in these publications will speak directly to the decision makers in your space and perhaps get your solution on the short list when prospects are considering their options.
The other side of this coin is knowing when to say when. In the case of a client releasing a particularly sought after product that is perhaps first to market, you may find yourself with the happy problem of a lot of in-bound requests for interviews and contributed pieces. This interest from your media and analyst marketplace likely coincides with interest from prospective customers, partners and other potential revenue generating parties. Therefore, careful consideration must be paid to where and when you expend your PR effort. If the company spokesperson only has time for a few interviews, which ones will derive the most benefit for the company, will reach the most high-value audience? Is it the size of the audience that will generate the most benefit? Or is it the focus of the audience, the niche publication, that will really move the yard sticks for your organization?
Because we consider ourselves a marketing PR agency, our efforts are meant to ultimately help you sell more of what you offer. Your agency should work with your company to really learn about your business objectives and structure the PR effort accordingly. Coordination of all elements of the marketing mix toward a common goal will ensure best results and create good relationships between clients and agencies.
