Gone are the days of the one-size-fits-all press release as a way of gaining column inches. An integrated and highly targeted approach is needed in 2012 to help maximise media relations. Melanie May reports
The launch of a new print technology or computer processor might not grab the media’s attention as quickly as the latest pair of Nike trainers but there are many ways to ensure B2B brands gain their share of media exposure.
With an often more complicated message and a longer sales cycle than in B2C, the challenge for B2B brands is first how to grab the media’s attention. As Cisco’s UK and Ireland marketing director, Ian Symes puts it, “In B2C, the conversations are often more short-term, but have that front page dynamic. The challenge for B2B is to not only have the in-depth discussion but also to create that front page impact when needed.”
At its most basic level, the answer lies in identifying the stories and communications approach that will win the media’s attention. And, while most brands have a PR department or agency on hand, the consensus is that to be successful in gaining ongoing exposure, marketing and PR must work together.
“Campaigns need to show integration and integrity, which requires better relationships and improved campaign awareness and planning from both departments,” says Helen Lawson, senior PR account manager at Pauley Creative.
In fact, the more marketers can boost relations with the press themselves, the better. “PR can’t do something with nothing,” says Crispin White, interim head of marketing at legal firm Cornerstone Barristers and director at Chiswick Consulting. “The marketing team has to do what it can in terms of building relationships with the press, conducting interviews and writing articles.”
Death of the press release?
The first step, however, is for brands to get to know their end users and use this knowledge to identify which journalists and media outlets to target in order to communicate with them. “Begin by understanding your audience,” advises Andy Turner, founder of Six Sigma PR. “Think about how to reach them: Where do they go to find information? Once you know, you can plan which publications to target and which media to use.”
There is quite some choice. While certain traditional methods, such as the press release, may be losing favour with some brands – Nissan global head of marketing communications, Simon Sproule, was quoted in the Financial Times last June as saying it was “killing the press release” in preference of newer, more immediate channels – for other brands they continue to work well.
However, to gain value out of press releases, the key is ensuring they are personalised towards the media outlet, free of jargon and link-rich to give recipients the opportunity to delve deeper. “Be quite ruthless about answering the ‘so what?’ test too,” adds Turner. “It’s important to be topical and relevant.”
Press kits are another good means of getting information across, such as company history and management biographies, product and service information, and campaign details. Aimed purely at the media, press kits should have a different focus to the wider reach of a campaign’s marketing collateral, with careful consideration given to what content and information the media needs and how it can be provided.
Ready access to press kits is vital for journalists on a deadline. “The most common mistake is creating walled press kits or press centres where lengthy forms have to be completed for information that should be readily available,” says Tim Gibbon, director of Elemental Communications. “Journalists will seek this information regardless. Therefore it’s far better for the source to present it to them in the easiest way possible to ensure the content is on brand and accurate.”
Case studies are another increasingly common way for brands to get key messages across. These need to take journalists on a clear journey: From the background to the case study, through the campaign activity, to the results. To make case studies compelling then requires some well-structured storytelling in terms of how something did, or didn’t work, along with clear facts and figures to support any findings.
Seduction via social media
Written information and articles are not the only way of courting the press however. A new PR toy, as Cisco has discovered, is social media, which has become a useful tool for both communicating with the media and for keeping up to date with what journalists are writing about. The first step to getting the most out of it is in understanding what social media platforms journalists are using and why. Blogs, LinkedIn and Twitter give marketers a vital insight into what the journalists they want to reach are writing about, making it easier to pitch relevant stories.
However, the immediacy of social media demands that marketers keep a constant close eye on these channels. As Gibbon explains, “Journalists also use these social media platforms to send out requests for information, ideas, and contacts. Marketers and PRs will only be aware of these if they are keeping an eye on feeds such as Twitter or third-party services such as TweetDeck.”
Media centres are another growing area where brands can place a whole host of easily accessible information, including presentations, thought pieces and whitepapers, which show a brand’s credentials and provide a valuable resource not only for the media, but also for clients and peers. Richard Bush, joint managing director of Base One says, “The challenges are to establish a dialogue, to feed that conversation with ideas, opinions and viewpoints, and to ensure those things are available online. More and more of our clients are setting up media centres that support this approach, building content and constantly attracting both regular and new visitors.”
Interview exclusives
Interviews provide a particularly important way of building relationships with the media and of supporting campaign objectives. Press conferences are a great way of briefing a lot of journalists at once. However, they can require more organisation than one-to-one meetings and the news needs to be of significant interest to attract competing journalists into the same room.
One-to-one meetings, on the other hand, give an opportunity to build direct relationships with journalists while focusing questions in a more informal setting than a press conference. They also allow brands to receive direct feedback to their news or campaign. “Face-to-face meetings are one of the best ways to kick-start a relationship because it gives insight into a person, as well as the opportunity to pick up and discuss matters that crop up then and there, that it would otherwise be difficult to do,” says Gibbon.
Meeting journalists enables marketers to build valuable press relationships, but doing so takes time and may not provide instant rewards in terms of coverage. Despite this, it has clear merits in terms of putting a brand or face at the forefront of a journalist’s mind, meaning opportunities to comment are more likely to occur. However, to gain regular column inches or airtime, you must also have something of value to offer. “Ultimately, relationships will only take you so far: stories trump relationships every time,” says Turner.
Strong opinions triumph
While brands may not always have something compelling to say about their own products or services, it is possible to gain valuable publicity another way: By becoming known as a strong and willing commentator on related issues. Find out where you can add value, says White.
“Be relevant and be prepared to take a position. It isn’t always easy to get the media’s attention but if people are prepared to take a strong position and comment on relevant or linked issues, it is possible to get publicity this way.”
Whatever channels a brand chooses to use to court the press, everything should work together to achieve the best possible results. The clever brand is the one that links up and utilises both its PR and marketing functions to seduce the press.
