Against the Grain: Media Relations

Crisis plans – every business has one, right? You probably spent a lot of time and money putting a plan together. So where is it right now? Probably on a shelf in an executive’s office, collecting dust. How should you keep that plan top-of-mind so it can be used in the case of a crisis?

Let’s back up for a minute – you made the crisis plan to keep your company’s communications running smoothly in case of a crisis. For some organizations, a crisis can mean bankruptcy, mass layoffs or facility closures. For others, a crisis is only related to death or catastrophic loss. Does your plan define what a crisis is in your organization? If not, that may be a good place to start.

After you’ve defined what a crisis is for your company, take that crisis plan off the shelf and look at it! Ask yourself the following questions:

• What personnel or structural changes have taken place at my company since this plan was created and how do those impact the plan? Employees leave, job titles and responsibilities change. It’s important to keep the plan updated to include the right people.
• Do the procedures in the plan make sense?  Can they be simplified? Simpler is always better. Less confusion and more time for action!  
• Are key people at the organization aware of their roles and involvement in the plan? Do they have a copy of the plan? Keeping the plan at your desk is fine, but key executives should have copies at home and, if possible, in their vehicles. You never know where you’ll be when a crisis hits.
• Does the plan reflect current communications tools? Believe it or not, three years ago, no one would have thought to include messaging on Twitter or Facebook in a crisis plan. If your company uses either of those mediums to communicate with customers or employees, they should be included in your crisis plan.

Depending on your answers to the questions above, you may have some work to do. Of course, you should review your crisis plan roughly every six months and make sure key people have copies both on and off site. This way, when a crisis hits, people refer to the plan first. Too many companies spend money to develop a plan just to find it is lost or outdated during an emergency.

In the middle of a crisis, it’s important to keep a business-as-usual attitude when it seems like things are quickly spinning out of control. A good crisis plan doesn’t get shoved on a shelf “just-in-case.” It’s pulled out a few times a year so employees can familiarize themselves with it and use it when a crisis hits. When that crisis hits, and it will, your crisis plan is a road map to keep your company running smoothly.

Some of the most powerful and influential people in the industry don’t work for a manufacturing company. They don’t work for the trade association and they don’t work for the government or a university. They write and edit the industry trade pubs.

Having good relationships with the writers and editors of industry trade pubs is essential.

These pubs are hungry for content. They need stories to tell. And if you’ve got a compelling one (hint: you do… we promise), they’ll likely be happy to tell it for you. Complete with the perks and benefits that come from a third party endorsement.

Sports. They're a part of the landscape of Americana. The biggest events are de facto national holidays and, while most television programs are declining in viewership, college football Saturdays and pro football Sundays are stronger than ever. It follows, then, that sports marketing is becoming an increasingly large part of the marketing mix for consumer and b-to-b marketers alike.

Sports marketing is traditionally associated with game-time media buys (radio, television, stadium signage, etc.). But the creativity of marketers and business-friendly attitudes of the teams is bringing other, just as important, opportunities to the forefront.

In-Game Entertainment Sponsorships
We've all seen them... two couples compete in a blindfolded tricycle race at half-court for cash and prizes. These in-game promotions can feature your product or service as a prize, your staff as the host or even put your product front and center for an entire arena of fans.

Appearances
Your affiliation with the team may very well open the door to player, coach, mascot or cheerleader appearances at your corporate event or grand opening.

Press Coverage
When you work with a sports team, you not only get access to the in-stadium fans and the broadcast audience, you get coverage-by-association everywhere the team does — newspapers, television news, etc. — extending your reach beyond the hardcore sports fan.

Ticket Opportunities
Your affiliation with the team should also earn you discounted tickets or access to hard-to-get tickets/games. Use them to reward employees or entertain clients, or as give-aways to local charity groups.

Team Apparel Sponsorship
Team sports are often underwritten by a sponsor whose logo adorns team jerseys and other gear. It's commonplace in European soccer leagues and after-work softball leagues, but has only recently been brought to the world of American professional sports. See the sidebar for a quick story about how one WNBA franchise is making this happen.

These and other sports marketing opportunities are a great way to round out your marketing mix and reach a captive audience by associating with an organization they're fiercely passionate about. And by no means are you limited to the big budget world of sports marketing with big market, big money teams. Minor leagues, niche sports (e.g. lacrosse, rodeo, extreme sports, etc.), college and even high school teams have become viable sports marketing opportunities. In addition, marathon, "fun runs" and other amateur events are also effective sports marketing opportunities.

To learn more about making sports marketing a part of your mix, drop us a line. We'd be happy to sit down and talk with you about getting involved.

It's great to get a front page story about your company in the newspaper, but how can you measure its impact on your business?

While there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution to measuring earned media, a strategic media relations program presents several ways you can measure that front page story for its effectiveness and relevance to your target audiences.

Content Analysis

Research fans, this one's for you – and it's going to give you the best idea of the impact your article has. Content analysis is literally analyzing the content of the article to determine the positive, negative or neutral value in different elements of the story.

Items typically looked for in content analysis include spokesperson quotes, photos, key message delivery and clarity, article placement and article importance, among other items. These items are marked or charted and then rated as positive, neutral or negative – or sometimes given a number value.

Charting content analysis is a great way to see how a company is portrayed in the media or whether a spokesperson is effectively communicating key messages across various media platforms.

Content analysis can be time consuming if there are a lot of categories to chart. The good news is, it allows for a customizable system for media relations efforts and a way to track media relations successes over time.

Advertising Equivalency (also called PR value)

Probably the most controversial method to measure earned media, PR value is still widely used in the industry. The controversy lies in whether or not you can equate a front-page story to a front page ad, because, well, most newspapers won't sell you a front page ad, and a news story has more credibility than an ad. While it's not a true apples-to-apples comparison, putting a dollar amount on the article can help those who are more numbers-focused see how PR work can be a more cost-effective way to get your message out to the public.

While there are many ways to measure PR value, a basic formula is as follows: column inches (or the size of the article) times the ad rate, then that total is given a multiplier (M) of two, five or sometimes ten (based on how much "value" the article has.)

(Size x Rate)M = Value of earned placement

This method isn't rocket science, nor is it always the best method to determine the actual value of earned media. We always recommend using content analysis with PR Value for a better idea of what an article meant for your company.

Plan your work, work your plan

Yes, it's always going to come back to planning. What were the goals in your marketing plan? Trying to increase Web site traffic? Check your Web statistics the day the story runs. Want to sell more products? Check sales figures the day before, the day of and a few days after the story appears. Trying to increase event attendance? Ask ticket buyers how they heard about the event and capture that information! Wrapping your media relations strategies around the goals in your marketing plan helps enhance the number of times a potential consumer sees the message.

A crucial part of any good public relations campaign is how you handle your relationships with members of the media. These key individuals can really help or hinder your message when it matters most.

Don’t wait until a crisis or issue arises to get to know the influential reporters and editors in your field. You will not be able to form a trusting relationship in this short amount of time and they won’t know enough about you or your company to be of much help.

While you are not going to form deep, stable relationships with everyone in the media, a good place to start is locally. Know who you can call at your local paper, TV and radio stations. The larger the paper, the more staff they will have on hand, so make sure you are building relationships with the right people—those who will be covering your area of interest. For example, if you are in the agriculture business, the entertainment reporter would not be reporting your story.

One way to get your foot in the door is to provide the media with a media kit, outlining what your organization does, its mission statement, product or service information, key people, contact information, any recent press releases or clippings of stories that have run, photos, calendar of events, logo options, and any other significant information you may have to share. If you can, try to set up a meeting with key reporters to share this information with them, and let them share information about their publication with you. This often gets a conversation going and can open a door to future collaborations.

Once you have an ongoing relationship established, you are more likely to be seen as a vital resource in your field and for your organization. The more often you have contact with the media, the more likely they are to remember you and your organization should they need an expert’s opinion for a piece they are writing.

Should a crisis occur, you will find great relief in knowing who you can call to get your message out. If there is already a good relationship built, your media representatives will trust you and want to help.

Always return phone calls from reporters in a timely fashion. If you don’t tell your story, someone else will. And it may not be the message you are looking to get across. It is perfectly acceptable to ask the reporter what questions they will be covering and get back to them. You may feel someone else in your organization is better equipped to handle the interview, which can establish even more credibility within your organization.

Saying “no comment” is one of the worst mistakes interviewees can make. If you are not sure of an answer, admit it and let the interviewer know you can follow up with him or her.

Working with the media can sometimes be an intimidating experience. Establishing good relationships with key people will pay off when you are in a bind. Keep your organization in front of these people, and they will begin to see you as an expert and call on you when needed. If your organization is looking to work with the media, Trilix offers media relations training and can help you get on the right track.