Tag: corporate communication

BEHIND THE CURTAIN: ADDING PERSONALITY TO CORPORATE STORYTELLING

Posted on February 11, 2021 by

Identifying a newsworthy story within an organisation sits at the heart of public relations. Although well written copy, a strong pitch and good media contacts can contribute towards securing coverage, the content of the story itself is ultimately what journalists focus on.

In an increasingly competitive media market, journalists are inundated with press releases every single day. Although there is no definitive definition of a newsworthy story, to secure editorial space it must garner a journalist’s attention and be worth their time to publish.

They want a story that will not only be informative and enjoyable for their readers, but also differentiate from usual churn that falls into the news desk’s inbox.

The are many aspects that go into distributing a story but increasing its chances of securing coverage relies on the relevance of its news angle. No matter whether it’s trade, regional or national media that are the target, ensuring it has a human or personal interest is critical to reaching the largest possible audience.

PERSONALISING PRESS STORIES

There will always be a place in the media sphere for press releases that cover company announcements or new investments, the launch of a new service or product, but pulling back the curtain of any business is a valuable tool when you want to attract real attention.

First and foremost, people are inherently curious about the lives of others. This is no different within the marketplace. There is an appetite to know who is working where, how they are performing and what they are achieving.

It is important to work with journalists and the media to fill this gap and educate the audience. With this approach in mind, stories should focus on new appointments and promotions, business milestones, awards, achievements and examples of best practice from industry leaders.

Covering these topics will educate and inform readers, while also reinforcing experience, authority and trust from the brand and business.

STAYING RELEVANT TO READERS

There is also significant value in steering away from the corporate mindset and creating personal profiles of employees, especially those who work in executive or senior management positions. Businesses must identify media outlets that put spotlights on individuals and pursue these opportunities.

This could be anything from employees offering commentary on topical trends in the sector, personal opinion about the news agenda or simply shining a spotlight on their hobbies and lives away from the office.

There are a plethora of opportunities to create human-centric angles that can be deemed newsworthy.

To impact of these stories can also go far beyond coverage in the media. As digital communications becomes more embedded into society and our daily lives, people from around the world can interact and engage with one another instantaneously.

TRANSPARENCY IS KEY

For industry, this means that transparency has never been so important. As mentioned, taking a more personal approach with the public, as well as the media, can create a sense of loyalty, familiarity and attachment towards a business, which should not be underestimated.

Ultimately, as readers and audiences are continually introduced to the people behind a business through media coverage, stronger relationships with existing customers are established and new business opportunities are created.

Securing media coverage is undoubtedly the most effective way to generate and maintain a positive perception among the public, but to maximise and maintain this relies upon stories that are more personable as well as relevant.

PR stands for Press Release

Posted on April 5, 2013 by

When you work in PR (public relations) there are some days when you wonder what your job description may look like if you were to write down everything you were asked to do. This is no bad thing you understand, as the huge variety of tasks certainly helps to keep things interesting, while raising a few exciting challenges along the way.

This is perhaps why I find it so frustrating when people tell me that they can ‘do PR’ because they have written a press release or had something printed in a newspaper. The purpose of appointing a PR agency shouldn’t be to just write copy – that’s what copy writers are there for and the clue is in the title.

A PR agency is there to manage a brands reputation, to identify opportunities that will extend the messaging of a campaign to take it to a totally new level, or to come up with creative recommendations that will deliver a stunt that will capture the attention of the media, while also educating consumers about what that particular product or brand has to offer.

There’s also the corporate side of things, when an agency may be appointed to manage a stakeholder or internal communications campaign, ensuring that a message is clear and concise, using the right tone of voice and being disseminated in the right way, to the right audience.

Sponsorship often falls under the remit of a PR agency, along with third party associations and event management. Although you may find that copy is required to support these activities, it isn’t the sum of the process and everything from launching to making sure the brand gets the most from an association – which often includes sampling – can be included along the way.

Really the job of a PR has no defined start or finish, as long as you are managing and supporting the reputation of a brand and business, focusing on how it chooses to communicate and engage with its target audiences, then it kind of falls in to our remit.

As we have said in the past there is no point in trying to be all things to all people and that isn’t what I’m suggesting – there are times when we work with other specialist agencies to deliver integrated briefs and this is when you can take one concept or theme and really push it to make as much noise across as many mediums as possible.

At the moment we are working on so many different things that when Friday comes around I feel like my head is spinning with ideas and variations on the campaigns and proposals that we are working on for clients both in business to business and consumer markets.

PR is creative, expressive, exciting and demanding and writing is just one element of what we do on a daily basis to manage the reputation of the brands and businesses we work with. So next time you hear someone say that they can ‘do PR’ because they can draft a press release, please pass on my advice, they can’t! If you think that PR is all about writing a press release then it’s time to take a long hard look at your future career in the business because it won’t last long.