On Strategy
Strategy. It’s what makes the difference between a communications program that succeeds in achieving your underlying objectives and a program that only seems to be good at burning through money.
All too often we’ve seen companies try to shoehorn media relations into an unrelated program without taking the time to examine how it could help or possibly hinder progress. In order for any media outreach effort to be meaningful, it must be closely aligned to your underlying objectives and tightly interwoven into an integrated strategic approach.
Take for example a call we received from the communications director at an emerging biotechnology company. Their CEO, keen to attract some press coverage for the company, had launched a media outreach program that could be described as scatter shot at best. Their PR partner dutifully crafted a press release and distributed it to a kitchen-sink list of reporters. When no coverage resulted, they tried again (and again) until the communications director attended an industry function and met one of the reporters from that pitch list.
Upon producing a business card, the reporter replied with a soft chuckle, “Oh right, you’re the guys who’ve been spamming me lately. You know, I don’t even cover [the technology her company specialized in].” The company’s efforts to engage were falling on deaf ears and they didn’t even know it.
So the pursuit of ink for ink’s sake can be wasteful and even counterproductive.
When we sat down with this company we returned to the basics. Asking about their core objectives – who they wanted to connect with and why – we learned that they had a real need to attract more business development partners. So we crafted a campaign aimed specifically at that community, helping them rise to a higher level of industry thought leadership. Our program included some media outreach, but only when it made sense to support and align with other activities aimed at keeping the client top of mind among potential partners.
This targeted, integrated approach helped allocate resources more efficiently, and it also helped create a clear and unified narrative about this company.
When viewed through this lens, media relations looks a lot less like a means to its own end, and more and more like a powerful tool in your communications toolbox. To be used appropriately and sometimes sparingly.