Hitting The Road Steps to a successful press tour
A press tour (a.k.a. media tour) is a series of arranged opportunities to meet with editors/analysts to introduce a key company spokesperson, a new product or market concept, or explain a company position regarding the competition or market situation.
Meetings with the media or analysts are normally held in their offices, which means traveling to wherever they might be. Or these meetings can be at a convenient, central location that the media and analysts can travel to in order to meet with a company.
(Editor's Note: Telephone and web-based press tours are becoming increasingly popular, especially in light of recent increases in travel anxiety. Still, it is preferably to put a face with your company's name, and the principles below always apply.)
Why conduct a press tour? Two key reasons for conducting a press tour are to tell the company's story and to listen for editors/analysts perceptions. Press tours provide time for information exchange with media and analysts to address specific issues regarding the company and develop connections. A spokesperson can personally present company information and address questions to advance the company's position by influencing the perception and opinions held by media and analysts.
A press tour is also a time for the company to discover perceptions currently held by the primary target audience for public relations -- media and analysts. Questions can be asked in these meetings to further identify opinions held by these key awareness-shapers. Using this time for discovery can help shape public relations strategy, messages and continued dialog with these audiences
Press tour timingTiming of a press tour can be centered on a new product launch, an image or positioning campaign, or the introduction of a new CEO, president or significant leader within the company. Timing for press tours can also be dictated by marketplace activities.
Press tour planning A press tour plan is a blueprint that includes definition of communication goals, news value of a story angle, preparation activities and expectations for the tour. Developing a plan is a prerequisite to initiating any press tour activities because it is a tool that communicates the reasons for conducting a tour.
Management's agreement that a press tour is warranted is crucial. The spokesperson must be physically and mentally available as well as at a level that accurately represents the company. Don't send a junior manager for a major announcement or discussion.
Press tour planning: researchThe development of a press tour plan entails research of the competition's statements reported by the press, reviewing editorial statements or comments made by media and journalists, and investigating pending news or issues that might affect the timing of the tour.
Communication strategies and messages need to be defined for each media and analyst with considerations made to the audience they address. For example, a message to a trade publication would be different to a business publication, even when the same subject is being discussed. Understanding the idiosyncrasies of the media and analysts targeted by the press tour is PR's task. The opinions, personalities, and potential news angle that will be of interest must be highlighted for the spokesperson and also directly affects the way the meeting discussion will be handled. For example, some editor/analyst personalities are very business-like and prefer presentations with question and answers afterwards. Business-like editors/analysts adhere to a strict meeting timetable. Others are more casual and prefer a discussion conversation style. It is up to the PR person to prepare messages, message delivery style and prep the spokesperson to be flexible in approach. Also PR determines the length of time to meet with each editor/analyst. Figure a maximum of 30 minutes per conversation, allowing for extending visits based on the editor/analyst and spokesperson availability and interest.
Press tour briefing documentA press tour briefing document (briefing book) provides a foundation for the spokesperson. The briefing book contains the tour daily timetable, a statement about the publication, its focus, and audience, background descriptions of each editor/analyst, message statements for each interview and content of published material for the last six months. Selected personal details can also be included, such as hobbies or interests. The briefing book text should be easy to read with bullet points and short sentences. Often messages have to be tailored to each interview. The document should allow for these specific messages to be called out early in the description associated with editor/analyst.
During the press tourPress tours are the ultimate test of a PR person's mettle. Just ensuring that your spokesperson arrives on time and in the right location for the interview with the editor/analyst is challenging enough; you also need to monitor that the spokesperson stays on topic and makes enough of an impact to capture the editor's or analyst's attention. The key to staying cool, calm and collected during a press tour is pre-meeting planning and flexibility.Make sure to have multiple communication tools including cell phone and laptop as well as phone numbers of all the editors/analysts, maps and the all-important briefing book. Budgeting for a rent a car with a GPS is a time saver, as is hiring a driver for congested city traffic.Think of your role as similar to an orchestra conductor: the conductor is the one person who organizes all the different instruments into a single harmonious unit. Be a kind conductor; plan time for bathroom and food stops. Working with the hotel the night prior to a long day of meetings and arranging for box lunches or snacks is also part of your conducting responsibilities, and make sure to have extra staples available if you hire a driver for the day. If you're nice to the driver, the driver will return the favor.
Arranging the PR symphonyJust as a conductor holds rehearsals, pre-meeting briefings prior to beginning of the interview day are important. If pre-tour briefing meetings didn't happen before traveling, be sure to talk about the day's upcoming interviews at breakfast. Remind the spokesperson that every interview is a conversation, a dialog of give and take. Review the prepared background material verbally. Based on the experience of the spokesperson, you may find it easier to hold two or three small snippet pre-tour briefing sessions. While in the meeting with the editor/analyst, your role as either active voice or silent assistant is determined by the style and title of the spokesperson. Your role as active voice is to add value to the conversation by giving the spokesperson hints and clues as to key message points that he might have missed. Some spokespeople prefer the silent assistant style; the PR person takes notes of the conversation, and obtains business cards. In either role, the PR person needs to be an active listener, taking notes of the conversation to reference later as well as ensuring that promised deliverables and action items are noted. Make sure that the conversation is meeting the needs of that editor/analyst. At an appropriate time in the conversation, regardless of your role as active participant or silent assistant, get immediate feedback. At the end of the conversation, after hands have been shook and you've walked out the door, reflect with your spokesperson what you heard from the editor/analyst. You might need to adjust key message or interview discussion points based on information obtained from that meeting.
Handling boo-boos It's important that you understand the dynamics and psychology of the spokesperson. Some spokespeople want to 'make the editor or analyst happy' and by doing so will deem at some point in the conversation to share proprietary information. Sometimes, these hiccups occur over a dinner interview injected with a nice bottle of wine and a good meal.
Proprietary organizational information should stay proprietary. Ensure that the spokesperson knows what can and shouldn't be shared in the interview. Still, if the 'cat leaps out of the bag,' you have two options, depending on the nature of your relationship with the editor. If you know him well, you can take the editor/analyst aside and ask that he hold that information until a specified date and time. If there is not an established relationship, then the possibility of ignoring or diffusing the impact of the leaked information is lessened. See if you can negotiate with the editor/analyst to buy your organization time to deal with the impact of the information going public. Then immediately contact the organization and let them know what happened.
After the press tourJust because you've waved goodbye to the editors/analysts and are headed back home, doesn't mean the job is finished. Creating a report detailing the press tour by editor/analyst visit along with any action items generated is necessary.
Manners countWriting brief thank you notes (not emails!) to each editor/analyst shows respect for that person as well as level of sophistication that will elevate you ahead of other companies on press tours. Be sure to complete action items quickly. Broken promises and actions left undone are the sign of an organization that has little respect for the editor/analyst.
Maintain a historical record while the wrap-up memo becomes the historical organization document about the tour, equally important are the notes taken of each conversation or interview. Those notes become a record of what the company said about any given topic, and should be filed in such a manner that can be easily retrieved by others in the organization.
Getting the spokesperson's perspectiveA discussion with the spokesperson will help determine his impressions of the tour and the editors/analysts visited. It's important to review the goals and discuss outcomes of the visit soon as soon as possible to ensure that goals and spokesperson perceptions are in sync.Likewise, contact some friendly editors/analysts and get their scorecard on the effectiveness of the visit -- both in terms of the spokesperson and the message. Often, getting information about a spokesperson's style or effectiveness are keys to press tour success.
While they're neither simple nor easy, an effective press tour will be a key to your communication success.
No comments:
Post a Comment