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 Crisis communication, media training, press conferences - this is only the tip of the iceberg pointing to the fundamental principles of public relations…
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> Special events > Promotional materials > Video documents |
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There were four months to go to the opening of a modern business and social centre.
The investor asked us to prepare the kind of communication strategy which would draw
sufficient attention to the new centre before its opening, prepare the way for an
advertising campaign, and ensure that the number of visitors to the centre grew rapidly.
The first task was to obtain the greatest possible amount of information on the
given multifunctional building - to talk to the investor and building contractor,
to take an interest in the project managers, and so on. This initial information then
formed the basis for an outline plan, which covered the fundamental points of the
given task..
The greatest weakness of a great many companies in the resolution of crisis
situations is their inability to react quickly. Time is the most important
factor in these kinds of cases, and can have a considerable influence on success
or failure and the level of any damages incurred. The resolution of any
problematic situations arising should not take days, but rather hours or,
in certain cases (in financial institutions for example) just a few minutes. It
is a mistake to think that moments of crisis (in the media sense of the word)
can always be foreseen and prevented.
Media audits take in retrospective monitoring of press reports over a varying
period of time, the advertising of competitors over the period in question and
additional marketing activities aimed at the public worked into a concise analysis.
The optimum approach towards the general public and trade professionals is
then proposed on the basis of this analysis.
In a sense press conferences represent the climax of our endeavours in
relation to the media, for which reason we devote great care to their preparation.
We carefully consider the information we intend to present, the goal the press
conference is intended to meet, and any possible risks and problem areas. The
preparation of press conferences varies from case to case, not least because they
are organised by different people in differing situations. Journalists, however,
appreciate a press conference organised in a conventional manner.
Press reports are one of basic communication tools used by press and public
relations departments in respect of the media. We write a press report at the
moment at which we feel it is time people should hear about us. This need not
be only when we have some particularly striking information to pass on. Press
reports can frequently be based on relatively insignificant information, since
just a couple of sentences on distinguished headed paper with a name, address and
telephone number can be a good way of reminding people of our existence.
We can all talk, read and write. Almost all of us read newspapers, listen to the
radio and watch television. Consequently a large number of managers, from
companies of the most varied kinds, think that this qualifies them for effective
communication with the media. Communication with the media, however, requires
something more than this. The kind of media training that will provide at least
a trace of the necessary skills should take around a day, preferably in a
television studio with an editing desk, good cameras, and technicians who know at
least a little about this kind of work.
It is, perhaps, hardly possible to work in this business without high-quality and
timely monitoring. The basic preconditions to effective communication with the press,
and thereby the public, are rapid feedback, a good knowledge of the activities of your
competitors and the ability to react rapidly to them. There are a large number of
approaches to this, such as getting up at the crack of dawn and spending long hours
working through a mountain of newspapers and magazines, listening to radio and television news,
or alternatively taking advantage of the services offered by specialist agencies.
The days when a pair of scissors was the only tool available for active press
monitoring are long gone, though this is not to say that this archaic method
has disappeared completely. There are now specialised companies (Anopress for example),
which thanks to contractual relations with the editorial staff of printed and
electronic media can offer articles and reports in their original wording.
They monitor as many as several hundred media outlets on both the national and regional level.
This is a far more flexible method. The selected material is made available just a
few hours after the papers get to the newsstand (an extremely good summary is generally
available by about nine o'clock in the morning) and can be sent by e-mail. It
also makes it far easier to prepare the necessary background research, including the
direct quotation of interesting passages. If you value the time of your employees, who
would otherwise have to spend long hours over dozens of newspapers with scissors
in their hands, it is far easier to have this work done by an agency, not least because
the media and these agencies now use e-mail - that fast modern communication tool - to transmit this information.
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