Sure, your executive team is good on camera and talks easily
with the press. General media savvy is nice to have, and everyday
prompting and coaching from the PR team about executive
interactions with media are par for the course. But like every
general practitioner, sometimes a PR pro needs to call in a
specialist. Not only should formal media training from outside
consultants be a part of every executive's basic training, but it
should be an indispensable instrument in the PR pro's medical
bag.
Mary Henige, communications director, Pontiac/GMC Division at
General Motors, makes media training sessions a routine part of
major product launches because it helps unify the executive team
around the same product points and clarify the marketing message.
"The time you need a coach is when you want to bring the whole team
together to make it official training. Crises, product releases,
litigation are all the right times to bring someone in and make
sure the messages are consistent," says Henige. An added benefit is
that an outside trainer helps validate the value of media relations
as an integral part of the everyday marketing planning mix. "You
need to sell the idea of why you need training by saying that you
are ready to do X, and we want to prepare the team and work on
message development," says Henige.
Chris Karbowiak, VP of public affairs at Bridgestone/Firestone,
has her trainer on retainer, in part because it is too expensive to
maintain staff with such expertise, but also because she wants
someone with journalism experience who can play the hard media
adversary role more effectively than an executive's colleague.
Trainer Vickie Jenkins, principal of Performance Power
Strategies Coaching (not Karbowiak's trainer) says as an outside
coach, she can be tougher than any reporter. "I can tell the client
during our practice interview, 'Oh that quote's a bunch of hooey!
That will never play.'"
Bob Kraut, marketing director, Grand Prix, Bonneville, and GTO,
Pontiac/GMC has been through training twice. "[Internal PR] is not
going to talk about my style," he says. "Trainers work on style,
disposition, a lot of non-verbal things."
He says that while internal PR develops the messages, outside
trainers have also helped him to contour the message to different
media platforms. "You get a sense of adjusting answers to different
types of media," says Kraut.
Training the Trainer
Considering the typical price tag for a day of an outside
trainer's time runs around $4,000 to $5,000 plus expenses, you want
to get the most out of that investment.
The more background and guidance you provide the trainer up
front, the more effective and efficient the sessions, say PR pros
and trainers alike. Henige prefers scheduling media training around
specific upcoming events or launches because it helps focus the
process on specific goals and outcomes and helps executives buy
into the day-long sessions.
Providing the trainer with executive bios, rough draft press
releases, information on competitors and the talking points for the
issue or product at hand will help them craft the most likely media
scenarios the executives might face.
But of course, the PR pro must offer up the real scoop on the
executive in question. "You need to be very honest and tell the
trainer what your executive's quirks and weaknesses are so they can
hit those weak points," says Henige. Whether an executive uses long
words, or strays from proof points, doesn't look into the camera,
tends to snap at hostile questions, all help target the session and
make it most effective.
Just as important is informing the trainer which media outlets
the company is targeting or being targeted by. A good trainer
should research those media channels in order to focus the sessions
on the most likely media scenarios.
Training Day
Let the executive team know up front how long the process will
take, and "you should be in there taking tons of notes...or do an
audio tape," says Henige. Being part of the training confers to you
some of the authority of the consultant so that you are better able
to handle subsequent follow-up and later brush-up tasks in-house.
"You want to be seen as the expert the executive turns to for
advice," says Henige.
Jenkins warns that in order to develop a sense of trust, she
does need some one-on-one time with the client apart from in-house
PR staff, and she also advises against having more than one PR rep
in the training room: It risks sending too much varied advice to
the trainee.
On the other hand, when in the room, the PR executive should
monitor the quality of the session, not just observe. "If the media
coach is not moving the session along, or you see the client
struggling, have everyone take a break and the give the coach your
feedback. Don't wait to see if things 'improve,'" Henige says.
Some trainers will provide a report on message development at
the end of the process, but in most cases the PR team itself has to
follow up with the trainee.
Karbowiak often creates an outline of messages or proof points
covered in the sessions and circulates it to the relevant teams.
This not only reiterates the training and the necessary talking
points, but it gives the trainee a tangible result of the
session.
As much as the PR executive needs to be a part of the process of
using an outside trainer, it is just as important to let the
trainer be the coach and take the credit for knowing when to bring
in the specialist. "We need to be confident enough to know that
that external perspective is going to help us," says Henige.
(Contacts: Mary Henige, Bob Kraut, 313/667-4103; Chris
Karbowiak, 615/872-1497; Vickie Jenkins, 888/331-7714)
More Tips: And Don't Forget the Food
1. When shopping for a trainer, don't be shy about telling
prospects what you can afford, says Vickie Jenkins of Performance
Power Strategies Coaching. Often these consultants can design a
program around different budget constraints.
2. Because this sort of training can be unnerving for
executives, Pontiac's Mary Henige thinks PR executives should take
the training themselves so that "we are more compassionate about
what [the executives] are going through."
3. Sometime during the training session, the in-house PR rep
should take the executive's pulse about how the session is going to
make sure he/she is comfortable with the direction of the training
thus far.
4. When you find a good trainer, try to stick with her, says
Bridgestone/Firestone's Chris Karbowiak. Once a trainer becomes
well-acquainted with your organization, its executives and its
issues, she becomes a part of the team. You spend much less time
bringing her up to speed for each project and, critical in media
training, your executives come to trust her judgment and
critiques.
Don't forget the food, says Jenkins. "I can't tell you how many
times I have had a client 'brain lock' their on-camera answers
during training until we took a break, got them some food -- brain
fuel -- and then watched them miraculously answer media questions
with ease."