Turning your CEO and top brass into media savvy spokespeople takes practice, practice and more practice, according to media relations experts. And this practice is best achieved outside of a crisis situation.
"Unfortunately, I'm usually brought in when there's a problem and "60 Minutes" is at the [company's] back door," said Norm Hartman who heads up HartMedia, Inc., a media relations firm in Gold River, Calif. But pursuing coverage just for the sake of ink or air time isn't the best strategy either.
What makes or breaks a company's public image has a lot to do with having a proactive media plan in place that goes beyond landing the right interviews. It's the behind-the-scenes work that leads to those "perfect CEO soundbites" and quotable spokesperson comments that reporters are hungry for.
And doing this homework is more important now than it ever has been, given the increased likelihood that your organization will be in the news with the growing number of news channels, news programming and local business magazines that are popping up every year.
Deciding whether to use outside media training specialists should be determined by the magnitude of your media relations goals and how candid you can be with your CEO and spokespeople about enhancing their media image. Media training consultants are unbiased and can therefore be painfully honest about your CEO's shortcomings and identify how they can communicate most effectively with the media using verbal and nonverbal tactics. And for companies that have aggressive media goals or are frequently in the media spotlight, incorporating ongoing media training (bi-monthly to quarterly) into the PR budget should be a priority.
|
Facing the (Media's) Music
Source: Hartman Media Inc. |
Whether you decide to go with a media training consultant or do the media prepping yourself, there are some key ground rules that your CEO should follow before meeting with reporters, according to John Meek of HMI Communications Inc. in Washington, D.C.
It's critical that you interview the interviewer and find out how long the interview should be, whether it will be live or taped and who the other scheduled guests are. Also, be sure to conduct practice sessions with the CEO. Ask all of the difficult questions and work with the CEO on message development and delivery. The messages should be soundbite-concise for both print and TV (about 7.2 seconds).
There are no average costs for professional media training services because there are so many factors to consider, including travel, expenses, number of people to be trained, length and frequency of sessions and whether a news personality will be involved. But a conservative estimate for these services starts at about $2,500 to $3,000 a day, according to Meek and Hartman.
Getting Ahead of the Media
Certain industries like telecommunications and healthcare are especially vulnerable to media scrutiny, according to Hartman. Making sure that difficult and often complex messages are conveyed requires a keen sensitivity to the reporter's needs and how to package information in an easily understood manner. This brand of media relations often requires a team approach to the media that uses not only the CEO but key management spokespeople.
As the nation's largest HMO, Kaiser Permanente is constantly in the news. Beverly Hayon, who was brought on board to head its external media effort, understood the importance of prepping not only the CEO but hundreds of Kaiser doctors who were also charged with conveying the right healthcare messages for Kaiser by setting up training sessions.
Passing On Coverage
When Delta Air Lines chose an outsider for its CEO leadership, business reporters couldn't wait to get a good look at who Leo Mullin was and what direction he was going to take the No. 3 airline. His appointment was fertile ground for media speculation, according to Bill Berry, Delta's director of corporate communication, who is among the top communicators making the tough calls on how accessible Mullin should be during this honeymoon period of getting to know the airline and the industry.
Now that Mullin has sufficiently introduced himself to the media, he's at that crucial follow-up stage of developing his programs and long-term goals for the airline giant. In spite of the tremendous media interest out there to find out what those plans are, the media strategy has been to avoid the temptation to put him out there before he's ready. In the next week, Berry expects that Mullin will be ready to unveil some of his special programs and overall directional goals for Delta with the national and local media. (HartMedia, 800/732-1722; HMI, 202/737-7370; KP, 510/271-6437; Delta, 404/715-2575)
Editor's Note: For a list of media training companies, refer to the PR NEWS 1997 Guide to Media Relations Services, which was published in June. If you came onboard as a PR NEWS subscriber after June, call 1-800-777-5006 for your copy.