When our clients announce new products or services, they also consider whether to make the announcement on a global scale or keep it to the U.S. This was especially true for one of our clients who wanted to make an announcement at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. In order to ensure they were reaching as broad an audience as possible, they enlisted the support of a European agency to complement our efforts on the U.S. side.
While we do provide services to our clients that span all geographical industry lines, this client felt it would be beneficial to have representation from an agency in the same time zone as the show. Having multiple agencies work on the same project takes thoughtful planning and management to ensure the roles are clear and there is no overlap in activity.
If your company is considering employing a similar, dual-agency communication strategy, here are a few tips for you to help assure the entire campaign runs smoothly:
- Introduce the team leads – During this introduction, it might be helpful to recap the goals of the project so that each team is clear on the objectives. By ensuring everyone is familiar with each other, your communication teams can work out the minutia together, without using you as a middleman.
- Clearly define roles – It’s critical that each team knows what their role is within the project. For example, for the Mobile World Congress announcement, we were the lead agency responsible for materials creation, while the European agency tackled localized outreach within Europe. Clearly defining roles helps make certain that no one does duplicative work.
- Share materials and outreach lists – Reporters hate getting pitched twice. To avoid this, it’s important to make sure both agencies have shared their contact lists and reviewed them to avoid any duplication. Any messaging or branding materials should also be shared and utilized because it’s important that everyone communicate the same messages throughout all materials and outreach.
While these steps seem simple and straightforward, it’s important to employ them to alleviate any confusion or duplication of work. Coordinated outreach and the distribution of announcements takes a lot of time and effort behind the scenes, but all a consumer or journalist sees is the end product. Employing an open, cohesive communication strategy is key to achieving a smart, successful and seamless product launch. Additionally, with smooth collaboration between agencies, communication professionals can ensure they are getting the most value for their money.