Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
A recent interview on Hardball provided a painful reminder on how important it is to prepare for a press interview. Texas state senator, Kirk Watson, was interviewed by Chris Matthews regarding his support for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.
When asked repeatedly to highlight some of Sen. Obama’s legislative accomplishments, Watson tried unsuccessfully to bridge away from the question, but ultimately revealed a lack of knowledge about the candidate he had publicly endorsed. It was hard to watch, but as I did, I realized how easily this debacle could have been avoided with a little preparation.
Regardless of how many interviews a spokesperson has facilitated, it is important to prepare for each one. Don’t blow off the preparation. In my experience, I have seen the seasoned spokesperson fail to read the briefing or neglect to internalize the information from a prepared rude Q&A, choosing to just “wing it.” This approach is definitely a gamble, and while it may work sometimes, it is a good idea for spokespeople to fully prepare for each interview in advance to avoid missing key messages and losing face in front on an insistent reporter. This is a gamble that makes every PR professional cringe – because all it takes is an aggressive reporter to turn an amazing interview opportunity into a public bungle.
In the Hardball situation, Kirk’s interview was likely more damaging to his own image than it was to Sen. Obama’s because it exposed his lack of knowledge and thus eroded his credibility for supporting a candidate he wasn’t fully informed about. Additionally, Kirk Watson’s advisors should have thoroughly prepared him for what is already seen as a difficult program that often throws “hardballs” at its guests.
As you approach your next interview consider the risk you are taking by not investing time to prepare. Are you comfortable gambling with your company’s public image and your position as a thought leader?
Here is a quick summary of things to do in preparation for every interview to ensure the spokesperson is fully equipped for each interview.
These are some of the best practices we use to help our clients prepare for their interviews with journalists and analysts. The consequences of over-preparation are far better than the consequences of conducting an interview unprepared.
We recently announced our fourth anniversary, marking the beginning of our fifth year in business. Since the firm’s founding in 2004, we have experienced tremendous growth, which can largely be attributed to our reputation of delivering stellar results and fostering great relationships.
For example, stellar results and great relationships can be seen in the national attention we garner for our clients in publications such as BusinessWeek, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Family Circle and Reader’s Digest. Last year we also helped build awareness and contributed to successful acquisitions of two clients by Qualcomm and Nuance.
A solid reputation is critical to any business as a majority of new business is a result of client referrals. An organization’s good name also demonstrates that your company makes smart decisions, knows where to focus its resources and has solid business acumen.
If positioned correctly, a good reputation can also help organizations meet business objectives such as building the perceived value of the company and securing new customers. As companies look to build their own reputations, it’s important to remember the role PR can play in accomplishing these goals. The right PR partner can help:
If you would like to know more about how PR can help build your organization’s reputation, contact us to see what we can accomplish for you. E-mail us at [email protected]
The announcement in its entirety can be viewed on our Web site here.
To see a sampling of recent coverage results, please check out the following links:
Wall Street Journal
Software Eases Troubleshooting on Mobile Devices
By Roger Cheng
November 15, 2007
USA Today
Joysticks to the world: A video game gift guide
By Marc Saltzman
November 27, 2007
Reuters News Service
“Hidden Object” Series Hit for the Holiday
By Scott Hillis
December 20, 2007
Consumer Electronics Daily
Best Buy Testing MOD DVD Downloads-to-Burn at Six Stores
By Mark Seavy
January 11, 2008
Link not available
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Game On: Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate’
By Winda Benedetti
February 26, 2008
Today Big Fish Games announced worldwide availability of Mystery Case Files (MCF): Madame Fate. Now, for those who are unfamiliar with Big Fish Games (the biggest fish in the casual games pond), the company develops family fun games, which can be played on home PCs or Macs. Although MCF: Madame Fate was launched exclusively at www.bigfishgames.com in November 2007, today the company is announcing worldwide availability. Part of the award winning Mystery Case Files series, Madame Fate is a top-selling game and has proved to be a favorite with fans.
To build awareness and demand for MCF: Madame Fate, the team went on the road in November 2007 to demo the new game with several media outlets. The response was overwhelmingly positive as editors had a blast playing the game. One of the things people loved about MCF: Madame Fate is the character descriptions and quirky carnival atmosphere. Of course, Iím a bit biased, but Big Fish Gamesí artists truly are the best in the game industry – I would bet my morning cup of joe on that.
The tour generated some amazing results and sparked interest at the press meetings and the airport gate as several travelers were intrigued and entertained by the game while they waited for their delayed flight to arrive.
For anyone that follows casual games you have heard the typical casual gamer is female and over the age of 35. Not so. Men love these games as well. One man played Madame Fate in the airport until the laptop battery died all the while saying his wife would love the game. Additionally, one of the male editors we met with took the game home and enjoyed playing Madame Fate with his family. The reality is most people, regardless of age or gender, like entertainment and enjoy a fun challenge.
So for all the closet gamers out there and those who are loud and proud, you can now buy Madame Fate online or in retail stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Game Stop.
Click here for the full details surrounding Big Fish Games’ announcement today.
Today’s article in the NY Times, ’Seattle Taps Its Inner Silicon Valley, was of interest to me as it highlights what has become very evident to those of us immersed in the technology industry here – Seattle is a hotbed for technology innovation and development.
Author John Markoff touches on the impact companies such as Microsoft, RealNetworks and Amazon have had in the growing Seattle tech industry. These companies and others in the area have been responsible for providing a platform (financial and otherwise), for entrepreneurs to create and innovate. The result is a long list of companies that have evolved from start-ups to established businesses, such as Big Fish Games, Isilon Systems, F5, Cranium (sold to Hasbro), among others – which will shed another round of entrepreneurs into the great Northwest.
Evidence of this inspiration can be seen by viewing the Seattle Start-up Index . This long list includes a number of companies to watch in 2008. *Some* of the companies I believe are worth watching include,
Inrix
Illumita
Mpire
Paperspine
Sparkplug
Sweat365
TalentSpring
Visible Technologies
In the spirit of full disclosure, some of these are clients of Communiqué PR.
So hats off to all the entrepreneurs who foster ’Seattleís inner Silicon Valley.
Tom Trinneer, a friend and former client of Communiqué PR, suggested I blog about YouTube and how corporations are using videos to promote their images and achieve their business objectives. He also suggested I check out Microsoftís video to promote Microsoft Surface, below. Right away I was intrigued.
Clearly, video can be a very effective medium for entertaining, educating, attracting a younger audience, reaching a completely new audience or breathing new life into a brand. Consider Doritos as an example. During the Super Bowl the company aired a 60-second music video featuring an artist voted to be the best by a group of online consumers. Not only did Doritos reach a broad group of consumers watching the Super Bowl, but the company garnered excellent coverage of its campaign in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, Feb. 1. Check out the article entitled, ’Super Bowl is Crunch Time for Doritosí Risky Youth Strategy.
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120182490729833669.html)
Microsoftís Surface video is also interesting. It helped me understand the concept of Surface, but it was a little long and dry for my taste. Immediately following, I then watched the parody video from a sarcastic gamer and found it to be funny and entertaining.
As a result the video, I am now aware of the new product, Surface. However, unfortunately for Microsoft, after watching the parody video I am left with a somewhat neutral impression of the product.
In summary, I think video can be a very effective means of communication from a company to its audience, but companies need to be careful when they are producing them. Marketing and PR professionals must think strategically about how both proponents and opponents will react to the message. They should try to adhere to the following guidelines.
Use humor carefully
Make sure the length is right for the target audience
Be consistent with corporate image and messaging
For more on best practices about making an effective YouTube video to grow your business, we recommend reading the Wall Street Journal article ’Lights! Cameras! Sales! or checking out this article, http://www.prnewsonline.com/researchandsurvey/chewonthis.html.
This morning there is an article in the Wall Street Journal about social networking sites (Social Sites Don’t Deliver Big Ad Gains) and how the ad revenue from these sites has been disappointing. According to the WSJ, Facebook, Google and other players have been struggling to generate significant revenue from advertising.
I found the article intriguing and extremely salient. Communiqué PR has recently completed project work for Brad Hefta-Gaub, founder of Sweat365, a social networking site aimed at the everyday athlete. Brad has a unique vision for social networking. He believes it is important to provide people with relevant content so they have a compelling reason to repeatedly return to his site.As I read the WSJ article, I couldn’t help but think about the importance of knowing your target audience and what is important to them. Certainly, this is the name of the game in both advertising and public relations. I think Brad has stumbled onto something significant.Sweat365 users blog with the specific focus to help one another live healthier lives and achieve their fitness goals, whatever they may be. And they’re writing to inspire one another to get physically active. Given the specific focus of the site, I anticipate select companies will be more interested in placing targeted ads on his site. It will be interesting to watch what happens in the category as more and more social networking sites look to find a successful business model.