Public Relations How to be media savvy

1. Public Relations How to be media savvy As Oscar Wilde said in The Picture of Dorian Gray, “…the only thing worse than being talked about is not to be talked about at all”

2. Everybody “does” PR it seems, but what exactly do they do? • "PR is a planned effort to influence opinion through good character and responsible performance based upon mutual satisfactory two-way communication". • American PR professionals Scott M. Cutlips and Allen H. Center, • Effective, Consistent, Sustained, Communications • With customers, investors, shareholders, employees, the • community… • Reputation - what you do, what you say, and what others say about you

3. Why use PR? • PR is an essential, versatile, relatively cost effective communications and marketing tool for companies, organizations and institutions of all types and sizes. • Raise awareness • Create credibility • Reach influencers • Educate consumers • Differentiate the brand from its competitors • Create a call to action for consumers - taste it, buy it, see • it, do it …

4. PR is Part of the Marketing Mix • Not to be confused with advertising and customer or guest relations, PR is a part of the marketing mix • 4Ps - Product, Price, Place (Distrib) and Promotion • Marketing includes advertising, sales, personal selling, • branding – and PR. • PR supports each and every one of these other marketing activities • “PR is becoming a more integral part of the marketing mix. Marketers are harnessing the power of PR and integrating it with other marketing disciplines” • The President of the Council of PR forms USA

5. How Does PR Work? • PR is about communicating the key messages about your company to different groups, including: • Media • Customers • Employees • Trade • Business Partners & Suppliers • Investors & Shareholders • Voters

6. Planning a PR Campaign • What are the objectives of your PR campaign? • Who are you talking to? • What are you trying to say? • How are you going to say it? • When are you going to say it? • How will you know it’s been heard?

7. Working with the Media – Be Media Savvy • Newspapers, magazines, TV, Radio, the Internet • Media provides the conduit to the consumer • Provide the media with newsworthy, topical & relevant messages and information • Create good relationships with the media • Know how the media works and what they are looking for • Read magazines and newspapers, watch TV, listen to the radio, surf the Internet • Create a database of important contacts • Be useful, efficient, reliable, always ready to help and they will come back to you again

8. Do a Media Audit • Assess where you are now, where you want to go and how to get there • Call media friends and ask them what they honestly think of a product/brand • Ask for their suggestions on how to change negative perceptions

9. Planning Your PR Activities • Create a PR activities plan based on your objectives and ensure that is implemented within a relevant timeframe. • Be aware of deadlines …there’s no point in sending a press release on your Christmas activities on December 20th, should have been sent in October • Put together a calendar of events including upcoming activities, information on changes in products/services, promotions to trade/customers, and so forth. • Identify opportunities to communicate these various messages and how best you can do that

10. The Tools of PR • Press kit • Media friendly to enable the media to create stories on your brand. • Informative, up-to-date, easy to read and relevant • Written in a straight forward style so key points are easy to understand. • Could include info on your CEO, main products/services, company/brand history, awards and other successes, CSR activities, and so on

11. Press Releases • Main communication, call to action for the • media. • Written in a straight forward style so key points • are easy to understand. • Every press release should cover the five Ws : – • Who What Where When Why • Should offer interesting, topical info they would • wish to pass onto their readers. • Include a few angles for the media to write • about. • Updates your media contacts on current • activities and news, unique promotions, • giveaways, awards, sponsorships, trade news, • consumer or sales activities, opening, employee • appointments, CSR activities.

12. “A Picture Says a Thousand Words” • Images • Essential to the PR practitioner • Professional and in the correct style to communicate the positioning of the brand • Allocate budget for great images as they are useful for all types of marketing, not just PR.

13. Media Events • Present the latest news about your brand, meet • the media in person. • Media events – • breakfast/lunch/dinner/cocktails/conferences. • Good reason for an event – news to share, • interesting person to meet. • Start and end the event on time – the media • are busy people. • Choose a venue that fits the brand image and • easy to get to for the media – Central, TST, etc.

14. One-on-one Interviews • Interviews often lead to larger features, and the story comes from the heart of the company. • If you have a big announcement, arrange for your key spokespeople • to set some time aside to meet the media one-on-one. • Think about which media are most appropriate for the message that you wish to give.

15. Feature Story Placement • Reading the publication(s) you want to be in and identifying what • they write about. • What type of story about your company or brand would fit into • the publication? • Good, strong story in the newspaper, far more impact than an • advertising campaign

16. Day to day Media Contact • Assist the media in a timely manner. • Dedicated person in the company, consider basic media training for • that person. • Be helpful and considerate. • Always be honest with the media

17. The Results • The results of PR are always hard to evaluate. • News clippings that you generate. • Remember that sometimes the purpose of PR is NOT to generate • clippings – in the case of negative news. • Word of mouth / a buzz • Positive feeling and goodwill to the brand

18. Case Study Tayma Fine Jewellery Hong Kong

19. Tayma’s PR Objectives • Expand her customer profile to compete with some • of the international jewellery brands. • Expand her customer base to include more local • Chinese consumers. • Position herself as a successful “home grown” Hong • Kong business woman • Position herself as a designer - the creator of one-off, • unique pieces of jewellery as well as sensational • ready made collections. • Change the perception to be a luxury brand as • reflected in the high profile location of her new shop. • Tayma wanted to get to know the media in HK • better.

20. Why did she hire a PR Company? • She felt that she was able to talk about • herself through us in a way that she would • otherwise be unable to. • She felt that this would give her a much • higher profile. • She felt that working with a PR agency was • like having a pair of outside eyes on your • business

21. PR Tools and Activities to Launch Tayma Fine Jewellery • Media “Wish List” • very targeted audience • high end glossy magazines, top newspapers • A Great Press kit • The designer • Fact Sheet • The Interview • Announcement Press release • Announcement of the shop opening in Prince’s Building and • a consumer announcement - a new collection designed just for the opening.

22. PR Tools and Activities to Launch Tayma Fine Jewellery • Interviews with Tayma • Pitched one-on-one interviews with Tayma Allies – designer and owner angles • “Successful woman in business” • “Jewellery designer” • “Creation of a luxury jewellery brand” • “Story of the jewellery” …

23. Personal Media Appointments • Invited the media to visit the shop and look at the jewellery. • The media requested photo shoots of the new shop, jewellery collections and Tayma • This lead to media introductions with Tayma • Some media borrowed the jewellery for fashion shoots – which we call product placement • Suggestions for Direct Marketing • DM • eDM • Calendar

24. Editorial Results

25. Editorial Results

26. Editorial Results

27. Feedback from Tayma “It was wonderful to be able to hand over the PR logistics to Grebstad Hicks and know it was all going to be taken care of…” “I have definitely seen a difference with the Chinese media, which was a side I hadn't really got to grips with...when you’re a small company, you do everything yourself, and often you tend to be reactive, not proactive.” “ Grebstad Hicks arranged interviews with TV and print media that has been reallybeneficial and has had a knock -on effect….. and we are often asked to comment by Chinese magazines and newspapers.”

28. Tayma’s Ongoing PR Effort On an ongoing basis, Tayma is in touch with her media contacts – announcing new collections and new concepts, promotions and so forth. She is in a good position to pick up the phone and call the fashion editors if there is something new and exciting happening with her brands. She sends out relevant press releases by email to her contacts. Creates interesting DMs with images of her jewellery to remind people of the brand.

29. THE END.