Let’s be honest with each other: it’s pretty cool to see your name in the news.
For most of our clients, that’s the goal when we’re brought in for Public Relations purposes. They want to be prepared and ready for the hot mics and get their name and their company’s name in front of the change makers signing checks. They want to be the name that decision makers think of, and to do so, that means boosting the name recognition through media.
We’ve prepared everyone from legislators to CEOs to handle the hard questions from the press, but after all that practice and scrutiny, I’ve learned that the benefits of rigorous media prep go far beyond sit-down interviews with reporters.
In recent months, we worked with a client who came to us looking for exposure in the Washington D.C. market. An innovator and engineer, the client wanted to get the company’s name out in D.C. as new policies made it a ripe time for growth.
After diving into the prep, it became clear that as this client practiced, the delivery and execution improved exponentially – and not just with reporters.
We worked on refining the nuanced points of the product, keeping the language in terms that your average news consumer could embrace rather than speaking in technical terms and impacts that are difficult if not impossible to grasp for anyone that isn’t an expert in the field.
The result? Our client brought this new material into client meetings, sales pitches, and yes, to media. It led to a major boost in confidence and, I like to think, a more engaging discussion when talking about selling the product.
Now, that company has been in discussions to merge with a global manufacturer and distributor. Their remarkable product now has the opportunity to make an impact globally. I certainly don’t think that the work that we did with this client contributed (because the product is so unique and exciting in and of itself), but I’d like to believe that helping make the product and the client more relatable and confident played a role in pushing things in the right direction.
Media training works not just when you’re answering the tough questions, but when you have to sell you and your service to boost your bottomline.
Don’t believe me? Give us a call and I’ll give you the toughest interview you’ve ever faced.
-Justin Giorgio