Morningstar Communications Luminary Blog

In addition to serving as the theme for the 2010 Smart Communications Summit held last week at the Kansas City Convention Center, this tagline truly describes how Morningstar Communications worked with client SKC to help develop and implement the company’s annual thought-leadership event.

Now in it’s third year, the Technology Summit has grown from a tent in the parking lot of SKC’s headquarters in Shawnee, to the Kansas City Convention Center, a premier event space. With the move to a larger, more high-profile location came the need for increased production and visibility.

From key messaging to presentation coaching, video production consulting to staging recommendations, Morningstar Communications collaborated with SKC to help orchestrate the Technology Summit. Our work on the Expert Panel Discussion is perhaps the most notable.

Take six industry leading CEOs and VPs, some of whom are fierce competitors, and put them together on a stage to discuss one universally important topic. Unorchestrated, this keynote could go drastically awry. With careful preparation and forethought it becomes a highlight of event. Such was the case with SKC’s Expert Panel Discussion.

Questions were carefully crafted based on key messages provided by our panelists to ensure the audience received the most useful and beneficial information, and our executives delivered their key points. Phone calls were held with each panelist to provide the ins and outs of the discussion’s flow and prepare them for what was to come. Our very own Eric Morgenstern facilitated the panel to keep a consistent rhythm and energy, and to tie answers together into key insights for attendees. From the tiniest details to the big rocks, everything was planned for a spotless execution.

The event brought more than 400 of SKC’s clients, prospects, manufacturers and employees together under one (big) roof. In the end, the Technology Summit helped us accomplish exactly what we set out to do three years ago in SKC’s parking lot. It positioned SKC as an industry leader and knowledgeable expert, provided attendees with information and opportunities they can’t receive anywhere else, and strengthened ties between SKC and it’s key manufacturers.

We’re proud to serve as SKC’s strategic marketing partner and are already looking ahead to 2011 as the Smart Communications Summit continues to grow and thrive.

Oprah. Good Morning, America. CNN. For many of our clients national shows like these are the Holy Grail of media placements. Not surprisingly, they’re the Holy Grail for thousands of other brands as well. With steep competition for airwaves, national media relations is both challenging and rewarding. It takes a lot of skill and a bit of luck, too.

We counsel our clients that to have a chance at media relations success you must have a good story, told in a compelling and customized way for the outlet you’re pitching, with a TV friendly spokesperson. This is where the skill comes in.

But as I’ve said, national media relations also involves some luck and a lot of that depends on timing. Having a timely story is always important. But above that, pitching your story at a time when there is a news hole you can fill is crucial. It’s also something you often have no control over.

For example, towards the end of last week we began pitching national media for one of our consumer-facing clients. We have a compelling story that fits well into the content normally produced on several of the national morning and news programs, a fabulous “cameragenic” young spokesperson and a packaged pitch that pulls at the heartstrings. However our news hole is slim to none. As you all know, over the weekend several hard news stories broke (oil spill, Times Square bombing attempt, Arizona immigration rallies). Our good news story has trouble competing with this hard news. Our challenge is now even more challenging.

In situations like these, you must react quickly and be ready and willing to deviate from your initial pitch plan. Maybe you move on to a less hard news focused outlet, or try pitching several outlets at the same time instead of taking a one-by-one approach.  

Even with all the best laid plans, media relations of any kind, local or national, is not guaranteed. But with a good story and an open news hole you have a chance of getting your story told by some of the top influencers in media today. And when you have a compelling story with a chance of success, we like to think it is worth the challenge, because one placement will offer tremendous rewards.

Trade shows. For many companies trade shows play a significant role in their marketing and business development efforts. But booth space, sponsorships and manpower can make trade shows expensive. After the budgetary and personnel resources are taken care of, businesses should look for all possible ways to leverage their trade show presence before, during and after the show.

Media relations is one strategy for leveraging your company’s trade show presence. Your experts are there, and so are trade media reporters and editors. You have information and expertise to share. The media is looking for compelling and timely content. This all adds up to the perfect opportunity for a win-win media relations scenario.

To make the most of trade shows and garner media coverage for your product or company, consider the following.

• Determine one or two announcements or trends you can speak to and contact trade reporters before the show to
   schedule interview times.

• When appointing spokespeople, remember that trade shows are a great place for reporters to put a name to a face and build a relationship with your spokesperson. Try to select someone who will represent your organization outside of the trade show, as well.

• Media train your spokespeople to ensure they’ll have the best interview possible.

• Consider having a member of your PR team at the trade show to coordinate interviews on site. It is not unusual for an interview to be rescheduled, pushed back or even run long. Having a person on hand to ensure the interview process runs smoothly allows your spokesperson to concentrate on what’s being said, instead of the logistics.

• Follow up with your media contacts after the event to say thank you and determine if any other information is needed for their story.

Trade media relations can be a very successful strategy for building relationships and sharing your message. Next time you’re preparing for a trade show, consider adding media relations to the mix.

Just five years ago, 51 percent of journalists looked to blogs for story ideas, for research or for finding sources, according to ZDNet Research. Fast forward three years to 2008, and that number is up to 75 percent (Brodeur and MarketWire).

Social media and social networking are changing the landscape of traditional media relations. And so, we adapt.

We optimize our news releases for search engines, we create customized, short email pitches for bloggers, and we get on Twitter and follow specific reporters. But in the end, we’re still after the same thing we were 20 years ago: building relationships.

In my experience working with the media, nothing beats meeting face-to-face or even picking up the phone and having a quick chat. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn certainly have their uses – quite good ones at that. In fact, my colleague Matt Dunn recently blogged about how he developed a relationship with a reporter via Twitter, and multiple media stories have resulted.

In Matt’s case, and the many I’ve encountered working in this business, I’ve been reminded that people want to make a connection. Reporters included.

Here are three simple steps you can take to further build relationships with the media or any other key audience. Consider these a reminder for getting off on the right foot in 2010.

1.    Make the connection. Set up some time to meet with the person. Face time is invaluable and truly strengthens your relationship. If you can’t meet, pick up the phone to check in on a regular basis.
2.    Find the communication channel that works. Does the person respond best via email? Or maybe he or she prefers a phone call or a conversation over Twitter. Use the channel that works best for the recipient and you’ll be more successful in getting your message across.
3.    Be gracious. Whether in media relations or other relationship-building activities, being kind and gracious goes a long way. For example, sending a thank you note after a meeting that expresses appreciation for the time spent is a no-brainer (read Eric Morgenstern’s blog about the importance of a handwritten note).

 If you’re like me and have been unplugged for several weeks at the end of the year, your RSS reader of choice is packed with posts about 2010 predictions and/or 2010 resolutions. Of course, I don’t have time to read through them all (Sorry!), but I do like to cruise through several of each to get a feel for potential trends and areas where people would like to improve professionally. Here are several posts that resonated with me.

Kevin Dugan, in typical Bad Pitch Blog style, shared several ways to “suck less” in 2010. I especially like his first tip on pledging to make a mistake. I’ve too often seen people afraid to take a unique approach to a challenge because of the chance of making a mistake.

Jason Falls shared a slightly different take on Kevin’s point in this post, where he discusses what he calls the “me too” syndrome currently pervasive in social media.

Tom Murphy takes a different approach in this post, proclaiming 2010 as the year you need to invest in you and offering several areas to focus on. Love this list more and more each time I read it.

For me, 2010 promises to be a very intriguing year, both personally and professionally. This year, I’m setting a goal to be involved with social media, listening, interacting and adding value to conversation. You’ll see me blogging more often, commenting on blogs more often and generally seeing how deep the social media rabbit hole goes for me.

I’ve also made a goal to be more involved with my community. I’m volunteering regularly with Kansas City’s chapter of IABC. I’m also joining a leadership group with Big Brothers Big Sisters. I couldn’t be more excited for the new opportunities and relationships these groups will provide.

What does 2010 have in store for you? What’s the one thing you hope you are able to accomplish before 2011?

As business professionals, we know that companies and organizations have a story to tell, and they want that story to reach a particular audience of people who matter most to them. We have always had distinct channels of communications to funnel our message to our target audiences.

Seem simple? If it were, then marketing and communications practitioners would be out of work.
As with all things in our society, technology continues to evolve; therefore so must our communication vehicles. At Morningstar Communications, we believe almost all communications can fit within the functional descriptions of the Four-Channel Media Model:

• Paid Media: This is when we pay for space or time in another “carrier pigeon.” This channel is shrinking as consumers are bombarded with information they can often get for free.
• Earned Media: When we earn our way using public relations (i.e. news or bylines). Although it is credible and inexpensive, we do not have total control of this channel and therefore should use it in concert with the other tools.
• Shared Media: It’s not yours or mine, it’s ours. Shared media (Wikipedia, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) is the fastest-growing component and it is considered by many to be the highest, most-credible source of information because “people like me” in a particular field create, update and post information.
• Controlled Media: We have complete control of our own work. This blog post, for instance, is an example. Controlled Media includes all collateral, sales and marketing materials. We can choose when, what and how much we write on a particular issue. The role of controlled media is increasing.

So, what’s the right mix?

There is no off-the-shelf answer to that question. Rather, the optimum solution must be customized to fit each organization’s goals, and then the real key is to use the “Secret Sauce.”

The “Secret Sauce” integrates all four communications components, at one time, in order to sustain the communications process. It’s when you take your achieved placement, in one of the four areas of communication, and continue to use it in the other three. For example, the speech you gave at a tradeshow becomes a case study to support sales efforts and then evolves into a byline article. Reprints can then be used as online resources, etc. This is the “Secret Sauce” to create synergy between all four components.

While you may have a bias for one communication vehicle over another, it is imperative that you create a balance and focus your efforts appropriately within all four channels. And don’t forget the sauce.

Onward and Upward.

Social media is changing the way public relations professionals do their jobs. Take media relations, a – if not THE – core competency of public relations, for example. The proliferation of social media has created even more channels for pros to establish and cultivate relationships with the media, and pitch them on story ideas. Here’s a look at how Twitter helped our Verizon Wireless team secure coverage outside of usual channels.

Situation: Verizon Wireless announced on October 28 its first Android OS phone, the Droid, would go on sale November 6. We were tasked with securing coverage of the new device during that weeklong window. Constraints we faced included lack of a specific technology reporter in our media markets, and a general reluctance from the media to cover device-related news.

Strategy: Realizing the need to keep up-to-date on chatter about the new device and to find a media target for a device review pitch, we turned to Twitter. In Kansas City, many members of the media have embraced Twitter as an avenue for interaction and promotion. Thus, most have an active presence in the space. Twitter has also proven to be an effective channel for gauging real-time reactions to news announcements, especially technology-related topics.

As we monitored tweets related to the #droid hashtag in Kansas City, we saw The Kansas City Star’s TV critic Aaron Barnhart (@tvbarn) tweet about the device. Knowing Aaron was a long-time Verizon Wireless client, we reached out to him via public tweet and asked if he’d like to demo the device, no strings attached.

Solution: Aaron accepted our offer and, unsolicited, actually pitched his own story idea to the business editor. He wanted to do a review of the device from the point of a view of a long-time customer excited about the new device. We coordinated a demo with Aaron and a store manager at his local Verizon Wireless Communications store. The demo, which most reporters only allot about 30 minutes for, lasted more than an hour and Aaron filmed parts of it for his blog.

As a result of our outreach, Aaron posted a review of the device and a video on his blog, which was reposted on the Star’s Sprint Connection blog. A different version of the review also appeared as the feature story on the front page of the print business section. This coverage appeared on November 6, the day the Droid was available in stores in the area.

What success have you had in pitching using social media channels? What tactics have (or haven’t) worked for you? Share your thoughts in the comments or tweet me @m_dunn.