Media Relations - At the Heart of Great PR

Knowing, understanding and meeting the needs of today's online and offline press is at the heart of great PR.

How an organization plans for, achieves and integrates media relations into a comprehensive strategic communications program is as important today as ever. 

Whether product launch, crisis response, earning's release, merger announcement, consumer promotion, sponsorship, or any of a myriad of other needs, working hard to score "earned" exposure is important and possible.  You have to know your brand, know "your" media, be creative, be responsive, be aggressive and work hard at it ... really hard.

Your audience, whether other businesses, customers, bloggers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, consumers, public officials or communities, places greater value in a story than an advertisement.

"Go Digital or Go Home"

Providing 24/7/365 access to news is essential.  Just ask the air lines.

Recent news about the proposed Delta/Northwest merger was supported by a dedicated Web site (http://www.newglobalairline.com/).  It is easily accessible through Delta's or NWA's corporate sites and designed for employees, customers and communities with a complete "news center" for media.

American Airlines grounding its MD-80 fleet in early April created serious issues for travelers at the DFW International Airport.  As reported in PRNews (www.prnewsonline.com - subscribers only) (April 21, 2008), DFW's public affairs chief cited two rules for the crisis: 1. "Everything is your job." and, 2. "Go digital, or go home." 

TEKgroup International (www.tekgroup.com), in their 2008 Online Newsroom Survey, reports that 97% of journalists prefer receiving Email alerts for news stories and 92% prefer them for pitched stories.

This edition of March Forth provides you with some great links to information about media relations, online newsrooms and media relations books.

Please contact us or visit our Web site to learn more about Vehr Communications and this important part of any PR program.

Online Newsrooms

Designing Web sites to maximize media relations:  Nielsen Norman Group Report          

Building Your Online Press Room by B.L. Ochman: webpronews.com                

The Online Press Room - A Requirement for any Company Web site by Jon Boroshok: techmarcom.com       

Goods Reads about Media Relations

Connect below to view our most preferred books regarding Media Relations.  Many options exist for those interested in learning more.

Media Relations: Issues and Strategies

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly

PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences