The Media Coach | 5th April 2024 |
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| Building and Protecting your Reputation |
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| Hi John,
I hope you didn't get fooled on Monday.
I must admit, I did. One of our cavernous local pubs is up for sale, and the owner of a small craft beer tap room announced they had just received the keys and were taking it over. I was delighted, until I saw another post on April 2nd revealing it was an April Fool.
It was actually very clever. The pub in question is a huge old place where local people often go for morning coffee, an afternoon chat or a quiet pint. It keeps prices low and is much-loved. The lease is owned by a well-known business person not unconnected with The Apprentice. The plan is to convert the place to an up-market gastropub, despite there being four other gastropubs close by. Local people are upset, and the clever April Fool has drawn a lot of attention to their protest.
So a big well done to Dan Clapton, owner of the Wanstead Tap, for a brilliant PR stunt. |
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| You'll know that I'm a regular volunteer at sporting events.
This Sunday, I will be supporting the London Landmarks Half Marathon, by being one of the "Historic Costume Finishers". Basically I'll be dressed as Henry VIII or possibly Dick Turpin, welcoming the runners home.
Yes, I will post a picture next week.
Last year, some of the runners took the title of the race rather seriously, and dressed as London Landmarks. I hope to see them again this year. |
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| My guest in the radio show this week is Harun Rabbani, a superb motivational speaker and all-round good bloke.
He's worked in many schools across 14 countries, written a number of fine books, and is committed to personal development, education, and empowering others.
His speaking engagements and achievements have left a lasting impact on individuals and communities worldwide.
I've known Harun for some time, and it was a real pleasure to speak with him again, on a topic that is utterly fascinating - Ultra-focus.
Hear our chat in the in the radio show. |
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And there's great song from my old chum Mick Terry too. |
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| MediaMaestro, MediaMug of the Week |
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| The MediaMaestro is Joe Lycett.
He responded to a bizarre Easter picture and message from former Prime Minister Liz Truss (remember her) with a very funny image of his own.
Liz Truss, for reasons best known to herself, posted an image of her holding a terrified-looking lamb outside a derelict church.
Joe Lycett copied her pose, with a safe-looking towel outside a church under repair.
There have been many comments on Ms Truss's picture. No-one is clear why she is clutching a live lamb, or why she chose the backdrop of a church that's been closed since a huge fire some years ago.
Most suggestions see it as a metaphor for her premiership - a disaster scene with a total lack of awareness.
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| The MediaMug of the week is Adidas, and the disastrous publicity that has followed the release of a football kit for the German national team, including a number 44 that has a startling resemblance to the logo of the Nazi party's infamous SS paramilitary units.
Adidas on Monday stopped offering the personalisation of shirts names and numbers, and the German football federation halted the delivery of shirts with the number 44 from its own online shop.
“None of the parties involved saw any proximity to Nazi symbolism in the development process of the shirt design," the German Football Federation said on X, formerly Twitter.
Really? No-one at the federation noticed? Thousands of people did, including my sharp-eyed friend Niels Brabandt, who alerted me to this PR disaster.
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Speaking Tip of the week - Five questions, two actions |
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| When you are asked to speak, you should ask five questions in return.
Who will the audience be? How many, where, what is their background? Who are the most important people? When you stand up, what will they expect you to say? Why have you been asked to speak? What message will you deliver? What techniques will you use? Should you use slides? Should you use a microphone?
And then there are two actions to take -
1. The first thing is to consider your audience. Take a sheet of paper and write down everything you know about them (background, interests, companies, status). Put it down on your desk. 2. Now consider your message. Summarise it in ten to fifteen words. Ensure that it is relevant to your audience. Include your aim. Are you going to inform, persuade, entertain, instruct or call to action? Write it down and place it beside your audience profile.
As you prepare your speech, keep both documents in view. Everything you include should match both the audience expectation and the topic. Simple, eh? |
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Media Tip of the week - How to understand journalists |
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| Not all journalists are the same. However, nearly all of them share certain characteristics. Understanding what makes them tick makes it much easier to work with them. Here's my take on journos, having been in the business for over thirty years.
They are always on deadline. Those who don't deliver on time, or to sufficient quality, don't last long. They are always looking for stories. They can't help it. Even a chance remark in a pub might set them off on a trail to find the story behind it. They are very focused. They want to get to the core of a story as quickly as possible. They expect you to be evasive. They know that most people are wary of reporters, so will tend to be persistent when asking you questions. They are competitive. Although getting the facts right is important, getting the facts first is more important. They don't like being used. If they think you are using them to get publicity, they will back off. If you help them, they will be very loyal.
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Social Media Tip of the week - Social media oils the wheels, face-to-face seals the deals |
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| There's a lot said about online versus offline networking. Some prefer one over the other, and some, like me, see the benefits of both approaches. It's my observation, however, that getting face-to-face with someone, shaking their hand and looking into their eyes tells you far more about them than an Insta post or a Facebook message can ever do. Here are two networking methods -
1) Start with a real-world meeting, followed up by an email, and then keep it going by regular social networking messages. A few more meetings can follow before a deal is agreed with a handshake.
2) Start with an online connection, followed up over a matter of months with social networking messages, before a meeting or two, leading to the handshake on the deal.
Of course, some people conduct all their business online, and never meet their customers at all. That works for commodity-based businesses, but is much more tricky for professional services.
Zoom is also of great value in relationship building.. It bridges the gap between online and offline, and is almost (but not quite) as good as face-to-face.
So for me, and maybe for you too, social media oils the wheels, and face-to-face seals the deals. |
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Looking for a speaker coach? |
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The information in this ezine may be freely re-used in any online or offline publication, provided it is accompanied by the following credit line - "This information was written by Alan Stevens, and originally appeared in "The MediaCoach", his free weekly ezine, available at www.mediacoach.co.uk." |
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