The media partnership is often viewed as a slam-dunk – delivering guaranteed placement of editorial content. However, media partnerships require continued diligence to ensure the right story is being shared at the right time to achieve your communications goals.
Oftentimes, the story angle that first hooked the media as a partner, such as exclusive interview access or news coverage can eclipse the overall story you may want to share, such as a business growth or economic impact story. Helping reporters to avoid shiny objects and share a more complete picture of your news is the art of maximizing media partnerships.
A few considerations as you pursue media partnerships.
- Big Picture: Does your news represent the full story or do you need to help reporters connect the dots about how this news reinforces a larger trend? In the case of a merger announcement, is the acquisition the primary focus or could it be considered a proof point of a larger initiative or market opportunity?
- Local Angle: Have you considered any local or community angles to your news as it’s being announced? For example, if your news is the announcement of a World Cup sporting event, could that information be brought to life with additional details about local athletes who may be eligible to compete?
- Historic Impact: As you announce your news can you place it in historical context to establish community connections and continuity as part of the story? If your news is about access to new technology in rural communities, could you round out media coverage by providing historical statistics and information about how things were accomplished previously?
- Visual Storytelling: Exclusive interviews often standalone as news, but incorporating visuals or sharing ideas for reporters to engage photographers or the online video team may help to create a more complete picture of the news. If your news is about a neighborhood rehabilitation project, could you share before and after photos of community landmarks?
- Youth Perspective: As adults, we may think we know it all, but truth be told, children have a unique perspective that can often uncover the true essence of complex issues much more easily than adults. Consider incorporating insights on your news from kids – this is particularly poignant when you think of elections as children do not have a formal voice, but the outcomes may impact their futures for years to come.
Take the time at the outset of any media partnership to consider your news from these alternate perspectives to ensure you share a complete story that resonates with a wider audience and delivers on your overall communications goals.
Media darling for a day is great – for a week or month is even better!
photo credit: Alfonsina Blyde » via photopin cc
