Are press events still a smart comms tool - or just a tired ritual some of us can't give up?

Press events used to be a pinnacle of communications activation. The moment you filled a room with hacks, told your story once, and watched the headlines roll in. Or at least that's the fantasy many executives still cling to.

The reality? Unless you're a prime minister, president, or possibly Elon Musk, the days of commanding an army of journos with a click of the fingers are gone. Most outlets barely have the staff to cover a presidential visit, let alone your widget factory in Walsall.

In this episode we'll look at what constitutes a press event - conferences, launches, visits, stunts and more. We'll explore where they still make sense, and where they increasingly don't. We'll remind ourselves what the media actually want and need in today's disaggregated, always-on world. And we'll talk about how you deal with a leader who wants that room full of media - and you know you've not got a "scoobie doo's" chance of achieving it.

We'll try not to moan and mither too much, and instead focus on a few top tips you can take back to the team.

This episode is hosted by Matt Young and Andrew Brown.

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.