The Public Relations Podcast

If you want good coverage, cosy up to reporters. That's the conventional wisdom in Public Relations, right? But what do you do when that's not working?

Jim McCarthy from CounterPoint Strategies LTD takes on clients where a negative narrative has often developed around them.

To understand Jim's approach, you need to see (or listen) to the two parts of this chat. But, in essence, Jim fact-checks the reporters and points out when they make assumptions based on narrative rather than data or when they get facts wrong from his client's perspective.

To Jim, what matters is trying to ensure that his clients at least have a chance to be heard.

I love people who challenge me and share new ideas on how they approach comms, and Jim really does that.

You may agree or disagree with his clients, but when we look at it from the point of communications technique, it's fascinating.

Part 2 next week.

GUEST

Jim McCarthy

Main Contact: [email protected]

Web: counterpointstrategies.com

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THE PROJECT - www.commsBREAK.com

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Here's the 3rd and final reading of the PRBites Newsletter.

It's packed with tips, ideas and headspace stuff to help you put comms in perspective on tough days.

I thought I would share these as test episodes to see if you like them.

Listen, don't listen. It's up to you!

If I see people engage, I'll do more.

Another special episode of PR techniques, observations and news from the comms/PR with ideas you can use.

It seems my test episode the other day, where I read the 8th July 2024 edition of the "PRBites" Newsletter aloud, was really popular, so I thought I would do it again.

This is the 10th July edition.

If you would like the newsletter, you can get it here - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/subscribe-prbites/

Or, do you like this format? If so, let me know if you want more audio versions of it.

Today, I'm bringing back Kathleen Lucente, a good friend and a favourite on the podcast, to share some invaluable insights into proactive crisis management.

Just before we started recording, Kathleen had just come out of a crisis communication workshop with clients in a healthcare startup.

Getting it right is crucial for a sector with so much regulation, as things can unfold quickly.

I asked her about how she had been teaching them, how she approaches teaching crisis management generally, and how she gets people onboard and involved with critical planning. For example, some executives don't want to be involved and see it as something for marketing or legal departments. She also shared how she helps set up an organisation to be inherently more resilient to a crisis than many others. 

There is so much in here. 

If you want to reach out to Kathleen then she's happy to help if she can. Here are some links on Katheleen and the show in general. 

THE PROJECT - www.commsBREAK.com

GUEST

Kathleen Lucente

Main Contact: [email protected]

Web: https://www.redfancommunications.com/

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CONNECT WITH ME

- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-midson/

- Website and newsletter -https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/

APPEAR ON THE PODCAST:

- Check out: https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/one-sheet/

A special episode of PR techniques, observations and news from the comms/PR with ideas you can use.

It's the 8th July 2024 edition of the "PRBites" Newsletter read aloud which you can get at - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/subscribe-prbites/

Do you like this format? If so, let me know if you want more audio versions of it.

I think India is fascinating for PR, not just because of the ideas there, but because of the environment comms people work in.

Just like Hollywood can teach us about narrative due to its intense focus, India can teach us how to handle topics in a diverse environment where getting it wrong can backfire badly.

Take women's health. For many, it was and still is a taboo topic there. So how do you then launch a women's health campaign within that context?

Sonali Sokhal from Intelliquo can answer that, as that is her current brief.

In this "bite-sized" episode, I chat with Sonali about the campaign and some of the factors needed to turn around perceptions and overcome taboos.

Takeaways:

1) Be aware of societal changes and look for cracks in existing attitudes where new groups are adopting new ideas.

2) Find and target the right people who will embrace your message. There will always be someone. You then need them to share the conversation because you can't do it all yourself.

3) Getting the messaging right relies on deeply understanding what will resonate with the people you need to reach.

To subscribe to the podcast or to get the new daily newsletter, the link is in my bio.

The whole thing is here in this podcast

GUEST - Sonali Sokhal WEB: www.Intelliquo.in

THE PROJECT - www.commsbreak.com

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- Video and Audio links here - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/listen/

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- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-midson/

- Website and newsletter -https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/

How do you create a social movement for your organisation?

It's something that we all try, but it doesn't always work.

In this episode, we're looking at two recent movements to see if we can reverse engineer them.

We'll look at the importance of a strong narrative, of a David versus Goliath story, of real-time feedback, and more.

THE PROJECT - www.commsbreak.com

Video and Audio links here - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/listen/

Or search for "The Public Relations Podcast" on all good podcast apps.

CONNECT WITH ME

- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-midson/

- Website and newsletter - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/

Event PR - You tell journalists about the event and who is speaking, and then sit back.

Well actually no.

I was speaking to a journalist recently who said it's getting harder and harder to justify going to events, especially if they can't guarantee they will get lots of good stories.

The fact an event happened isn't a story. They are looking for launches, announcements, key new details being released, etc. They want angles for the business section, education, etc.

It's no longer good enough to just put on an event. It needs to be a "media event".

Amanda Proscia has a New York-based PR agency called Lightspeed PR. She's a veteran of the events space and I always love chatting with her.

She's currently running PR for 2 events, one in the US and one in Vienna, Austria.

The topic is Virtual Reality which might sound like a niche topic but it's actually a huge and growing sector and it's her job to get the right people there.

As usual the video is less than 15 mins.

A couple of highlights:

- Amanda emphasises some of the key problems events face with getting reporters to them and how to overcome it

- How to ensure journalists get a story

- and, how to think about what story the event needs to deliver.

GUEST - Amanda Proscia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandacproscia/

WEB: https://lightspeedpr.com/

SUBSCRIBE

- Video and Audio links here - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/listen/

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CONNECT WITH ME

- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-midson/

- Website and newsletter -https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/

In this episode of The Public Relations Podcast, we delve into some of the most common mistakes made by people pitching to outlets. I then test whether ChatGPT can do a better job.

What I'm talking about are the secrets of crafting PR pitches that get noticed and accepted.

I look at how even the smallest amount of research can transform your pitches from the trash bin to the top of the pile.

We’re not just talking theory; we talking practical solutions to start using today.

Why this is a must-listen:

- Understand some of the Keys to Successful Pitches

- Learn the common pitfalls in PR pitching and how to avoid them.

- Actionable Research Tips: Discover how spending just two minutes on research can drastically improve your pitching success.

- Leveraging AI for Effectiveness: Explore how AI tools can help tailor your pitches more effectively

Today... going behind the scenes of an environmental campaign that needed to be launched in a place where being eco-conscious is quite hard.

How do you do that?

Ivan Martin from PRSSWRKS.com lives on the island of Malta in the Mediterranean.

They have a big problem. When you have so little space, being environmental is hard due to the logistics.

So how did he help his client do that and get the message across?

I've been chatting to Ivan for more than a year after he moved from journalism to PR. While I love just chatting to PR people around the world, this episode (just 15 mins) is packed with practical strategies and a fresh perspective on tackling common scenarios in complex situations.

A couple of highlights:-

- Ivan shares how he approached the problem in a way that worked for the public, the client, and the press.

- How getting the messaging right on sustainability was key and not overpromising but also not losing focus on the goal.

- And, how engaging the community was vitally important.

The whole thing is here in this podcast.

THE PROJECT - www.PRBreak.com

GUEST - Ivan Martin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivan-martin-00025a77

WEB: PRSSWRKS.com

- Video and Audio links here - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/listen/

Or search for "The Public Relations Podcast" on all good podcast apps 

CONNECT WITH ME

- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-midson/

- Website and newsletter -https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/