Confidential and Proprietary

Getting Your PR and Media Relations Right

It is my view that one needs to win not only the legal, financial and technical issues of any business matter but also you must win in the court of public opinion. My experience suggests that winning the trust of the community is an essential part of the mission of industry.

In the long term, companies usually find it necessary to continue to work to better position the firm in the public perception of it as a good partner in the countries in which it operates. The firm must not only do good work, it must be seen to do good work.

A proper public relations profile and positioning of the company will not only assist the company in terms of, for example, regulatory approval of new projects but it makes all aspects of the company's business easier including capital transactions, customer relations, even hiring staff is made easier.

Trust is a crucial factor in every aspect of business. The community's and media's trust of your company is often highly deserved based on the company's performance but the reality of your public profile is often at odds with the facts.

To that end, I have suggested that industries facing some type of crisis (or simply wanting to improve their performance in this area) implement some of the following:

1. Establish a separate web site which puts forward in straightforward language your current mission and track record.
2. Seek the support of neighbors, clients, suppliers, employees and others who can attest and confirm the track record of the company.
3. For those who are willing, they should be encouraged to write to local, provincial and national figures as well as send copies to the appropriate forums so that their voices may be heard in any forthcoming legal or tribunal processes.
4. Contract with a researcher who will assist the company in determining the questions to expect in public forums in order to better prepare your PR team and company executives. Such research should also identify questions to pose to better understand the perspective of others.
5. Contract with a person specializing and having experience in communications.
6. Meet together with this communications specialist with the city editorial boards of your local newspapers to ensure that they have correct information.
7. Put a senior executive from the company forward in any public forums to build trust.
8. Encourage your employees, customers and suppliers to attend public meetings and functions so that their voices too can be heard- it is their future too.

There is also the fact that it is very important to work with existing consultants and employees to get everyone on message and to work together as an effective team.

You also need to somewhat insulate the team including senior management so that they can focus on presenting the facts appropriately in media events and run the day to day operations of the business effectively.

It is important that all aspects of public relations including the holding of press briefings, comments made to the media, questions asked and answered in a public forum be within the scope and ambit of your PR specialists. You would expect that all employees and consultants would respect this requirement and all future communications should be co-ordinated and pre-approved by your communications specialists. There must be one voice for the company and it is crucial that information is released as appropriate and warranted only. ‘Freelance' comments to the press are not helpful.

To achieve these type of goals, you generally need to do three things:

1. Immediately and on an urgent basis, develop an effective public relations strategic plan
2. Provide high quality background information and research to assist with the formulation of your strategic communications plan.
3. Implement the communications plan.

You need to work closely with your hand picked team to carry out these objectives, which is a requirement for success.

A communications team typically requires three persons: a) the Communications Team Leader who manages the team and assists in the creation of the strategic communications plan; b) an experienced, sophisticated Communications Specialist who will work on a daily basis with senior management and your consulting team to implement the strategic communications plan; c) lastly, you will require the assistance of a skilled Communications Researcher, who can provide the team with good quality material to answer some of the questions that persons who may participate in future press conferences or proceedings involving your company may have concerning company proposals or activities.

Your company may have made an outstanding contribution to your community not only in terms of jobs but in many other areas as well but one of the keys to success in what is often a complex environment and on an urgent basis.

Copyright. BMF, Ottawa, Canada. 2001.

Getting the business model right for startups

Twenty five steps to business success

Test Your Entrepreneurialist Culture Quotient

Entrepreneurialist Culture Home Page