• Media Training: A Success Story

    Getting in front of the camera can be scary. Especially when it’s on the set of a busy news studio with producers shuffling you around, makeup artists touching up your face, and tech support clipping microphones to you. It’s an intense and often hectic process that can leave you and your client nervous and uncomfortable. That’s why at Matter Communications – when we land our clients a killer interview on television or radio – it’s key to offer media training in preparation for their time in the spotlight. A media training session can be of all shapes and sizes depending on lead time before the interview and your client’s expertise. In the most extensive of media trainings, we will host a client at Matter’s Studio C to go through interview questions on camera so that we can go over posture, pronunciation, and message points. Consider it to be practice, where Matter plays the newsroom and the client is, well, the interviewee.

    So, when a recent client of mine had two interviews in one day, we knew a media training would be the next necessary step. Knowing one interview was for live television, we decided to prep our client for that, hoping the training as a whole would prep him for his earlier interview as well. To properly prep a client during media training it is important to go through a practice interview filled with “softball” and “hardball” questions. These will prep them to answer any question no matter how easy or hard.

    The media training was an unconventional one as it was held over the phone due to a time constraint. It was filled with practice questions, message points, and pointers on how to properly conduct yourself during an interview. When ending any media training we always leave our client with specific rules when dealing with the media.

    The day after our media training we received an email from one of our trainees praising the team on the training process and how well it prepared him. The reporter from his morning interview had a strict agenda, with a goal to get him to speak on something that he was not prepared for. With each “hardball” thrown at him, our client treated it like any experienced interviewee would, by returning to your field of expertise. A tool that is extremely important in interviews and something we teach in all media trainings.

    Due to our impromptu media training the day before, our client was able to tackle the interview like a pro and keep himself from getting into a sticky situation by commenting on a topic outside of his expertise. By the time his live television interview came up later that day, he was ready for anything. Confident he could artfully address any question, he hit his interview out of the park, solidifying excellent press for himself and his company.

    Are you constantly in the public eye? Do you often find yourself freezing in front of the camera or unable to field a question? We can help! Find out more about media training at Matter and see how you can become an interview pro.

     

    Matter

  • 3 Ways to Avoid a PR Agency Bait & Switch

    We’re currently in the running for some dynamite new PR and social media business, and assembling our teams and preparing presentations. (By the way, that’s a rather significant process briefly summarized in one sentence!) The decision of who attends which meeting is primarily based on experience that is directly related to the proposed program. The depth of the team is often determined by program scope – at both the programmatic and budget level. Different than some of our competitors, here at Matter we bring to the meeting only those who will work on the business – we deliberately choose not to “bait-and-switch” team members – and we’ve always approached new business with this philosophy. That seems cliché, but that’s how we operate. And, we’ve found that it makes for a better agency/client relationship in the long run.

    In the spirit of sharing information, here are three ways a company can avoid the bait-and-switch during agency search:

    First, while a PR and social media team needs a leader, it typically doesn’t need a small army of leaders. (While there is some merit to leadership by committee, that’s not what I’m talking about here.) If you sit through an agency presentation and you get the feeling that the other side of the table has too many senior people, I strongly suggest waving the red flag. Even if intentions are sincerely positive, the model at most agencies won’t allow for the regular and consistent contributions of several senior staff on every account. If the pitch team appears top heavy, it likely is. A balanced team is one best positioned for communications success.

    Second, if in the pitch meeting you ask the question “who’s my day-to-day contact” and the response is anything but clear and immediate, then it should be apparent that the assembled crowd isn’t sure how your business will be staffed. In fact, that’s a glaringly obvious sign that some of those at the table are temporary additions to the effort – hired guns, so to speak, that won’t be part of the account team long-term. That’s a bad sign. You want to make your agency decision based on who’s in the room at the time of the pitch, and who will be responsible for exactly which parts of your communications programs. Good agencies understand this, and put forth the people that will be doing the work.

    Third, if the senior representatives from the pitch team deliver the bulk of content during the presentation, it’s obvious you have a problem. Here’s the scoop: the entire team should have a vested interest in the opportunity, and the agency should have the team dedicate time and energy toward the initiative. Contributions during the pitch should come from all of the assembled team, not just the senior crowd. Like mentioned in the last point, it should be clear who will handle each part of the program, and those people should talk to their assigned areas. Be certain that the proposed account team members provide credible content about what they know and how they will contribute, or you may have unfulfilled expectations following your decision-making process.

    These three scenarios can help you determine if you’re going to be the victim of an agency “bait-and-switch.” Am I missing other signs?

    Scott Signore

    ,

  • There is no ‘off-season’ for PR Pros

    With the Bruins recent and unexpected early exit from this year’s 2014 Stanley Cup Playoff, myself along with my fellow Bostonians are still mourning the loss. Not only is it a cruel reminder of last year’s loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup finals, it is a long summer for fans and players to contemplate the ups and downs of the series in the summer’s off-season.

    But while Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask and the rest of our favorite B’s head home for the summer, the Bruins tough-nosed PR team is behind the scene strategizing the media’s unanswered questions while continuing to build the team’s comeback story for next year.

    So what does this mean exactly when we consider the day-to-day role of those responsible for the Bruin’s public image? I broke it down into three areas that those who work in PR for other brands should also consider prioritizing when it comes to their own clients:

    1. Media Relations

    With the Boston Bruins early exit from the playoffs, media attention is all eyes on General Manager Peter Chiarelli and Coach Claude Julien for answers. What went wrong? What could they have done differently? What are they changing for next year? Are any of the players hanging up their skates for good?

    Dealing with the press, especially after a season ending loss to their rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, is something the Bruins in-house PR team is currently strategically handling. Just because ‘on ice’ time ends for the team, it doesn’t mean a myriad of editorial stories aren’t in development during the off season.

    1. Social Media

    Without Tyler Seguin’s public love for the Boston nightlife on display daily, the Bruins PR team get a break from social media duty, right? Wrong! Social media is an every day task, especially for the players to actively engage with their fans. Not only is the team tweeting and posting on Facebook, they are also active on Instagram building an audience as well as creating hype for Boston’s favorite black and gold team.

    Social media is a simple way to control the Bruins story by having a creative, fun way to engage with fans (and to reach their audience of more than 500K followers). With the team in off-season, the PR pros create fresh content to keep the story controlled and exciting, such as getting followers to vote for Patrice Bergeron to be the face of the upcoming NHL 2015 video game.

    1. Charity Events

    Not only is the Bruins PR team working hard for its players, it is working to enrich the surrounding community with numerous charity events, such as the annual Boston Bruins Golf Tourney and Boston Harbor sunset cruise.

    Organizing events to raise money for the Bruins Foundation expands the organization’s reach from just an NHL program to a community-wide organization.

    The Boston Bruins may get a few months of ‘off-season’ to prepare for next year’s Cup, but those responsible for the team’s public image continue to suit up all year long. Given the media hype for the Bruins during mid summer months when there are no game highlights or performance predictions to pull news from, other PR pros, such as myself, should look to what the team’s representation is doing to keep their client top of mind in both local and national outlets at all times.

    Do you keep up with the Bruins even in their off-season?

    Matter

  • Creating Your Own #Perfection in Portland

    Last month Matter Portland had the distinct pleasure of attending the local Ted Talks event, TEDxPortland. Having never attended one before, I was excited for the opportunity to hear from local speakers and those with ties beyond the region with revolutionary ideas forever changing the way we think, innovate and create. The theme of our TEDx event was ‘Perfect,’ and the speakers each gave us their takes on perfection.

    With speakers ranging in experience from owning and operating food carts and changing life around after prison, to being married for the better part of a century and creating graphic designs for some of the most well-loved brands in the world, we were in for a treat.

    I want to take a moment to talk about Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co. because he spoke to each one of the Matter Portland team members’ sense of creativity, passion and willingness to give back to the community. In PR we constantly strive to engage the public through storytelling, and creating lasting bonds with journalists who are equally as engaged with the companies we represent. Aaron put a different perspective on life when it comes to creating these stories.

    Aaron is a creator of his own perfection, working out of his basement while simultaneously taking the multimedia world by storm creating logos. He has worked for companies both large and small, and at the end of the day his most loved stories are the ones that have personal meaning – a story we at Matter can relate to. Aaron discussed his passion for helping others with his “little mouse finger,” through his plan for ‘Free Fridays,’ where he spends a few hours helping those who can’t afford his services. Don’t we all want to help others with our “little mouse fingers?”

    Matter Portland was taken in by the idea of Free Fridays and of making a difference for those who are just getting started. The passion was clear on his face, and has inspired us to think of a few ways that we can bring this sentiment to life.

    In the words of Aaron Draplin “Create your own perfection. Invent Your Clients. Invent Your Life.”

    Matter

  • Top PR Agencies Do These 4 Things

    There are hundreds of public relations firms in North America, the majority of which aren’t “names you know.”

    PR firms you’ve heard of are in your mental rolodex for a reason: they’ve done noteworthy work for brands with name recognition.

    But great PR firms do more than win awards for brands you’ve heard of. They continue to grow, even in down markets. Here’s four things top PR firms do that others don’t:

    1. Scale intelligently. Plenty of agencies scramble to add talent after they pitch and win a piece of business. This is wrong-headed. Top PR firms get ahead of the demand and hire in anticipation of winning new business. This is both art and science, and the agencies who master this approach are equipped to grow.
    2. Eliminate vendor bloodletting. Most PR agencies do media relations and maybe some social media. But when their clients need a video, or SEO, or a website refresh, they call around for suitable vendors to do the work. Perhaps they can mark it up 10 percent for their troubles. Top PR firms bring all of these skill sets in house, keeping all of the revenue and deepening the multi-faceted relationship with the client.
    3. Encourage entrepreneurialism. Thriving agencies let their people flourish. They encourage their talent to dream up additional revenue streams that add value to the client base and empower them with the resources to succeed. They ask themselves if, say, offering Satellite Media Tours and Live broadcasting abilities would benefit clients. If the answer is yes, they build a revenue model and make it work. Most agencies are hamstrung by fear, and by a mantra of “we’ve never done that kind of thing before.” And they never will.
    4. Embrace failure. The challenge of being entrepreneurial and taking risks is that nobody – ever – succeeds 100 percent of the time. Failure is part of the deal, and top firms deal with failure by quickly cutting their losses, licking their wounds and then moving on to the next big idea. There are lessons in success and perhaps even more in failure. The key is to have thick skin and never stop pushing the envelope for clients, who appreciate fresh thinking and effort far more than maintaining the status quo.

    This is just a partial list of traits that separate the good from the great. I’d love to know what you’d add to this list, or what you may disagree with.

    Scott Signore

    ,

  • PR and the Value of a Broken Laser Pointer

    PR and the Value of a Broken Laser Pointer

    Public relations is an interesting business. Stay in the game long enough and you get exposed to just about every kind of client and story you can imagine.

    I was recently reminded (by a blog on Forbes.com) that the first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer. The story goes that founder Pierre Omidyar wanted to test the auction website he had designed (originally called AuctionWeb), so he offered a non-functional laser pointer that was destined for the trash bin for auction. He sold it to a collector for $14.83 and the site’s march into history began. The first week or so saw items like a Superman metal lunchbox ($22), a Toyota Tercel ($3,200) and autographed Marky Mark underwear ($400) auctioned – and the site’s current inventory is just as eclectic.

    Why did this story come to mind – other than the fact that it’s fascinating to look at the humble origins of businesses that become cultural icons? Public relations people are often involved with startups and new ideas at established organizations and the job requires the vision to see what they might become. It can be an invaluable ability, to be able to imagine how the products, services and people with whom we work might be the “next big thing”. Even if they don’t all rise to the level of eBay or Amazon, many of our clients produce products and ideas that are truly valuable. But, as with every great idea, their story starts out untold.

    PR professionals help clients mold and tell those stories. And more and more, we help tell it through multiple channels. Our teams contribute written material (bylined articles, blogs, press releases, white papers, etc.) but also have a hand in social media content creation (on every platform imaginable) and – here at Matter – we also work with our outstanding in-house creative team to produce video, broadcast services, graphic design, infographics and websites for our clients.

    Whether the client is in the business of healthcare, high technology – or even selling broken laser pointers, the public relations team is a vital and creative partner in the story-telling.

    Matter

    , , , ,

  • What PR Pros Can Learn From Bill Belichick

     

    Bill Belichick is legendary as the coach of the Patriots. What many people don’t give him enough credit for is the way he executes a press conference.

    I’ve watched a few Belichick pressers over the years, and the way he goes about his business is almost as impressive as how he coaches. Sure, he speaks in a monotone. Sometimes he makes grunting sounds into the microphone. And you can feel a frosty, uncomfortable tension in the air with how he relates to members of the media.

    That said, there are some really good takeaways from Belichick’s media interviews for PR pros.

    At the recent NFL draft, the Patriots surprisingly took a quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, in the second round. This set off wild speculation in the media. Does this mean that the Patriots’ current backup QB, Ryan Mallett, is a goner? Is Belichick planning for the future after the eventual retirement of Tom Brady, now 36?

    During a May 9 press conference (transcript here), Belichick does a few things well that come right out of the PR interviewing playbook:

    Q: Did you have any conversations with Tom Brady about the potential for you drafting a quarterback?

    BB: I talk to Tom on a regular basis.

    After he gives this answer, about five seconds of silence passes before someone else asks a question. Belichick allows the silence to happen. He didn’t nervously fill it up by explaining his answer further, which could fuel more speculation or leave the door open a crack for more persistent questioning. Belichick does this a lot in his press interviews, and it shows great discipline.

    Q: Do you view that situation as similar to 2011 when you drafted Ryan Mallett in the third round and had Brian Hoyer here and you gave him a year to learn before he maybe bumps the next year if that’s how it unfolds?

    BB: It could. I don’t know. It could. I don’t have any control over how anything is going to unfurl. We put the players out there and they compete and we evaluate them. I can’t control that.

    Here, the reporter was trying to get Belichick to speculate about what may happen in the quarterback competition, using recent history. Belichick doesn’t take the bait. He answers the question as best as he can. He doesn’t give even a nugget of how he thinks the competition might play out, and he doesn’t “over-answer.”

    Then, a followup question:

    Q: I was asking more about having three quarterbacks.

    BB: We’ll do whatever is best for the team. We’ve had four, we’ve had three, we’ve had two. So whatever’s best for the team, that’s what we’ll do. Nothing is set in stone. We’ve had different numbers of guys at different positions. I don’t think there’s any concrete formula. We’ll do what’s best for the team.

    Here, Belichick avoids stoking the flames of a QB controversy by sticking to his key “we’ll do what’s best for the team” message (which he says three times). This is how he skillfully takes control over his press conferences, and keeps bridging back to the point he wants to drive home. He doesn’t go into comparing the strengths and weaknesses of his players against each other. I’m sure it’s frustrating to members of the media to not have some hint on the QB pecking order, after Brady. Some coaches will try to curry favor with the press by giving them great sound bites, but Belichick generally avoids this.

    Similar to how he prepares for an opponent, Belichick seems to go into his press conferences with a plan of attack for how to answer (or defuse) potential controversies. He does it in a way that doesn’t create headlines and distract his organization from success.

    From a PR standpoint, that’s an admirable quality.

    Erik Arvidson

  • Stop Polluting Content!

    I recently attended a seminar where social media gurus from a popular credit card brand and an American car manufacturer shared strategies and best practices. The woman that oversaw social media for the car company talked about producing content for 175 platforms. My first reaction was “175 platforms!” But when she went on to explain that each car model had its own personality for Twitter, Facebook, Pintest, YouTube, and Instagram, and that there where additional channels for the actual car manufacture and its customer service, accessories and parts departments, the numbers added up and it started to make sense.

    Further into the presentation, a certain phrase quickly got my attention– “Content Pollution” The presenters referenced that from the 750 million Facebook users (and growing), where the average user posts 90 times per month, 69.5 Billion posts are generated per month. That’s a lot of content and that’s only from one social media platform. According to a Forbes article, “Every minute of every day, 30 hours of new videos are loaded on YouTube, there are 100,000 new tweets, and over 204 million new emails sent. By 2015, it will take you 5 years to view all the videos that cross our networks each second.”

    Based on that these stats, I kept thinking how easy or scary it is to generate content and press “publish” that could potentially reach millions of people instantaneously.

    So, how can a brand create good content that actually serves a purpose? First, you need to identify who your audience is and then tell the story. Whether it’s through words, pictures, graphs, maps or video, content creators need to grab its audience’s attention right off the bat in a way that is “disruptive” – so they will read the next line, finish watching the video, etc. And content producers need to be very aware that “long” stories or something that takes a person more than two minutes to view is not likely going to gain as much attention then something that is short and concise. In fact, the Associated Press recently instructed its staff to produce articles between 300 and 500 words, while top stories can be between 500 and 700 words.

    Here are some tips to help stop content pollution:

    • Make sure your story is authentic and engaging and your content is interesting – Not everything your brand/client wants to say is worth sharing.
    • Know your audience – Are they under 30 or over 60? How do they get their news?  What social media platforms are they on? Do they engage by email, phone or neither? Your audience has a time and place to be receptive to a campaign, new ideas, etc.  Listening to their needs will help determine what they want to hear. All this information is insightful and will help create a successful campaign.
    • Optimize content for a simple experience Content should be created and tested to work on multiple platforms to include social media platforms so visualization and mobility are key – think about all those popular videos, graphics and maps that are easily shared across platforms and viewed mostly on mobile devices. Remember to listen to your audience and know what they need in order to determine the best channel to deliver the content on.

    And yes, I realize that I just created a piece of content to discuss content pollution.  Hopefully, this was helpful and took less than two minutes to read.

    Matter

  • Golf Matters

    The sunset was pretty but it was chilly on our first night out in mid-April.
    (Photo by Tim Bradley)

    We work in an incredibly fast-paced industry. We send and receive hundreds of emails a day, we juggle breaking news, client crises, deadlines, creative projects, social media accounts, and countless phone calls and meetings. We’re “always on” – and we do it because of some masochistic desire to overload our brains and our Outlook calendars.

    But now, on Thursday afternoons, you’ll find a group of us PR pros hacking it up at the Ould Newbury Golf Club. Our new, Matter golf “league” meets each week to blow off some steam, get some exercise and then promptly belly up to the 19th hole.

    Jesse Ciccone, Tim Hamilton and Matt Croteau look on as Leo Bonarrigo sinks a hole-in-one (not really).
    (Photo by Tim Bradley)

    We’ve always embraced the work hard, play hard mentality that comes with our gig here at Matter – and we’re continually encouraged and empowered to decompress with our families and friends, as well as with our comrades in the PR trenches. I’m grateful for the generous holiday break we take each year, the monthly birthday parties (not to mention the timely cupcake and wine deliveries), and I enjoy volunteering with my colleagues at local food shelters. The more active folk in the office participate in our running and basketball clubs, and let Melissa Garabedian “spin” them until they can’t walk anymore.

    Matter CEO Scott Signore and Video Production Specialist Leo Bonarrigo smile for the camera. Fun fact: Our fearless leader never uses a driver.

    We’ve got a good thing here at Matter – and it just got a “hole” lot better.

     

    Matter

  • 5 Key Traits of Public Relations & Social Media Pros

    On the heels of the NFL draft – the opportunity for football franchises to pick the very best available college players for any positions on their teams – I’m thinking about the characteristics of professionals that are most valuable to public relations agencies. (I’m also hung-up on the fact that the Miami Dolphins drafted a player from much-beloved Marist College – a first-time happening in school history. Go Red Foxes and congrats, Terrence Fede!) When I’m “drafting” PR and social media professionals for our team, here are the characteristics I covet:

    I look for a professionals who are creative and “get” that our category has changed and storytelling is richer and more comprehensive than ever. We value people who have successfully executed multi-dimensional programs, and leveraged creative service teams to pepper traditional and social media programs with engaging visuals. The ideal draftee is someone who embraces all available channels and finds ways to leverage content. Creating the content is one thing, but getting the very best ROI on each deliverable is completely different.

    I welcome PR and social media pros who are organized and accountable. Good PR programs have so much content to manage – and often the responsibility of keeping things moving in a positive direction falls on the individual PR pro. While it’s a team game, and client and program success is the result of all contributions, accomplishing tasks while staying on strategy requires accountability at every seat. Rare is the day when a PR person can be complacent. Staying organized and making consistent progress equates to measurable outcomes. Like the NFL, all players have to contribute or they don’t last long.

    I seek out professionals who are nimble – a term that perfectly describes our agency in a broader context – as I can’t think of a gig that requires more of a “go with the flow” approach than a position in a PR and social media agency. The professionals we seek need to adapt to strategies that change – sometimes often! – and they need to embrace new challenges and opportunities.

    High-performing PR and social media professionals can’t be afraid of hard work, and they need to enter any agency with a genuine willingness to roll up their sleeves and get things done. While a hell of a lot of fun and professionally rewarding, a typical PR job can sometimes be a slog. It requires time, energy and commitment, and we’re constantly striving to bring in experienced PR pros who have demonstrated that they are willing to overcome challenges and get things done – not matter the task at hand. (No PR team works as hard as our team here at Matter, so we’re particularly appreciative of new folks who share the same philosophy.)

    Finally, we try our best to hire PR and social media professionals who are good people and solid citizens. The hiring manager at Shandwick in New York – where I worked as an account coordinator just after graduating college – often said that the quality of the person was as important as the quality of the work. That perspective could be debated, but I know here at Matter we place a high value on the quality of our people. We want to work in the trenches with good, honest, hard-working people, and we seek these qualities as we hire new professionals for our team.

    What kind of PR pro are you? What kind of “players” do you draft at your agency?

    Scott Signore

    ,