Getting noticed in a shrinking print media industry - Part II

9 June 2009

The media landscape is changing rapidly and fundamentally, posing challenges for both journalists and media relations professionals.

Buchan's success stories in recent months provide some insights into how best to get noticed in a rapidly shrinking media landscape.

1. Get your targets right. Think about what you want the media exposure to achieve. For example, if you are seeking to influence politicians, go to the press gallery rather than business journalists. When Ausbiotech was seeking government funding to support innovation in the biotechnology sector, Buchan developed a roundtable to brief a range of economics and political media, in addition to biotech reporters. This approach resulted in dialogue with the relevant politicians and media coverage in the national print media. 
2. Go local. As anyone who has ever appeared in their local paper will attest, local media is a well-read and powerful vehicle (as it generally results in a week of celebrity around town with the comment, "Hey, I saw you in the paper!"). Buchan's work on the New Democracy campaign, to raise awareness of Australia's first Citizens' Parliament, was successful due to its grass roots nature. We focused on generating coverage in regional and local media outlets as a way to generate discussion of the parliament within communities, resulting in nearly 100 media items. It also meant that when the event took place, we already had the momentum needed to ‘cut through' in the national print and broadcast media, where 36 pieces of coverage appeared.
3. Think beyond borders. A Buchan colleague has recently joined us from London, where she worked on the Microsoft account for our alliance partner Waggener Edstrom. During this time, she worked with the Nigerian and Danish Microsoft team to create a story of cross-border significance. The Nigerian team was able to get access to the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria) to talk about the extent of internet scams coming out of Nigeria, and particularly how it has increased in the economic downturn. The Danish team found a victim of the Nigerian internet scam who was more than happy to talk - the victim was a retired banker, worried about whether he'd be financially safe in his retirement. Waggener Edstrom pitched the story exclusively to the Financial Times and received excellent coverage in this international publication.

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