Beating The News Mill

Action and Branding Key to Winning News Conferences

By Scott Lewis

How do you measure a news conference’s success or failure? 

The old standby is the bean-counter method: “We had four TV cameras and 20 journalists, generating 17 stories.”  That’s fine, but should the same weight be accorded to a camera from a small cable access channel as to a national nightly newscast?  And does a writer for a national daily deserve the same weight as a journalist from an obscure Internet portal?  Reporting gross numbers may initially impress a client, but gauging quality is trickier.  Clients who are initially bamboozled by this numbers game will catch on eventually, when they see their competitor on UT-1 while they’re being covered by newszoo.com.ua.

Great visuals are another sign of a successful news conference.  Newspaper editors will tell you that almost any story is better if it is accompanied by an interesting photograph and caption.  If your event has a lot of news value, good pictures could more than double the space that a newspaper will devote to it.  If your event is light on real news, a compelling photo may save your story from the scrap heap altogether.
Don’t forget television, which counts on interesting visuals: 

TV news in Ukraine is full of solemn officials seated at desks, hands folded neatly in front of them and flanked by the flag.  This is simply awful television – a medium that needs motion and craves action.  Stimulating viewers to do more than yawn is a tall order – but that’s where PR and marketing talent comes in.

A successful news conference is a distinctive event, and it’s yours – or your client’s – so brand it.  Branding is the single most overlooked aspect of a news conference, yet many feel that miniature flags and branded press kits are sufficient.  They’re not.  Set the stage, add some drama and ensure that every photo captures the brand.

The capital’s primary news services – Interfax, UkrInform, UNIAN and Ukrainian News – make it easy to hold a news conference.  They have halls standing by, can notify journalists, and even provide food and drink, if desired.  Their environments have a lot going for them, except that they stifle creativity.  Each has the same set-up – a desk and microphones facing chairs for the reporters.  These are news mills.  Walk in, sit, talk, and walk out… next news conference in ten minutes, folks.

The groups of speakers who form this parade of talking heads are often differentiated only by the name tags positioned on the desk in front of them, and, sometimes, by the tiny flags bearing the company logo that are positioned next to each microphone.

The branding most apparent during news conferences usually belongs to the news agency providing the venue.  The wall behind the speakers advertises the news agency rather than the company with the news – and which is renting the venue.   Some agencies will permit their backdrop to be covered, most will not.  Why pay the news agency and give them free advertising?  The name on the backdrop – a valuable piece of news conference real estate – should be the client’s.

Limit the number of people who will speak – one or two is optimal.  Avoid placing a dozen people at the presidium. 

“But they all contributed to the project,” clients may wail. Or: “They’re our partners.  We must give them a chance to speak, or they’ll be offended.”

Too many faces on the presidium present two problems.  First, it creates what one media trainer calls, “The Politburo Effect.”  Second, attention spans wane, and your audience will be looking at a table full of speakers who, when not presenting, are alternatively bored, dozing, passing notes, whispering to their neighbor, or reading from their laptops.  Not a picture you’d want on national TV.

If it is absolutely necessary to present several people to the media, invite them to the presidium when needed.      

Everyone gets in a rut sometimes, and the predictable, deadly dull news conference is an example of what happens when a lack of creativity collides with indifference.  A news conference is an opportunity to shine, not a trudging routine.  Set the stage, do some creative branding, and create compelling news and photos.