More Media Relations

There are many factors that contribute to a successful media relation, however I would like to focus on one particular event that I went to during my internship. The event was organized for Motorola to interact with some of the media that they had worked with previously. The event was a CNY dinner to show the media their appreciation and this opportunity was also used to introduce to the media some of the work that Motorola has been involved in terms of creativity, technological development and how it has survived the economic slump and what are the plans for the future.

Almost 50 media representatives attended and three top management members from Motorola attended along with the head of their communication Ms. Mei Ling, who was very pleasant. During the even we spread out amongst the media and spoke to them, interacting casually, yet strategically. There were times when some journalists and editors attempted to ask questions that were sensitive and we were not able to answer when this occurred we would politely refer them to one of the representatives of Motorola.

During media relationship building events, the PR agency’s purpose there is to be invisible in terms of taking credit or representing the agencies agenda, the aim is rather to promote the client, and allow them to be in the spot light. This is not always to the advantage of the PR agency as it is also a good opportunity for them to serve their own agenda and build a relationship with them. This would be a conflict of ethical practice as we are there to support the client in their work and not to serve our own company agenda. This may be a slight disadvantage but it is good practice and client management, in the long run it will gain the client’s trust and be to the agency’s advantage.

During media dinners and events, it is also a good chance to get to know some of the prominent journalists and recognize them. This will come in handy in future events where fake journalists will attempt to enter events using famous journalist’s names. This happened to me when I was registering the media as they came in, one journalist behaved inappropriately and I was shocked at his comments. I let my colleague know and he came to help me out and politely asked the “gate crasher” to show some ID or to leave.

However I must say media dinners and door gifts during events don’t simply seal the deal when it comes to media relations, they are simply a tool to allow a communication platform to be created. Media and journalists have certain expectations that should be fulfilled, which includes giving them news worthy news releases, inviting them to appropriate events relevant to them and much more that should be done on a professional level. Most of all, I learnt that if we expect anything from anybody, it pays to respect them and treat them as professionals and to me that is the core of any successful relationship.

Cheers
Anna
LUCT