More often than ever before, clients say to us—almost as if chanting at a baseball game—"We want media. We want media. We want media." They even tell us that media is what matters most.
Well, no wonder. Media results are instantly tangible, and lose nothing in translation. Either the brand you represent appeared in The Newark Star-Ledger or not. It's right there in plain sight.
As it happens, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide knows media. We know how reporters think and how producers operate. We know who covers what where, and how to make the best case for our clients. We pitch smart, and deliver the results clients want.
Indeed, we have no higher priority at this agency than to excel in the practice of media relations. Our job is to connect clients to this key constituency. To create a conversation favorable for a product or service. To generate coverage targeted to a given audience.
Case in point: pharmaceutical company looks to spur asthma sufferers to seek treatment, ideally its own drug. We advise an emphasis on female asthma patients and preventive care. We approach the largest health magazine in the U.S.: Prevention. Gradually, over the next year, we work closely with an editor, shaping the article to come. Finally, a nine-page piece appears, prominently featuring all our messages, plus a brand mention.
As this example illustrates, media relations involves more than the so-called "smile-and-dial" syndrome. Here, media relations figures strongly in the entire spectrum of the work done.
Our media specialists are assigned to our account teams on a day-in-day-out basis. This model protocol provides decisive advantages. It enables us to counsel clients and colleagues about media implications at every turn in the design and carrying out of initiatives. We ask questions we expect media to ask, the better to dig out details, and coach clients for interviews. We evaluate concepts for "mediability." Why field a survey rather than hold an event or unveil a celebrity spokesperson? And if we do a survey, which statistics are most likely to trigger interest? Throughout the process, we offer context and perspective, rationale and insight. Above all, we help teams figure out the right story to tell—and how to tell that story right.
We also make a point of advising clients on media matters with utmost candor. We may disagree with a client over what kind of information is newsworthy, and never hesitate to say so (though with utmost diplomacy, of course). Often, for instance, we urge clients to pitch news we consider minor merely as an FYI, worth filing for future reference, possibly of value in a larger story down the road. We never guarantee, say, the cover of Time magazine (although last year, for a heart disease campaign with First Lady Laura Bush, we delivered it).
It's because we place a premium on staying strong in media that virtually everyone at our agency engages to some extent in media relations (as opposed to having an isolated media department). That's why we teach media relations year-round, through workshops and Meet the Media sessions as well as regular e-mail updates on the latest trends called "mediagrams" and a proprietary pitching training program.
Every day, then, behind the scenes, we're in touch with media, telling a story for a given client. We're establishing the kind of rapport that wins credibility for those clients. And the results of our expertise in media relations—whether guests on "Today" and "Larry King Live" or feature articles in USA Today and Business Week—speak for themselves.
