Earned media webinar 2 20-19
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•88 views
If the new political reality has you itching to speak out in the media, this session is for you. Learn best practices from the front lines. Here's what you will learn: o How to make the strongest arguments for your policy agenda o How to use your company as proof for how policies affect business o How to locate journalists interested in what you have to say o Tips to enhance your credibility and confidence
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
Similar to Earned media webinar 2 20-19
Similar to Earned media webinar 2 20-19 (20)
More from American Sustainable Business Council
More from American Sustainable Business Council (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (13)
Earned media webinar 2 20-19
- 1. Hone Your Message and Work with the Media to Get It Out February 21, 2019 Advocacy & Media Training Webinar asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 2. ASBC’s Reach/Capabilities asbcouncil.org/webinars HAMMAD ATASSI, CEO Hammad recently joined ASBC as CEO after 15 years of leadership in the Natural Products industry. Previously, Hammad was a key leader at Numi Organic Tea since 2005, taking on several roles, first as General Manager, then as Vice President of the Foodservice Division. In 2015 he became Vice President of Strategic Development, leading efforts to identify and build new market opportunities while protecting and growing the authentic brand values and existing brand partnerships. Prior to Numi, Hammad was an executive in the financial services industry. He holds an MBA from George Washington University in Washington, DC and a BA from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.
- 3. • Represent over 250,000 businesses nationwide. • Over 250 direct member businesses. • Over 80 association members. • Wide range of sustainability issues. • Advocate at federal level and in state capitals. • Place Op-eds and Policy Statements in media. • Have Biz leaders be spokespeople to media on issues. • Bring Biz leaders to DC to testify & lobby Congress & Administration. ASBC’s Reach & Capabilities asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 4. ASBC’s Reach/Capabilities asbcouncil.org/webinars BOB KEENER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Bob is responsible for setting ASBC’s press strategy and communications. He directs and implements all press-related activities; oversees development of press materials, op-eds and columns; and conducts training and coordination of media spokespeople. Bob has been working in issues advocacy for over 15 years after a career in the private sector, first running a franchise business and then working in marketing and PR. His private sector work encompassed corporate, start-ups and agencies, including a stint at Hill & Knowlton―at the time the world's largest PR agency. More recently Bob was Director of Communications at United for a Fair Economy.
- 5. • Understanding your power and influence with the media • Maximizing your impact TODAY’S GOALS asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 6. • Business leaders are widely credible • Essential for business to counter typical right wing arguments on regulation, govt overreach, etc. • Your personal, professional credibility carries the day • Self-interest meets public interest WHY BE AN ADVOCATE asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 7. • Much harder to get coverage now • Journalists under more pressure • No one covers business policy • Need quick, pithy, colorful comments • Want story elements that fit standard frames CURRENT MEDIA CONTEXT asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 8. • Help win the issue • Break the standard frame • Make the business/economic case • Elevate individual businesses • Present a powerful growing movement ASBC’S MEDIA OBJECTIVES asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 9. • Leverage meetings with policymakers – Press conferences, 1:1 meetings with journalists • Inject messages in media – Quotes in context of breaking news – Pitch business leaders for interview – Ghost-write and place Op-eds and columns – Leverage Social media, blogs, etc. • Coach, prep, and support business leaders for media roles WHAT WE DO asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 10. • Example: State Carbon Price • Agenda: – Approaching media – Pitching and working with journalists – Op-eds, columns, blogs • Your questions GETTING MESSSAGES CARRIED IN THE MEDIA asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 11. • Research to locate key journalists – Issue-focused and business-focused – Editors vs. Reporters vs. Producers vs. Bookers – Learn how stories are developed at the media outlet • Study their work; think about what they would do with your story idea APPROACHING MEDIA asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 12. • Prioritize your targets • Plan your approach – Start easy, start local – Stage your contacts one at a time APPROACHING MEDIA asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 13. • Make contact – Introduce yourself and your business – Ask if they are interested in your perspective on the issue – Ask if now is a good time (if not find out when) – Make a pitch – Try for a meeting (in-person) APPROACHING MEDIA asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 14. • Develop a pitch – What’s your ideal headline? – Hook to something in the news (the Green New Deal) – Be clear on your key messages – Say how it relates to your business – Think up some pithy soundbites – Write it up in an email; remember the Subject line PITCHING & WORKING WITH JOURNALISTS asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 15. • Make your pitch AND build the relationship – If they don’t run with your pitch now, offer to be there in the future • Try for in-person – If you have an interesting facility, invite them there – Offer lunch, coffee, drinks • Keep in touch–especially when news happens • When they contact you, get back ASAP PITCHING & WORKING WITH JOURNALISTS asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 16. • You get to control the message • Research the facts and evidence to support your agenda • Study the content in the outlet where you want to be • Follow the requirements and process for submitting • Call and email to learn why not OP-EDS, COLUMNS & BLOGS asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 17. • Let us know you are willing to talk to journalists • Return our call or email ASAP • Read our materials on the issues • Prepare what you want to say • Come up with a soundbite or two • Evangelize! LET ASBC HELP YOU asbcouncil.org/webinars
- 19. OUTSIDE ADVOCACY TECHNIQUES asbcouncil.org/webinars Working with ASBC Bob Keener, Deputy Director, Public Relations bkeener@asbcouncil.org
Editor's Notes
- Bob’s notes: All right, let’s get started. My name is Bob Keener. I’m the Deputy Director of PR for ASBC, and I will be your main presenter today. The presentation part of the webinar will run about 30 mins or so and that will leave room for questions at the end. We want to ask you to use the Q&A feature to pose your questions. You can do that at anytime, and I will respond to them at the end. And now I’d like to introduce Hammad Atassi, our CEO, to welcome you and for those who aren’t familiar with ASBC, he’ll provide a bit of background. {NEXT SLIDE} Header font specs: proxima nova semibold 36 pt Bullets can be ASBC green, blue or orange depending on background contrast needs. In this example bullets are 125% of text size to make them more visible. Bulleted copy can be resized to avoid dangling single words. Copy should break at logical places. Example here is proxima nova 22pt Line spacing between bullet copy line items is 1.4
- Hammad joined ASBC from Numi Organic Tea, where he was a key leader over the course of 15 years there. Now at ASBC, he is responsible for directing the organization in its mission of advocating for public policy changes that will speed the transition to a sustainable economy. I won’t read his whole bio, but we will be posting the slides and a recording of the webinar, so you can all back and review everything later. So with that, Hammad, over to you. {NEXT SLIDE} [Header font specs: proxima nova semibold 36 pt Bullets can be ASBC green, blue or orange depending on background contrast needs. In this example bullets are 125% of text size to make them more visible. Bulleted copy can be resized to avoid dangling single words. Copy should break at logical places. Example here is proxima nova 22pt Line spacing between bullet copy line items is 1.4]
- Bob’s Notes: {Hammad goes through this slide and then introduces me} {NEXT SLIDE} Header font specs: proxima nova semibold 36 pt Bullets can be ASBC green, blue or orange depending on background contrast needs. In this example bullets are 125% of text size to make them more visible. Bulleted copy can be resized to avoid dangling single words. Copy should break at logical places. Example here is proxima nova 22pt Line spacing between bullet copy line items is 1.4
- Bob’s Notes: {Hammad Intro’s Bob} {NEXT SLIDE} [Header font specs: proxima nova semibold 36 pt Bullets can be ASBC green, blue or orange depending on background contrast needs. In this example bullets are 125% of text size to make them more visible. Bulleted copy can be resized to avoid dangling single words. Copy should break at logical places. Example here is proxima nova 22pt Line spacing between bullet copy line items is 1.4] David’s Bio and Photo Bob’s Bio and Photo
- Bob’s speaking notes: Thank you , Hammad. So, as Hammad said, at ASBC we use a full range of advocacy strategies. In this webinar, we're going to focus on the media components. Our Objective today is two-fold: First, we'll talk about the power and influence you have, as a business leader, as a spokesperson and champion for policy change. And second, we'll give you some information to help you step into these roles with confidence and skill.
- Bob’s Notes: So, let’s start by reviewing why it’s important for business leaders to become advocates The main reason is that business leaders have a lot of credibility with the media, just like they do with elected officials and their staff. And this is especially true of business media. Business people are particularly credible when it comes to countering right-wing arguments and myths against regulations and government engagement. For example, how often do you hear statements like, “Regulations are job killers.” The best people to debunk those myths are business people who can talk authoritatively about how good, smart regulations are vital to their business. As a business leader, your power comes from leveraging your personal experience and pragmatic perspective. You don't have to be a policy expert. You are an expert in running a business. That's more than knowledge than most journalists have. And, when you get quoted or profiled in the press that’s good for your business. So, if you’re successful with your media work, you get a two-for: public interest AND self-interest.
- Bob’s Notes: It seems like every time I give this presentation things are much worse. Media outlets have downsized their staffs while moving to a 24x7 model. Most journalists have little time to research and write; they must file very quickly Many stories are written from email exchanges, or short phone interviews with just a few sources. I say, “No one covers business policy,” because typically, journalists cover either policy or business, but not the intersection of the two. As a result, when a story is developing, if you want to influence the coverage, you must…. Have credibility in the area (since thejournalist has no time to vet you.) Get to the reporter very quickly (since the deadline is tight) …With a concise, quick-to-read response (‘ cause they are swamped with pitches) … that includes pithy, colorful quotes that they can either drop right into what they are preparing – or at least shows them that you will give a good quote if they were to call you.
- Bob's Notes: When we work with the media, we have several objectives (not necessarily all of these in each piece) We of course want to win the issue. - To do that, we often need to break the frame from the conventional and obvious narrative that tends to reinforce destructive policies -- and draw attention to the fact that triple bottom line policies have proven their worth. Some examples are, “jobs versus polar bears,” or the regulations kill jobs, that we talked about earlier. We want to reinforce that there are sound business and economic arguments for whatever the issue happens to be. This makes it possible for a wavering Dem or moderate Republican to take our position. This is important, because if you are passionate about a policy issue, your instinct will be to lead from the heart and talk about the moral or human reasons why you support the issue. Unfortunately, that makes it too easy for you to be dismissed as not pragmatic or business-like. So we focus completely on business and economic arguments to support our case. - We want to inject your brand into the discussion so the message is associated with established credible business brands, not just ASBC as a trade organization. - And of course, we want to build the ASBC coalition to make it more influential with policy makers and more attractive to prospective members.
- Bob’s Notes: So, given the realities of the current media environment…. We help our members get into the game in several ways - When we have planned opportunities, such as when our members are meeting with policy makers (fly-ins, district office visits, etc.) we will add on a media component in parallel (press conferences,1:1’s) - We distribute business leaders quotes through press releases to inject them into coverage of breaking news We pitch business leaders to journalists and talk-show bookers as interview subjects - We ghost-write and co-write op-eds that we place under the business leader’s name We distribute the business leader message through social media - And we coach and prep members with talking points, media research, and more.
- Bob’s Notes: So now let’s take an example, to show you how to approach an issue where you want media attention. We’re going to pretend that we’re trying to use our clout as a business leader to push a Carbon Pricing system in our state. I’ll touch on how to do your research on what media to target, how to put together an approach, and pitch. We’ll work through this agenda, including a few minutes on op-eds and writing. On ASBC issues, we’ll be doing most of this for you, but you can take this framework and apply it to issues of your own at a local level -- and depending on the size and scope of your business -- the state and national level.
- Bob’s Notes: In our example, we are evangelizing a carbon tax for our state. First, you would research two main types of journalists at the major media outlets in your state. As I mentioned earlier, it’s hard to find a journalist who covers business policy. So we look for both sides: folks who cover the policy issue as well as folks who cover business. For example, at your biggest newspaper in your state, the government team will probably have a reporter who covers energy and environmental policy. That reporter is a good target, but also they may have a business reporter who covers the energy industry. Also a good target. The titles of the folks you’re researching will tell you where they are in the hierarchy: reporters are under editors and bookers are under producers. But that doesn’t tell you how stories are developed and therefore where you are better off making your pitch. For example, at some media outlets reporters are supposed to come up with story ideas and so they are good targets. At others, editors make decisions and assign reporters who do what they’re told. Often there are regular team meetings where story ideas get discussed and decisions are made. The process will be opaque in most cases, and you can only learn by asking when you ‘re in pitch mode. To simplify things, I tend to start with the lowest person in the hierarchy and work my way around until I understand how things work and who’s best to target. Once you’ve picked your targets, study their work. See what they what they’ve done that closest to what you have in mind.
- Bob’s Notes: In terms of prioritizing your outreach, I think it’s good to start with easy target and those are probably local. In the town where your business is, if there’s a small local paper, that’s a perfect place to start. That ways, you’re learning what works and what doesn’t before you go after the big media outlets in your region. If you’re doing your own outreach, I recommend you stage your outreach and pitching, one at a time. That way you can carry your learnings from one to the other, and build your skill AND improve your pitch as you go.
- Bob’s Notes: When it’s time to start your outreach, I like to use both email and phone. I write the email but don’t send it. Then I call. If I have to leave a msg, I always say that I’m sending an email in case they prefer email for scheduling a meeting. {Go through the slide} I tell journalists that we can be in and out in 30 minutes. Sometimes we are, and often the journalist will want to go longer once the meeting is underway. But it sends the signal that we know they busy and we value their time. It can really help.
- Bob’s notes: So what’s the pitch look like? It depends on the story you want to see. One way to start, is to think about what the ideal headline is. For example, is it, ”Local Business Person Takes Stand for Carbon Pricing”? OK, that could be a story about how you went to the state house to meet with elected officials to tell them that in your business experience carbon pricing is the best way to address climate change. {Go through the rest of the slide}
- Bob’s Notes: {In our example, we are evangelizing a carbon tax for our state.} {Go through the slide}
- Bob’s Notes: So now, I want to switch gears a bit and talking about writing. There are good reasons for writing and trying to publish op-eds, columns or blogs. They can be hard to get published, but if you like to write, you owe it to yourself to try. Even if it’s in your local paper. Getting these messages out to folks is important. A big reason to do these is, you control the message. Unlike in an interview where you might say something you didn’t really mean to or that can be misinterpreted, here there’s no risk of that. {Go through the rest of the slide} So, that’s a quick take on writing for placement in the media. [Template notes] Header font specs: proxima nova semibold 36 pt Bullets can be ASBC green, blue or orange depending on background contrast needs. In this example bullets are 125% of text size to make them more visible. Bulleted copy can be resized to avoid dangling single words. Copy should break at logical places. Example here is proxima nova 22pt Line spacing between bullet copy line items is 1.4
- Bob’s Notes: Now let’s turn to how you can get engaged in media work with ASBC. (Read our materials): You’ll need to prepare for interviews, so make sure to read our materials, and get the business and economic messages front and center in your mind. Soundbite: “I’d rather pay the full cost of carbon now, than be out of business in 20 years.”
- Header font specs: proxima nova semibold 36 pt Bullets can be ASBC green, blue or orange depending on background contrast needs. In this example bullets are 125% of text size to make them more visible. Bulleted copy can be resized to avoid dangling single words. Copy should break at logical places. Example here is proxima nova 22pt Line spacing between bullet copy line items is 1.4