TAG - the media

Hi Laurence,

One of the hardest parts of PR is knowing when to say no. Google ‘How to say no’ and you’re met with countless think pieces, links to therapists, podcast episodes, Reddit threads, and YouTube videos.

One thing you can find in most news pieces, whether that is live TV, radio, podcasts or written news, is an expert opinion to add variety and back up the statements in the article. Has this person – or their PR support – jumped on the news agenda to get there?

Do you find yourself apprehensive about engaging with the media to secure press coverage?

Building good relationships with journalists is a key part of working in public relations. It can help you to really build your earned media coverage, and can even make your day-to-day working life all the more pleasant. It doesn’t have to be hard or scary, but how do you do it?

Business schools face the ongoing challenge of staying relevant and engaging to both current and prospective students as well as other key stakeholders. One innovative strategy that can significantly enhance a business school’s visibility and influence is by leveraging faculty members in podcast opportunities. By putting faculty forward for podcasts, business schools can amplify their thought leadership, connect with wider audiences, and enrich their educational offerings.

Imagine you’re a journalist on a tight deadline. You might be working on a trend piece for a globally-read magazine, planning an upcoming podcast recording, or perhaps reporting on a news story for a national daily newspaper. Your draft is due tomorrow, but you urgently need an expert comment to include. Where do you go?

Today, the world is always online. Increasingly, what matters is what happens online. When an event of any notes happens, its ramifications are debated online. Now, public and personal opinion is decided on the internet. Brands and companies have never been more concerned about what happens online. Reputations are bought, busted, and buoyed on the internet. Although the feelings people have toward brands and companies still happen in people’s minds (for now), the content each person works with to form opinion is primarily found on the internet. For these reasons and more, digital PR has never been more important.

There are so many reasons why business school rankings continue to be important.

From multinational corporations to pop singers to business schools, no reputation is ever static. A brand’s reputation is fluid and ever-changing – just look at Taylor Swift.

Journalists are flooded with emails and pitches. With there being around six PRs to every journalist nowadays, their inboxes are waterlogged. They exist in a bog of emails and pitches. But how can you get them to open your email, how do you hook them with your pitch?

When it comes to media work for business schools and higher education, there are a number of topics and areas that can be used as story ideas for the media. Perhaps there is a new research paper to share or an academic has an opinion they want to express.

The news is such a significant part of everyone’s lives. Its purpose is to inform the public, so that they can know about important events, and make informed decisions about their lives. Someone who regularly keeps up with the news will widen their outlook and enrich their knowledge.

In the competitive market of European higher education, The Netherlands stands out as a key country for universities and business schools seeking international visibility.

Thought leadership is a phrase that is often thrown around in the business sphere. To be a thought leader essentially means being an expert in a specific area and positioning yourself as someone people look to for advice on that topic.

Science press aims to provide coverage on current scientific research and findings which are often especially relevant to current news and trends, from natural disasters and the impact of climate change to public health and the psychology of modern life; there are always scientific topics out there that the public love to read about. A widespread discipline, science press can specialise in different areas such as biology, chemistry, health, sustainability, and medicine, just to name a few.

As a university or business school looking to get your alumni, research and professors featured in media opportunities, trade press can sometimes feel like an afterthought, particularly when your focus is on top-tier publications like the Financial Times, Forbes and the Economist.

If you’ve read our previous blogs on how to craft a compelling pitch or construct a powerful press release and have taken our advice to heart you’ll, hopefully, by now have been on the receiving end of some positive responses from journalists at your target publications.

Language is essential to communications, but it seems that some people still underestimate the power it has. Choosing the right words and crafting compelling messaging is key to success in PR and communications efforts both at home and in international markets.

Entering into the world of communications, PR and media relations can be confusing for some. At first, you may wonder what the difference is between public relations and media relations? But overtime, you will begin to notice the unique factors that they each bring to the table.

In the fast-paced world of public relations, where the news agenda evolves rapidly, professionals often find it challenging to keep up with an ever-changing landscape. Nonetheless, planning in PR is crucial to success! By developing a comprehensive PR plan, you can effectively navigate the media environment, align your messaging, and capitalise on opportunities. And a PR plan does not have to underscore every last detail! In fact, in such a dynamic world, being adaptable is a huge advantage…

5 reasons why you didn’t get quoted… The bread and butter of any public relations strategy is media engagement – securing opportunities to speak directly with journalists from a wide range of outlets, across your target audiences and geographies. Sharing your voice, your institution’s values, your expertise and successes with credible media gives you a greater platform to be seen and heard, as well as actively demonstrate your worth.

The media landscape is ever-changing, which is why it’s important to implement updated strategies that will keep you connected to your audience. One of the best ways to do so is through regular media interviews. Not only do they provide a platform to share your message, but they also help put a human connection to your institution, particularly if you’re the Dean or a key spokesperson.

Working with journalists can be daunting, especially if you are in a new position or have not done it before. However, journalists are also just normal people doing their job. Still, there are a couple of things you should consider when working with a journalist or setting up a meeting for another member of faculty. These “do’s and don’ts” are here to provide a guide for you when working with journalists.

A timeless truth, understanding what the media is after will always be fundamental to media success, irrespective of the specific year.

Italy is well-known for many things; Pizza, pasta, and gelato in the culinary sense; da Vinci and Michelangelo for artists; Armani and Versace in the fashion world; or Lamborghini and Ferrari if you’re into cars.

We’ve all seen disastrous media interviews before. A politician, a business person, or even a sports person comes on to the TV and you can tell they are unprepared. They’ve not planned what they want to say, they are coming across as incompetent and unprofessional and they are saying ‘no comment’ to all of the difficult questions. It doesn’t look good for the spokesperson or the organisation.

Public relations and sales are often two essential arms of an organisation; one directly drives up revenue, the other maintains a reputation people want to invest in. Whilst they may be situated in different departments, the skills and work behind both PR and sales may not always be so distinct from one another.

PR is, for the most part, a game of words. Sometimes, however, it’s necessary to crunch the numbers to work out how effectively you are writing and distributing pitches. Luckily, PR consultants aren’t always forced to whip out a calculator themselves – publications like Propel’s quarterly Media Barometer are valuable aggregators of statistics. Here are some of the most interesting trends and tips from the latest Propel report, spanning the third quarter of 2022 (July-September).

For top international business schools, understanding the media landscape in various corners of the globe is key to securing top-tier press coverage in those regions. Business schools are home to thousands of international students and faculty, and produce ground-breaking research that can be of huge relevance all over the world. One region that has one of the most diverse array of cultures and one of the most varying media landscapes is the APAC region. Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australasia and Pacific Islands. Indeed, the APAC region is home to many business schools, and many higher education institutions outside of this region now have flourishing partnerships with schools within this area. It is therefore vital that any PR and communications teams working with partners in the APAC territory understand these differences and nuances to fully unlock APAC’s potential. Below, we highlight a few key trends in the media landscape in four key markets in East Asia – China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan.

While a press release can work great for the launch of a new school or interesting findings from a new research paper, some topics will be more successful if pitched as an idea for a wider article.

Spain boasts a great deal: second largest country in Europe, third most UNESCO world heritage sites, one of the globe’s largest wine producers, to name just three. It is amongst the most visited countries in the world, and its citizens have an extraordinarily powerful nationality to travel with, able to visit 190 other countries visa free – more so than the US, France or the UK. Its colonial legacy in parts of Africa and Asia, but mostly in Latin America, has left Spanish as one of the most spoken languages in the world, second to none but English.

Takeaways from Cision’s 2022 State of the Media Report As the world continues on its new path of hybrid working, entering deeper into a metaverse, our relationships are changing all around us. It’s impacting how we interact with our colleagues, our clients, and for us PR consultants – journalists.

When it comes to approaching PR, you should tailor your media approach based on the specific goals you would like to achieve, which can be incredibly varied. You might want to increase student uptake, publications mentioning your research, or international and trade media coverage.

The role of the media relations team within business and higher education institutions is not an easy one. Straddling the worlds of fast-paced news and considered academic exploration it can be tricky to match your institution’s expertise to a journalist’s needs at the right place and time.

Faculty members who are comfortable and experienced at dealing with media relations are an invaluable asset – largely because they are so rare.

News has travelled in one way or another throughout humanity, be that through word of mouth, messages written on stone or the more modern methods we use today.

As the Dean of an institution, you hold considerable responsibility for cultivating relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, including donors, alumni, and the community. You are also responsible for protecting and building your school’s reputation and faculty. Success in these areas is vital and it often hinges on maintaining and preserving good relationships. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BlueSky Education (@bluesky_edu)

Media outreach is a part of many institutions’ strategies, describing a range of activities designed to get the attention of media representatives who could be interested in your newsworthy stories and willing to share them with your target audience.

Research is important. Many universities and business schools describe themselves as ‘research-led’ or as institutions renowned for the calibre of research they put out.

It may be counterintuitive, since we are a media relations company, to write a blog telling our audience why they simply shouldn’t bother engaging with the media – or employing an agency to do it for them. Sounds a bit like we’re shooting ourselves in the foot, doesn’t it?

Photos are a really important part of every media opportunity. There are very few articles, press releases, or comment pieces that I have worked on that haven’t required a photo upon publication.

Another month, another influx of pioneering research papers. But which ones are destined for the headlines? The first step to securing phenomenal press coverage for business schools and universities is to identify exactly which research, and which student or alumni success stories, are most likely to catch the media’s attention. It’s equally vital to know when material lends itself to a press release, to an opinion editorial or to interview articles.

Today, there is more competition than ever between business schools as more and more are offering top-class programmes, innovative learning tools, and an extremely high-caliber of teaching. As such, international higher education markets are growing rapidly every year, which has indeed made the task of attracting leading academics and students more difficult than ever.

Getting in on the conversation is a well-trodden means to gain media coverage. This piggy-back method by responding or talking about key issues on the news agenda can be highly productive. It can help to enhance reputation or credibility by showcasing a university or business school’s knowledge and expertise in fields at the centre of the news agenda.

Broadcast media can include a number of coverage types ranging from television and radio to podcasts.

Political press is a broad branch of journalism, and every day we are infiltrated with political news – in print, on the TV, radio, and of course our digital devices. Indeed, the variety of political media outlets and publications reflect the huge variation of political opinion across the globe.

Financial news outlets attract some of the biggest readerships and are amongst some of the most well respected in the world, with the Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Economist and Reuters amongst some of the most popular.

There’s an old saying: "Advertising is what you pay for, publicity is what you pray for” (Helen Woodward, 1938). I couldn’t agree more.

The media is constantly changing as a result of digitalisation. The internet has become the go-to news platform, meaning getting news is quicker and easier than ever. As a result, journalists are now busier than before, so as a PR professional it’s even harder to get a response. The relationship between journalists and PR professionals is key to being successful in PR, our job is to get results and the only way this works is if journalists cooperate with us.