Strategic Communications Planning: Getting The Message Right
Media Relations: Pitching Points While Hinton Communications has extensive contacts among national, regional and local media, knowing reporters personally is only half the battle. We also must “pitch or sale” them successfully on your story and message. This ability requires an understanding of what reporters want and how they use information. The pitch must be compelling, unique and, most importantly, to the point. We pitch the big idea quickly and concisely to grab the journalist’s attention. Hinton Communications’ success in placing articles and news shows with mainstream and trade media, including print, television and radio, is best demonstrated through recent results:
Media Training: Designed for You Our media training does not come in a packet with dos and don’ts and a video of bloopers. It is designed specifically with an individual in mind – the person who will be talking to the news media about a specific issue. We build on the strengths and weaknesses of each client. Some people already have excellent media skills and only need clarity on message development and practice delivering the message. Others need more assistance. Based on the client’s experience, we design a series of steps that the client can take to prepare for media interviews. The steps range from background on how journalists work and what they generally are looking for to preparation for specific interviews with detailed talking points.
Our job is to train you to deliver a message that the news media will want to repeat and, at the same time, will persuade your targeted audiences to take the desired actions or positions you are seeking.
Event Planning: Everything Matters Events, whether large or small, can quickly spin out of control if any of the countless details are overlooked. When planning events, our philosophy is “Everything Matters.” From the selection of flatware and linens to the development and delivery of key messages, Hinton Communications is detail-driven and we leave nothing to chance. National Association of Realtors’ Housing Summit Recently, Hinton Communications organized a one-day housing summit for The National Association of Realtors (NAR). We identified and scheduled well-known speakers, including Cabinet Members, former government officials as well as influential authors, academics and journalists. After confirming their participation, we maintained regular contact and briefed them on key policy issues for NAR. We also developed a communications strategy that targeted national and regional media and outlined opportunities for NAR to expand their audience by engaging non-traditional outlets such as YouTube, Twitter and relevant blogs. We secured broadcast and print interviews and coordinated both the taping as well as the distribution of video news feeds. Hinton Communications also teamed up with the designers of the summit brochure to manage various components of its production, including writing and editing biographies on the featured speakers. NAR officials viewed our work as a success because we “placed a high value on each individual participant’s experience at the summit.” At other NAR events, Hinton Communications has designed collateral material such as banners and signage, advanced political officials, managed registration systems, arranged dinners and receptions, among many other duties. U.S.-China Housing Summit One of Hinton Communication’s most challenging events was a four-day conference that brought together seven high-ranking Chinese officials with their counterparts in the U.S. government to discuss community and economic development policy. The conference included three days of travel to Los Angeles, Chicago and Toledo and ended with a day-long meeting in Washington, D.C. that featured a roundtable discussion with Chinese officials, the U.S. Secretary of Housing and the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. In the evening, more than 100 government dignitaries attended a dinner and gift exchange at the Library of Congress to honor the Chinese delegation. Despite an initial unfamiliarity with Chinese culture and protocol, Hinton Communications quickly adapted by drawing upon the skilled resources available to the firm through its various connections with federal agencies. As a result, we successfully coordinated every detail of the conference: translations for both informal and formal discussions, travel schedules, housing tours, smaller meetings in the three cities, transportation plans, hotel reservations, invitations, policy papers, conference topics, media requests, staging, catering and gift exchanges. Our meticulous attention to detail and logistical expertise will make your event run seamlessly, distinguishing it as one that will be remembered and modeled by others.
|
