PR strategies: Do you really need to suck up?
- Media engagement techniques frequently alternate at distinct degrees of a company’s growth
- But showing favouritism or permitting yourself to be bullied puts your credibility at risk
IT become exciting times remaining week for the startup scene in Malaysia, now not simplest in terms of some funding bulletins – GrabTaxi getting more than US$15 million from international investors and CatchThatBus getting an undisclosed seven-digit amount from Singapore-based traders – but also in terms in their media engagement and public members of the family (PR) techniques.
This became the equal week that Digital News Asia (DNA) had determined to focus on PR for our monthly Disrupt panel dialogue and gathering occasion, which regarded into while and if startups need to begin thinking about enlisting professional PR assist, and the problems they might face.
It was serendipity, if you want, because both CatchThatBus and GrabTaxi had wildly differing media engagement strategies. CatchThatBus treated all of the media equally with the click launch it issued, and turned into in addition willing to reply follow-up questions. GrabTaxi determined to play favourites, alerting more than one courses way in advance of time.
Even extra unusually, it determined to ‘tier’ the issuance of the release – Singapore media changed into issued the release as a minimum one hour beforehand of Malaysian media. I am no longer positive if this is due to some slip-up at the part of the PR company it had engaged, or because the business enterprise decided Singapore media wanted a leg-up as opposed to their Malaysian opposite numbers.
It virtually made my colleague and DNA founder Karamjit Singh wonder approximately GrabTaxi’s media engagement approach, as he drove domestic the factor that DNA is quite a whole lot a worldwide media outfit, in case, I wager, the startup figured we were too small-fry and that it had outgrown us from the time we protected it while it turned into essentially just an app known as MyTeksi.
It turned into additionally interesting – and heartening – to see how our readers and local surroundings gamers, through non-public messages and on social media, were annoyed on our behalf. Indeed, even I turned into ready for a real rant at first, till I had time to do not forget it from GrabTaxi’s factor of view.
And having been a era journalist because the overdue 1980s, with a short stint in PR myself, it’s no longer like I haven’t seen all this earlier than.
Most organizations and PR organizations do cut up the media – along with bloggers, by means of the manner – into ‘stages.’ And every now and then it’s not even a degree of high-quality. Tier 1 media aren't necessarily higher or more widely ate up than Tier 2 media, however may additionally simply be considered extra influential with the target audience you’re seeking to attain – once in a while, simplest for that particular declaration or product.
Indeed, large businesses with a wide variety of products and services may additionally ‘tier’ the media in another way depending on which product line they’re talking approximately: This blogger or this mag is Tier 1 for purchaser merchandise; that blogger and that portal for organisation answers, for example.
And the corporations will engage exclusive media depending on which level of increase they’re in. When they’re starting out, it’s the tech media because they believe that they have got a terrific product, and simplest tech journalists could have the historical past to realize it.
When they reach the level where it’s all approximately the bottomline, and from time to time handiest that, then commercial enterprise guides end up extra important to them, mainly proper earlier than and when they pass public.
If they’re at a degree in which they’re desperate for in addition investment, then they'll go to guides that they accept as true with – every now and then mistakenly – all traders read. Finally, in the event that they’re going after a mass marketplace, having been reinforced by way of the initial guide they obtained from the tech media, their precedence can be lifestyle or fashionable news courses.
It’s comprehensible, genuinely. We maintain reminding startups and PR people that reporters aren't their friends; via the identical token, we shouldn’t expect any special treatment from the groups that we supported that have made it massive. After all, we had been simply doing our jobs.
Still, in my enjoy, the savvier agencies bear in mind that the tech media are influencers, or even if their PR techniques can also alternate given the level their business is at, they continue to keep ties with the media that first covered them.
If it become handiest that, I would just accept the truth and flow on, perhaps giving vent to a desire string of curses, but wouldn’t preserve it in opposition to everybody.
But given that we just had a Disrupt consultation on PR, I am additionally reminded of the uglier facet of media engagement and PR strategies.
I do know of a few corporations that favor to engage best with media corporations that do not ask them hard questions. And there are unethical media clothing that will not ask the hard questions due to the fact the groups in query are huge advertisers with them, or refuse to cowl any business enterprise that is not an advertiser.
It gets even murkier inside the startup scene because some media corporations share investor ties with the very agencies they’re masking.
There are also some huge and effective media businesses that call for that they receive first dibs or unique remedy, certainly threatening corporations or their PR companies, or otherwise they will ignore a release or announcement.
I without a doubt can’t blame the agencies for backing down in this case, but could similar to to alert them to the fact that they’re placing a very dangerous precedent for themselves in future dealings with such media establishments.
Some big and powerful media enterprises have additionally been recognised to break embargo, secure within the understanding that the groups and their PR groups can’t take any movement in opposition to such unethical journalism, consisting of boycotting these shops – due to the fact they feel they nonetheless want the exposure.
But the thing is, after you turn out to be a booklet’s bitch, your usual media engagement approach is already in shambles. You would possibly want to bear in mind whether or not it’s well worth allowing your self to be bullied with the aid of one or two unique media clothing, at the chance of losing your credibility with all of the rest.
Doesn’t appear like proper PR to me.
Related Stories:
Unhealthy relationships: PR, bloggers and the media
Disrupt: Startups, don’t overlook public members of the family
Disrupt on media relations: Know your target market, do your homework
Disrupt: The technological know-how and artwork of media relations
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