THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF BROADCAST PR

Every client wants to be on the TV or radio but the rules of engagement when selling in are very different to print. Sandy Warr, our Head of Broadcasting, explains how to avoid committing the seven top broadcasting cardinal sins…

Have you ever experienced one of those dinner party moments when a guest is asked what they do for a living and they come out with a real conversation killer? You know–I am a banker – or I process MPs expense claims?

These days, as a former broadcaster, I can truly relate to that feeling. For some of my ex-broadcast colleagues I have committed an unforgiveable sin in crossing to the dark side- the people who see PR’s as a species with an astonishing skill at pushing all the wrong buttons at precisely the wrong time.

Broadcasting can be a wonderful way of getting your client’s message across– but it is astonishing how many people get it badly wrong. In that spirit then let me offer my guide to the seven deadly sins of broadcast PR.

1.       Timing is everything: if you want to truly upset a broadcaster then call them five minutes before their programme deadline. In many newsrooms there is just one solitary person on shift. When I was morning editor at Smooth Radio I had to edit /script and produce the news bulletins for the top of the hour and the half hour sequences, ring all the emergency services and key contacts for updates, read ALL the newspapers and then go into the studio and try to be witty about the day’s news agenda. A phone call at five to eight would get a very terse reply.

2.       Radio has no pictures: When I was a junior reporter at Essex Radio we used to have an initiation test. On your first day you were handed a pile of pictures and told to take them to the radio station’s picture editor – sometimes we lost trainees for days. Don’t approach Radio with picture stories or stunts that are purely visual.

3.       But TV needs them: It is just a question of the right material for the right outlet…if TV has nothing to show then it has no story.     

4.       Make sure your key speaker is available: You will get blacklisted pretty swiftly if you woo your journalist about a fantastic story – they set aside a prime time slot for you – but then you have no speaker available to talk.

5.       Make sure you have provided at least some rudimentary media training for your speaker before you put them on air. Broadcasting can be fantastic fun or the most terrifying three minutes of your life – it all comes down to the proper preparation.

6.       Don’t take Advantage: Broadcasters have to be wary about allowing people to by-pass rules about product placement and free advertising. They won’t be at all happy if your spokesman peppers his sentence with a hefty plug for the brand name. There is a gentleman’s agreement that you can have a product mention as you are introduced and another one as you are thanked. 

And finally,

7.      Know THEIR audience: It’s not much use sending a release about some new research on young women’s health to a broadcaster who is trying to target middle aged men.