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10 tips to guarantee a great press conference
How can you make your press conferences memorable? And how do you guarantee that they get lots of attention (without having to witness shoes flying at your executive’s head)?
Step 1: What’s the news?
Before you schedule a press conference, ask yourself: Do you have anything new to say? This sounds terribly obvious, but hundreds of press conferences are held every year so some corporate CEO can issue empty statements to the press. Don’t do this. You’ll lose credibility. Then, when you actually have news, no one will show up.
Step 2: Call ahead
Journalists are notorious no-shows at press conferences. Don’t be afraid to call reporters before the event to confirm that they’re coming. You can offer a few informational morsels as bait, but save the hard news until the press conference.
Step 3: Timing is crucial
Think about conducting a press conference during the holiday season, typically a slow period for news stories. You should also consider holding them in the morning or late afternoon. Mondays are poor choices as reporters will probably be catching up on weekend events.
Step 4: Prepare and practice
Use some of your staff to pelt your executive with questions. If mock debates work for presidential candidates, they will work for your leaders. But caution: This technique only works if the employees act the part and ask tough questions.
Step 5: It's about the location, stupid
Create buzz around your press conference by picking a venue that offers some gravitas. Examples: The Detroit Economic Club, Rockefeller Center if you’re in New York City, or even a local city hall.
Step 6: It doesn’t hurt to invite a celebrity
If you want to ensure attendance, surround your executive with a celebrity. It’s an old California political trick. Senatorial candidates would bring movie star supporters on their bus. Then, when they stepped to the microphone, they looked out at impressive crowds. So did all of the media lined up with their cameras.
Step 7: Steak, plus sizzle
Positive PR begins with a good performance. Make sure your executive is good on his or her feet. Ask yourself: Is my CEO interesting? Can he handle tough questions? Is she charming?
Step 8: Stay composed
Flying footwear may be unlikely at your next media presentation, but it’s wise to expect the unexpected. Be in the moment, and acknowledge the situation as deftly as possible. President Bush made light of it, quipping: “If you want the facts, it was a size 10 shoe that he threw.”
Step 9: Don’t panic over tech problems
If the lights go out or a PowerPoint slide doesn’t work, chill. Reporters are usually after press kits and contact information. There’s got to be a story behind the fancy PDF files.
Step 10: Know the reporters by name
Presidents and press secretaries know in advance which reporters they’ll call on. Help your executive by placing the names of reporters and a seating chart on their podium. All reporters like to believe the top guy knows their name.
Bonus tip: Make sure you tape the press conference. Edit the tape into a three-minute clip and post it on YouTube. Sites like YouTube allow you to reuse content from your news event and spread it virally.
Solid pointers . . . for the 1990s. OK, and *occasionally* for our PR 3.0 era.
I'm not writing an obit for the news conference and release, though their vital signs are much weaker than a decade ago.
Your own Step 1 and Bonus tip reflect the new landscape. Because journalists in shrinking print and broadcast newsrooms are far more ive these days about trekking to on-site staged events, savvy communicators use technology to earn coverage via interactive webinar-style media briefings, conference calls or other platforms.
And when teal news exists, as stressed in Step 1, an everyone-invited press conference (with a podium, logo banner and curtain as the only visuals) may be less meaningful than personal invitations (Step 10) to an executive briefing, plant tour, lab visit or presentation at another client facility.
Look where President Obama often announces legislative initiatives or delivers policy pitches: factory floors, hospitals, schools. Yes, also in auditoriums or conference centers . . . but which appearances have greater impact and generate more prominent images.
Quick anecdote and I'm done:
A business associate from a small agency recently hosted eight journalists in a medium-size market without issuing a press release. How? Access.
He invited print and broadcast journalists to a typically off-limits health sciences facility for a briefing and tour led by corporate execs and lab researchers, who spoke about a new product. The AP bureau's report and photo made the national wire and ran in major dailies. Statewide coverage also was earned.
As he blogged later: "To get attention, it’s important to think differently. . . . Create access to someplace newsworthy, to someone who has something newsworthy to say or to information that is worth an editor creating news space."
That's when your 10-Step Program can kick in, Jessica.
If you are going to host a tech press conference these days and you want it to be successful, make sure the company's name starts with a G, M, I or C :-)