Today there are more brands than ever trying to tell their stories to drive commercial outcomes – be those sales, reputational gains or something else entirely. To do so soley relying on media misses an opportunity to build your own follower base long-term. 

Building your own group of fans to continue talking to sits at the heart of what we believe is the best in PR strategy. 

We believe in the power of earned media to inform and inspire audiences and deliver results. Earned media’s reputation and objectivity can’t be beat. 

But news production today is a different beast to years gone by. The stories that news desks seek, tell, print, broadcast and air each day have fallen into a pattern of promoting just the information needed to go about one’s daily lives in a COVID world.  

What does that mean for you? Once, where there would have been an opportunity or space in a newspaper, online publication or even two minutes of the news bulletin for a brand or PR agency to take and show the world an incredible brand story, there’s now only room for health, political or event coverage. Thousands of brands are now left fighting for the same one spot in any given publication.  

That’s where owning your own news is critical. Your PR strategy should not only be targeting journalists, but also be building newsworthy content for your own channels. Because if you can bring your audience to your channels, you have a chance to retain them and directly convert or influence them.  

Our team is filled with ex journalists and brand specialists who create content for brands to broadcast across social media, websites and EDMs among other channels.  

But it isn’t the case of just filming an interview. Consumers can sniff out a branded marketing piece. That’s why media works so well – it is intensely non-commercial. The art and science is in crafting your story as a journalist would, balancing your message with the news agenda and adding value to the audience. 

A dual owned and earned approach gives brands more bang for buck and means that if they invest in a key event or moment and media are called elsewhere, their story can be packaged up for their channels and also distributed to media – meaning they can still get that coverage. 

So next time your brand has something newsworthy to say, consider how to tell it not just to media, but also on your channels. Video, written assets, photography – all amplified via smart targeting to build your audience. Now that’s great PR. 

In the age of COVID-19, newspapers are dominated by virus updates, #stayathome infotainment is viral and Instagram is flooded by quarantine memes. More so, radio and TV programs contain incessant coronavirus chatter and our continually refreshed screens take us down pandemic holes, all too easy to get lost in. We have become a nation entirely consumed by news of COVID-19 and for us folk in the PR industry this makes cutting through the noise and landing a story all the more challenging.

The question is: how do we navigate this new norm? What is considered best practice in the age of COVID-19? How do we, as PR professionals, remain agile in this fast-paced and ever-changing pandemic nation that we now live in?   

Bastion Effect’s Senior Account Manager Katya Ginsberg cuts through the noise with a number of tips for navigating the world of #PR and #PandemicRelations

Navigating the new norm

The new norm is bound to be a shock to our PR system; a system that is innately social, fast-paced and F2F for the most part. Gone are the days where we connect with a journo for a coffee and talk shop, grab a cold one with a client to brainstorm the next big move and meet by the water-cooler to soft sound a pitch to a colleague. Instead, we are adapting to new a new model, one that is remote, digital but still more connected than ever. While direct human connectivity may be lacking, we have pivoted our communications approach to ensure that business as usual is maintained, both internally and externally. Think virtual coffees over Zoom, banter via Slack and weekly WIPS on Microsoft Teams to keep the comms well and truly alive!

On day 17 of self-isolation I checked in with two of Bastion Effect’s Consumer PR’s to get their two cents’ on navigating the new norm.

“I have found that sticking to a routine and having a dedicated workspace with plenty of natural light and minimal distractions keeps me focused. I’ve been getting a bit of cabin fever, but it helps to get outside and go for a walk each day to combat that,” says Phoebe, Senior Account Executive and resident social butterfly.

Chris, Bastion Effect’s Account Executive and all-round nice guy, is impressed with how the team has adapted to this new way of working.

“Although my commute to work has shortened, the work we do for our clients has hardly changed. This is a credit to the technology we have at hand and the resilience and attitude of the team” he says. 

We all concurred that, as PR professionals, sociability is second nature to us so it’s more important than ever to check in with each other, keep up the jovial banter and meme-sharing, and ask: are you doing okay today?

Best practice in the age of COVID-19

The shift from F2F to a digitised workforce has not only changed the way that we communicate with our colleagues but has also forced us to adapt our communications approach with the media. Navigating a media landscape that is cluttered by day-to-day news is one thing but navigating a sector that is completely consumed by COVID-19 is a whole different ball game.           

Over the past four weeks we have discerned a number of trends and tips for best practice in the age of COVID-19, as a result of our interactions with a number of journalists.

1. Phone vs. email pitching – While some journos have made it known that they prefer phone calls over emails, COVID-19 has changed the way that many communicate. Ask what method of comms they prefer, adapt your pitching technique to suit and deliver information accordingly.  
2. From journo to jack of all trades – From home-schooling their brood to coming up with the perfect by-line, juggling this new and unchartered landscape of WFH with kids is challenging so be patient with journos and make their lives easier. Present stories in a timely and concise manner with all relevant assets in one place; they will thank you for it later.
3. Cross-vertical journalism – With journalists now working across a multitude of divergent verticals to manage the ever-changing Coronavirus crisis and subsequent government updates, key contacts within normal sectors is shifting daily so don’t just rely on Telum for journo intel.
4. Prey, not spray – With information overload at an all-time high, it’s important that we continue to abide by our PR mantra and ensure we are creating tailored pitches for journos, not ‘spraying’ information that gets lost in the ever-cluttered virtual system.
5. Eyes peeled, ears to the ground – With COVID-19 controlling all news platforms at present, our approach to media relations has had to pivot accordingly. News-jacking and providing reactive commentary is more important than ever for us so consume all corners of the news, ‘news-jack’ conversations where appropriate and add value where we can.
6. Be agile – COVID-19 is an uncharted territory for all of us so be adaptable and resilient. What works one day isn’t going to work the next. Execute trial and error and if strategies aren’t converting to results, change it up. Be agile and support your clients through this uncertain time.
7. Be kind – We are living in anxious times so be kind to each other as we learn to navigate this brave new world.
8. Get yo’self a Cheryl: Lastly, if frustrations with family, partners or housemates is rising, get yourself a Cheryl.

If one thing is clear at Bastion Effect, it’s that we can’t keep doing things the way we used to and expect the same result.

Technology has changed the game in PR – the shift from bought advertising to owned media, or using your own assets and social media channels – these are all having a powerful influence over the way brands communicate with audiences. And the way we do our jobs at Bastion Effect.

Countless tools are now available to help us get the most out of PR and run campaigns more efficiently and effectively. We now have better ways of finding journalists and influencers, and media opportunities. This means we can be more strategic in the way we work, target journalists better and work more efficiently.

In addition, new media is creating opportunities to target audiences more directly. And it needs to – traditional methods of engaging with people no longer work as well as they used to. Consumers don’t want to be talked at, they respond in better numbers to shared experiences with brands.

This is where synergistic planning comes into play. It’s no longer good enough to simply acknowledge the importance of Paid, Owned and Earned – they need to be both planned and implemented together.

The best practitioners are doing this by effectively leveraging the consumer data that comes from the mobile devices we are all obsessed with. This can help to define the target audience, then craft and create an experience that is valuable from their perspective.

That means no more shotgun approach, or spraying people with advertisements in the hope that they will reach their desired audience at a time when they are receptive. By leveraging the data at our disposal we can adopt a rifle approach that is more targeted and effective, and not necessarily ad driven.

This is what is getting cut-through in today’s fragmented space. How is your brand faring?

Bastion Effect is excited to be rolling out a new tourism campaign to drive visitation to the Doncaster and Warrandyte region of Melbourne, after winning a competitive tender called by Manningham Council.

Working with sister agencies Bastion State (creative and digital) and Bastion Latitude (research and insights), Bastion Effect has been appointed to deliver a new creative positioning for the area and showcase it through compelling content and influencer engagement.

Bastion has developed a visual identity for the campaign and a core theme that highlights both the natural and urban delights of the area. The campaign will include the development of a short social media video series as well as an influencer campaign to drive day trippers and regional visitors to artistic, delectable and historic destinations such as Heide Museum of Modern Art, Kellybrook Winery and Mullum Mullum Trail.

Bastion Effect CEO Richard Chapman said: ​”We are really excited to have the opportunity to showcase the hidden attractions of Manningham to a broader audience. This campaign is an example of the power of the Bastion Collective. Our solution brings together the research-driven approach of Bastion Latitude, the creative nous of Bastion State, and the influencer expertise of Bastion Effect, creating a tailor made solution for Manningham Council.”