Media Planning
A media plan must
• Take full account of the environment
• Have clear objectives
• Understand the nature of the media itself
• Work within agreed policy
Environment
• Research, scan, SWOT
• Monitor
Media Policy
• Appointment of spokesperson (s)
• Rules about what can and can’t be said
• Operational and policy/governance
• Efficient approval process
Training
• Essential
• Understand the nature of the beast!
• Performance
• Packaging the messages
• Regular review of needs
Messages and positioning
• Clear and unambiguous
• Short and memorable
• Say it, say it again, repeat what you said
• Keep numbers manageable
• Get agreement on them
Resources
• Media database
• Email, fax and post
Plan content
Backgrounder
Base document
• Who, what, where, why and how
• Answers all the questions
• Base for Q & As/FAQs
• Details contacts
Calendar of Events
• AGM
• Conferences
• Product/service launches
• Government Budget round
• Media feature programmes
• Visiting VIPs
Meet-the-media
• Planned programme
• Spokesperson and experts
• Relationship management
Media releases
• Understand deadlines
• Understand media audiences
• Don’t editorialise
• Keep it succinct
Media Conferences
• Only if you have something REALLY important to say
• Useful briefing tactic in complex situations
• Radio will always have the scoop
• Can alienate other media
Off the record?
• ONLY if you are certain of your relationship
• Embargoes only a loose convention
• Don’t tempt fate
Monitoring
• Has story still got legs?
• Any new opportunities?
• Whoops, they got it wrong?
Evaluation
• Column inches
• IBM says worth 7 times equivalent purchased advertising
• Clippings, logs and transcripts
• Ministerial piles
• Assess by more than simple appearance