Talk given to Regent\'s College by Sam Knowles, Director of Strategy at salt PR, on 12.11.10. "Writing for the media"

1. Sam Knowles, 12|11|10
Writing for the media

2. All the research I've seen
says that editorial publicity is
better than paid-for publicity.
Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP, The Tim e s
“ “

3. Agenda
A. Do you know who I am?
B. Brand speak
C. Churnalism
D. Everyone an editor
E. Bringing this together

4. Do you know who I am?A

7. #regentswriting

8. Brand speakB

9. Competition for attention is intense

10. In the 30 seconds of a normal TV
commercial, it is
possible to take a telephone call, send a text,
receive a photograph, play a game,
download a music track, read a magazine
and watch commercials at x30 speed.
They call it Continuous Partial Attention.”
Maurice Saatchi,
The Strang e De ath o f Mo de rn Adve rtising
“
“

11. The challenge

12. Brand empathy
Any conversation you have has to be of value to your
customers
Brands need “social currency” to build relationships and
spark reactions
Compelling content starts sustainable conversations
and cut through the clutter

13. The cocktail party principle
“If you want to be boring, talk
about yourself. If you want to be
interesting, talk about something
other than yourself.”

14. RULES OF SUSTAINABLE
CONVERSATION

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16. Unde rstand yo ur m e dia1

17. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
1 2 3What do they
cover?
What is their target
audience?
What are their
deadlines?

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2

19.  Be punchy, focused and clear
 Journalists and bloggers cut your
story from the bottom up
 Get the what, why, who, where,
when, how into the first two paras
Be succinct2

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3

21. Be inte re sting3

22.  Capture attention from the start
 Provide the kind of content you’d share with your
friends in the pub
 Or with your followers on Twitter
(And don’t be boring!)

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24. Frequentest thou
this fine hostelry
oftentimes, fair
maiden? Do you
come here
often?
Talk hum an4

25. Plain English Campaign
“Foot in Mouth Award”, 1994
“Gordon Brown MP for his 'New Economics' speech. He covered
"ideas which stress the growing importance of international co-
operation and new theories of economic sovereignty across a wide
range of areas, macro-economics, trade, the environment, the
growth of post neo-classical endogenous growth theory and the
symbiotic relationships between government and investment in
people and infrastructures - a new understanding of how labour
markets really work and constructive debate over the meaning and
implications of competitiveness at the level of individuals, the firm or
the nation and the role of government in fashioning modern
industrial policies which focus on nurturing competitiveness."

26. Talking human
• Avoid sounding like a spokesperson
• Social media has blurred the line between
corporate and consumer speak
• Fashion great client quotes by talking to
them

27. What kind of language?
SIMPLE
INFORMED
INFORMAL
ACCURATE
FLEXIBLE
… but not trivial
… but not full of jargon
… but never sloppy
… but not technical
… but not infinitely varied

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29. • Pitch content they want to cover
• Pitch content their readers want to read
• Understand that it’s not just your story that will be told
Be use ful5

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31. • Be authentic
• Make extensive use of case studies
• Tell stories
Ke e p it re al6

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33. Think visual7

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8

35. Use facts and fig ure s8
Be able to back up your claims
Use statistics as proof points
Deploy issues first, products second

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9

37. Be accurate (and do n’t lie )9

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39. Ho ld so m e thing in re se rve10

40. Companies that follow these rules

44. ChurnalismC

45. Our media have become mass
producers of distortion. An industry
whose task should be to filter out
falsehood has become a conduit
for propaganda and second-hand
news.
Nick Davie s, The Guardian, 20 0 8
“
“

46. Cardiff University Research
Just 12%of 2,000 UK news stories composed of facts
discovered by reporters
80%wholly, mainly or partly constructed from second-hand
material from news agencies and PR; clone stories
Only 12%of stories have facts checked

47. Causes
FEWER JOURNALISTS, EDITORS, FACT CHECKERS
–From active gatherers of news to passive processors of unchecked content
RE CONTENT REQUIRED – FOR THE PAPER, THE ONLINE VERSION, THE BLOG, THE
–Three times as much copy since 1985
–Just one third the time per story

48. Consequences
 Unchecked stories spread – unchecked – like
wildfire, from news reporters to columnists to
become received wisdom
 Companies with access to the best advisers
have disproportionate influence
 Decline in respect for journalism

49. Everyone’s an editorD

50. Causes
• Mass availability of easy blogging tools and smart
phones
• Single-issue fanatics’ focus – live, multimedia,
interactive fanzines
• Collapse in trust for traditional media and
corporations vs participatory journalism
• Truly democratic – all opinions count
• Harness the wisdom of crowds

51. Consequences
 Mass participation in journalism – the rise of the citizen journalist
 Success through quality content (content creates links, create
popularity)
 Corporate transparency and accountability (nowhere to hide)

52. An outmoded point of view

53. Bringing this togetherE

54. In summary
• Traditional and social media offer great opportunities for
brands to reach target audiences – if they follow simple
rules
• Pressures on journalists provide brands with
opportunities but also responsibilities
• New channels and technology mean many more voices
matter

56. Thank you
sam@saltlondon.com
+44 (0)20 8870 6777
Park House, 14 Northfields, London, SW18 1DD
www.saltlondon.com