The old saying ‘a picture is worth a 1000 words’ can be taken literally when it comes to media relations. While making sure you have the right wording and messaging in written materials is a critical first step, many practitioners tend to underestimate the contribution that a good visual can bring to securing media coverage.

In fact, a good visual can often be the thing that tips the balance in your favour when attracting media to your event, extending coverage beyond geographical boundaries, or ensuring follow-up coverage long after the fact.

When managed properly and creatively a strong visual might be just the ticket to capturing the interest of assignment editors who are inundated with hundreds of media invitations and news releases on any given day. More often than not, it may help guarantee prominent placement in a publication.

But not any visual will do the trick. The more creative the visual, the greater the likelihood of a positive response. There have been countless occasions where a lesser story will gain precedence over a more significant one, simply because it has a stronger visual component to go with it.

A case in point that demonstrates the value of creative visuals is a recent media launch we planned for CARSTAR StarPlex, a new collision repair operation in Mississauga. To stimulate media interest in the opening, we invited key journalists to come to an event where they could damage the president’s Mercedes with a sledgehammer. The idea we wanted to convey was the confidence Mr. Mercanti had in his company’s services and the quick turnaround time of repair work. Media were invited to view the repaired car the following day, including a taped record of the repair from start to finish.

Not only did the visual reinforce the corporate message, it was unique enough to attract the attention of major television and print media. In fact, the Toronto Star decided to add their own twist to the theme, bringing kick boxers to the briefing–not to mention the fact that their follow-up article actually made reference to the photo opportunity that came with the invitation.

The resulting coverage included a half-page feature in the Saturday Star Wheels Section, as well as significant on-air coverage with Global and CFTO. Estimated audience reach grew to 3 ½ million on a program that was executed on a shoestring, translating into a cost per thousand people reached of less than $3.00. And the coverage continues.

While there are no hard and fast rules about the use of visuals, some tips that can help you in determining how and when to use them include:

1. Ensure the visual is meaningful to the media, while reinforcing your messaging.
2. Be creative. Product shots won‘t get you beyond specific trade publications. Ensure you have a good selection of environment or products/people in action shots.
3. When hosting an event, make sure you provide some interesting photo ops. Look beyond the standard senior executive poses and don‘t be afraid to use props. (A recent Harry Potter launch had two owls perched on a pile of newly shipped books to provide a more creative backdrop for the company president).
4. Where you have multiple photos, provide a contact sheet to assist in selecting prints.
5. Ensure you include company spokespeople in the visuals when required. Identify people (and titles) in photos where required. Providing captions can also help.
6. Make it simple for the media to get photos when they need them. Have a selection of good quality visuals that can serve different editorial needs. Visuals should always be high resolution (200 dpi minimum) and in a format that editors can use. Jpeg or tif files are the most widely accepted formats.
7. Provide a photo CD or a web link for easy access and downloading.

Tags: public relations
Posted in Public relations |