You’ve decided to hire a PR firm. But you’re a busy professional without a great deal of time to preside over your new or existing agency. Yes, you’re the expert in your field, but you’re also aware that you need the counsel of experts who can and will provide new insights into telling your story.
Having this expertise at your side is critical because it’s the best way to broaden your reach through the many avenues available to share compelling perspectives about your business and its story. In fact, having experts as your partners can lead to further insight into your company’s story, offering additional opportunities to relate to the public.
In the past six weeks, Elizabeth Christian Public Relations (ECPR) has started working with two clients in very different fields. As we do with every new project, we took a “deep dive” into these brands to determine how best to tell their stories to their key audiences. We did some digging and asked tough questions. For both clients, we discovered that the stories we could tell were much bigger than we—and the client—first thought.
Twenty Four Lions
The Cabela Family Foundation contacted ECPR as it prepared to oversee the historic conservation release of 24 wild lions in Mozambique. The entire ECPR account team plunged into initial research for the project, its partners and similar efforts prior to a “field trip” to the Cabela family property where we talked about their goals, their backstory, their faith, zoological science and the role of hunting in conservation.
Over the first few weeks our “deep dive” included:
- Researching and conducting preliminary conversations with global outlets, African news desks and conservation organizations
- Copy editing, re-organizing and developing new content for the website
- Monitoring comparable news and digital trends and influencers
- Contacting membership organizations to seek their endorsement and other thought leadership opportunities
- Having robust internal debate about all aspects of the story and how nuanced questions would be addressed
We discovered that, while wild lion conservation was at the heart of this story, other stories could be told in the business of conservation, the role of responsible hunting and the resulting revenues, the economic impact in Mozambique and the Catholic tradition of service in nature.
The in-depth preparation worked out even beyond our expectations, with international awareness of this effort, including initial media coverage in nearly 20 international outlets including Newsweek, Rádio Moçambique, Africa Sustainable Conservation News, IFL Science, Sports Afield and El País, along with influencer tweets that included an official from the United Nations.
House of Torment
While Wyatt Brand (acquired by Elizabeth Christian Public Relations in January 2018) had worked with House of Torment and its parent company, Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, for the previous nine years, this was ECPR’s first year working on the account. We needed to learn the basics about this year’s innovations. To get ready for the best haunted attraction in the land, we:
- Reviewed historical reports and data on changes in audience demographics and the development of media coverage
- Conducted two site visits to get extensive detail and preliminary photos of construction, new amenities, spokespeople and operations staff, as well as get a sense of surprises in store for patrons
- Examined regional competition and their exposure
- Planned a whole-team agency outing to the haunted attraction to learn how groups respond to the experience
In addition to seasonal and entertainment stories, we learned more about the organization’s anti-bullying nonprofit, this year’s safety improvements and business partnerships and innovations meant to enhance the customer experience. As a result, though it’s still early in regard to our outreach, we’ve already connected the client with reporters and influencers in various sectors.
So, how do you know if you’re selling yourself short?
Does your PR strategy stay the same year after year? Are you no longer getting responses to your media outreach? Has your company updated its messaging within the last six months?
If you find yourself struggling in regard to these issues, perhaps it’s time to take a look at your company’s PR approach. A new set of eyes, such as those from a public relations firm, can be helpful to taking new approaches to tell your story and build your business. We’d love to discuss it with you. Let’s have coffee!
