Even a ‘silly’ but seemingly positive story in the media can sometimes get turned around to be a negative one – the best PRs and spokespeople know they have to work hard to make sure their story stays on track.
One of the most read stories on the BBC website recently was this; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-41748305 about a lady who had a Jet2 flight all to herself. She found the flight surreal but enjoyed what was some very friendly, personal service from the crew. But some readers will be forgiven for looking at this from the perspective of the airline, not least with the failure of other businesses in recent times – how can a plane that holds 189 people, make a flight with just one person, be a good news story for the airline?
It seems that the spokesperson (presumably it was actually a savvy PR person) was aware of how the story could be construed and made sure they headed off any negative lines by saying; “This was our last flight to Crete from Glasgow Airport this year, marking the end of a very busy and successful season… We’re delighted that Karon got to experience our VIP customer service in style onboard our award-winning airline… It is not unusual for the final outbound flight of the season to have fewer bookings than normal, and the return flight back to Glasgow was completely full”.
So anyone that thought Jet2 was suffering from a lack of customers was put right with the explanation of the last flight of the season, but to drive the point home, they also state that their season was a “very busy and successful one”.
At times, even positive stories in the media can either have another negative side, or can end up with a very different focus than it started with. The best PRs and spokespeople know it’s always wise to cover off potential negatives to ensure that there’s no doubt about the business and how it operates. The most effective way to learn how to handle the nuances of media interviews is in media training as the course will give you techniques and allow you to practice them till they become second nature – if want to make sure you or your team are ready for tricky interviews – we can help, please get in touch.
Written by Will Edwards, Bluewood Training.