The team at PReturn strives for perfection, but perfection is a pipe dream - an altruistic goal that cannot be obtained. Although true in all parts of life, this is particularly true in disciplines like search engine optimization (where you rely on the cooperation of search engines) and media relations (where you rely on the cooperation of journalists and other members of the media). Mistakes will happen, but from a media relations perspective, how we resolve those mistakes is what truly matters.
Chief marketing officers (CMOs) certainly have a lot more than media relations to worry about, but like the countless other communications channels they oversee, they must ensure their expenditures on PR and media relations pay dividends. They need to know the questions to ask their PR teams or perhaps even what to look for when building those PR teams. So with the understanding that every media relations team will make mistakes, I wanted to share with CMOs some tips for getting the right team on board.
In "Protect Your PR Investment or Risk Burying Your Brand," an article I contributed to ChiefMarketer.com, I recap a bad experience an editor recently shared with me about the hoops through which he jumped in an effort to be removed from a PR firm's irrelevant news distribution list. In the article, I also suggest some basic questions every CMO should ask before hiring a PR team and offer some other guidance to help CMOs do all they can to come out of the search process with a media relations team that represents them well and treats the media with respect and understanding. As always, I welcome your thoughts and opinions.