Over the past three months we have had the pleasure of working with Tourism Australia to showcase some great new initiatives, places and products in the Australian Tourism market.
We’ve sampled small bars in Sydney, sunshine on Hayman Island and even quad bikes in Tassie. It’s all been part of TA’s Video Newsletter initiative – 6x5min episodes designed to spark international media interest in what we have on offer.
So here they are – all six episodes for you to hopefully enjoy.
Warren
When you think about it, everything we do is about story telling. From encouraging our kids to be good citizens by showing them examples and telling them a related story, to selling a product or service. If we can engage the recipient, we are a long way to being successful.
We are, after all, visual beings. That doesn’t mean we need to show a video to get our message across. It means we like to have a picture painted for us, to be taken on a journey, to use our imagination to touch, feel, smell and see what we are talking about.
Just think about the powerful messages that have been delivered in your life and how they cut through your thought process to resonate in your heart, mind and soul. Somewhere in the process there was a trigger that screamed “pay attention, this is important”.
You could very well have the same story told in several different ways. Some will have no impact on you whatsoever. Others will instantly grab hold of you. In short, the difference is the art of storytelling. Engaging your audience and taking them along for the ride.
The first key to success is understanding your audience. Who do you want to speak to? What is their age and interests? Why would they be interested in your product or service?
Once you narrow that down, you can focus in on the trigger. That one key to sparking their interest and taking them closer to purchasing, understanding, or following what you have to say.
Usually this will come in the form of a need or a want. Money or time are prime examples. Or it could be how to solve a problem. Let’s face it, our lives are all about solving problems. Provide a solution, and you have your customers’ attention.
For example, which of these headlines would get your attention:
How To Get Out of Debt?
or
Five Simple Ways to Save $500 each month?
I know I would go for option 2. Story telling is about identifying the problem facing your client or customer, and then providing a specific solution. Option 2 provides that solution.
Our Radio News Release distribution service is identified by one simple line: One interview conducted over the phone, made available to every radio station in Australia, within minutes.
The problem is: PR agencies and their clients don’t have time to do hours worth of individual news interviews, and even if they did, they wouldn’t reach every radio stations in the country.
The solution is: The spokesperson does one interview and we make it available to every radio station in Australia.
It saves them a huge amount of time for a small investment, and guarantees every radio station has access to the message.
Once again, every problem needs a solution. Identify the problem and provide the solution. And tell the story by finding that key trigger that is going to spark your audience to life.
I came across a great video series today that talks exactly about this – the art of storytelling and getting your message across.
In fact, the headline is a great example in itself: Story Telling tip: Use five motivators to engage audiences.
A good simple headline that gets to the point but I must admit I probably would have gone with: “The five key motivators to get people to buy your product/service”.
It’s presented by the Poynter Institute’s Al Tompkins and is a guide to story telling for journalists and finding angles that resonate with an audience but the same applies to PR, and any business trying to sell their product or service.
This is the first one of the series and it talks about the “money” trigger in a story. There is a fee to view the others in the series but this free one gives you a great idea about finding the right story angle and the importance of finding a hook that works with your audience.
Use Five Motivators to Engage Audiences from Poynter Institute on Vimeo.
Would love to know your thoughts.
Thanks again – Warren
Branson and Borghetti lead the show at Sydney Airport
What a publicity machine Sir Richard Branson is.
Nothing new in that statement as we have marveled over the decades at his ability to pull a huge media crowd. The public love him, and so do the media.
Today he was at it again, holding court on the tarmac at Sydney Airport to launch Virgin Australia.
I was lucky enough to have a front row seat to this event as The Media Game produced a TV and Radio pool feed that was distributed nationally.
What I got to witness was Branson at his absolute best. As the two newest additions to the Virgin fleet, decked out in their latest livery, made their way to the press conference area on the outer rim of the airport, there was Sir Richard hanging out of the front window of the cockpit waving an Australian flag. Of course, the horde of photographers and about a dozen TV crews just lapped it up.
He then stepped from the door at the top of the stairs with CEO John Borghetti, again with that Aussie flag held high. He then proceeded to dance and smile his way to the press conference with a fleet of Virgin beauties fluttering behind him.
In front of a packed press conference, he then launched into an on-message spiel that didn’t sound like it was on-message. In other words, he delivered it with passion and as if it had just come into his head.
Virgin Australia was going to be a recognised global brand.
Virgin Australia was taking on Qantas, head-on for the business market.
And then he went onto praise the efforts of John Borghetti, the CEO of Virgin Australia.
It’s here I must give another rap, and it’s not because they are a client. Back in September when we helped Virgin Blue celebrate their 10th birthday, John Borghetti was an average media performer. Today, he was brilliant. He obviously has a master to learn from, but he delivered a lot of confidence to the media today, and passion.
And there lies to key message for all PR and marketers. Passion, and being able to deliver it.
Branson and Borghetti had it in bucket loads today at the launch of Virgin Australia. They spoke it, and they walked it. And the media loved it.
Plus, the pictures were fantastic. A stunning new plane, and the energy of Branson.
Think of how your brand can provide a great picture opportunity to attract media attention. And be prepared to share your passion with the media and your customers.
Sure, we are not all Richard Branson. In fact, there will only ever be one RB.
But we can learn from his mastery in front of the camera and what he brings to a brand.
Tags: We’ve always believed that producing and distributing a Radio News Release is the simpliest, fastest and most cost effective way to get a message out fast to Australia’s media.
After all, our catch cry is Reach Every Radio Station in Australia within minutes with just one interview conducted over the phone. It can’t be any simplier than that!
Well, we’ve made it even easier by launching a new instructional website to help clients understand what a Radio News Release is, how it works, and most importantly, what works best.
You can check out the new site at www.australianradiostations.com.au .
It contains a series of 3 one minute videos, plus more detailed written information.
We believe the site will be a great resource for PR agencies to help educate their clients to the great benefits of a Radio News Release, as well as a way to educate PR practitioners who are yet to use The Media Game’s Radio News Release service.
Plus, we plan to update the video series regularly with informative videos to help you get the best possible result from your Radio News Release.
Would love your comments.
Have a great day – Warren
Thank you for finding Play The Media Game. We are currently in the process of building this site and generating some great content so please keep checking back, or better still, subscribe to our mailing list and we will let you know when the latest post is published.
This site is all about building understanding between the media and PR. Too many times we see the media refer to PR as the “Dark Side”, and from the other angle, too many times we see PR people not fully understanding the workings of the media and how best to serve them. This site is all about helping both sides understand each other better.
While we are getting up and running, feel free to visit our main site www.mediagame.tv for a list of all the services we offer to help you generate greater, more effective media coverage.
Warren
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