Our clients occasionally experience live global television interviews. A recent opportunity arose on BBC World News for Halewood Wines & Spirits, presenting a fantastic opportunity to herald the company’s key messages.
This type of exposure is considered more credible than advertising as the coverage is a result of the journalist’s interest, rather than the company paying to be on the channel. This gives a much higher ROI and typically, a very low cost in terms of customer reach.
However, preparation is key. Clients are often already experts within their own company and industry, but they’ll also need to be knowledgable about the show they’ll be appearing on, the presenters conducting the interview and the wider news agenda – all of which will affect the angle of the interview.
To stay focused on the messages clients want to communicate it helps to have two or three strong key messages which can be referred to in the interview.
Despite this preparation, presenters of live shows often don’t decide on the exact line of questioning until just before the interview itself, so the most important preparation is to learn how to be relaxed and controlled in what can otherwise be a potentially nerve-racking situation. This is why we employ a former BBC reporter to deliver media training to ensure each interview opportunity, such as this one for Halewood, is maximised.