Anita Harris, Todd Van Hoosear and Edna Kaplan, with Richard Anderson, on screen from London. Photo by Mark Hoffman.
Experts from the Harris Communications Group recently shared secrets of their success at obtaining news coverage for clients in the US and around the world.
Speaking on a panel sponsored by Venture Café at the Cambridge Innovation Center, Todd Van Hoosear, Edna Kaplan and Richard Anderson emphasized the importance of building personal relationships with reporters—and explained how to go about doing so. The panel took place June 13, 2019.
Links to video clips:
“How to Get Press: Starting out,” with Edna Kaplan
“Good News and Bad News: Trade Publications,” with Todd VanHoosear
“How to get Press in Europe and Asia,” with Richard Anderson
In her introduction, HarrisCom founder and managing director Anita M. Harris (above, left) pointed out that while social media is key to a company’s visibility, obtaining coverage in respected national, international, trade and professional media provide credibility needed to amplify a company’s brand and messages.
Edna Kaplan. Photo by Joe Wrinn.
Panelist Edna Kaplan, of Kogs Communications and HarrisCom, explained how she obtained coverage for a medical device company in such publications as Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal. She highlighted the importance of having a good story to tell—and of building relationships with reporters well before a pitch. “It’s never too soon to start,” she said.
Todd Van Hoosear
Todd Van Hoosear, former president of the Social Media Club of Boston and Vice President of Communications at the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce, said he obtained stories about a company offering seemingly esoteric technology by providing case studies on the technology’s “real world” impact. He once got a reporter’s attention by posing the question, “why do beer bubbles flow down?” which led to a story on his client’s company. Van Hoosear reiterated the importance of building relationships and trust with reporters by sharing information that can be helpful to them. “Don’t only go to them when you want something,” he said. “And,” he added, “read their stuff.”
Richard Anderson. Photo by Joe Wrinn.
Richard Anderson, founder and managing director of the London public relations firm Sciad, spoke to the group via video. He described a press conference Sciad and HarrisCom held in Monaco to enhance knowledge of a new drug for Alzheimer’s Disease. Attended in person by a few journalists and, virtually, by numerous patients, caregivers and some 150 journalists from around the world—the press conference led to clinical trial enrollment in 13 countries.
According to Anderson, for the US and Europe, the basic principles of media outreach are similar—in part because many international trade publications are written in English. However, for companies seeking to market in particular countries, it is important to pitch stories in each country’s language, focus Web site content on that country’s needs—and, in many cases, have “feet on the ground”—that is, bring in PR or other spokespeople with expertise in local languages and media customs.
Kaplan, who once founded a European public relations agency in Boston, pointed out that Europe includes 45 countries that have sometimes been at odds—and that it is essential to take their individual histories into account.
Anderson said that media outreach in Asia differs from outreach in the EU–largely because there are far fewer international trade publications in Asia.
According to Van Hoosear, press conferences are now far more common in Europe and Asia than in the US.
The panelists also discussed the use of news and social media releases, and of wire services– which companies can pay to send releases to news outlets. They agreed that it can be difficult to measure the success of such efforts. Anderson, whose agency offers its own specialized newswire, said the Sciad Newswire is effective because it stays up to date with the changing media landscape and sends information to individual reporters’ email.
Harris Communications Group members Andy Maddocks, Joe Wrinn, Elizabeth Thomson, Christina Inge and Advisory Board member Mark Hoffman were also on hand to answer questions; Pascal Gangi handled tech, and Todd VanHoosear set up the video.
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Video clips:
“How to Get Press: Starting out,” with Edna Kaplan
“Good News and Bad News: Trade Publications,” with Todd VanHoosear
“How to get Press in Europe and Asia,” with Richard Anderson
Email us for a link to a forthcoming video of the full discussion.
Email for link to a forthcoming complete interview with Richard Anderson
The Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA, provides integrated content, public relations digital marketing and design for health, science, biotech, cybersecurity, finance and technology, worldwide.