Encountering the media with intention and strategy…

More than at any other time in the history of modern corporate leadership imperatives, CEOs have moved well beyond their traditional roles in fiscal, operational leadership and legacy focus on rewarding investors. CEOs have transitioned to also being the visionary voice of brand mission, higher purpose, and guidance on societal, political, environmental, diversity and other piping hot and at times polarizing issues.
 
To be sure it can be uneasy territory, filled with potential potholes and existential challenges. However, times have changed and if you don’t change with them, well, you’re in trouble. Our goal here is to help parse the right path forward, one that leads to successful outcomes when it feels like the critic hounds are already barking at the door.

“It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”   Teddy Roosevelt.
 
What’s changed – culture and expectation
 
Gone are the days when CEOs could stay largely out of range while corporate communication teams handled all the media inquiries and published statements. Leaders are expected to be out in front with a clear point of view about issues that impact their industry, society and even the world at large.

• Here we will provide a framework for how to operate in an uncertain media environment that demands a point of view from leaders not only on business and balance sheet progress, but positions concerning society’s most pressing and complex challenges.

CEOs will rely on communications and corporate affairs teams to help navigate the complexities of modern business society, politics and culture. That said, knowing the rules of the road can help refine decision making and performance in this context.
 
The new spotlight-intense environment for business leaders
 
Prior to the ‘glass house’ in which businesses now operate in the digital era, many in the C-suite sought to avoid saying anything in the public domain about a sensitive issue or controversial event. The goal to remain as “Switzerland” as possible – neutral to any provocative issue that leaned into opposing camps and divergent opinions.
 
Today however, stakeholders expect the CEO to weigh in on challenges from sustainability progress and global warming to the impact of wars and weather anomalies on supply chain disruption, even the advent of new technologies like AI and biotechnology advances that may change the shape of an entire industry.
 
For their part, consumers demand that businesses bring more than commerce to the marketplace. They expect to see beliefs, values and a useful point of view on challenging conditions such as food insecurity, standards of living and public policy on ESG, DEI initiatives, ageism, LGBTQ+ rights and reforms. Of course, this means accepting that it is no longer possible to please all of the people, all of the time.
 
A classic example of this new visibility came to light in Chicago during the recent International Manufacturing Technology Show — IMTS 2024 – when the Chicago Tribune published an editorial about a startling statement on America’s workforce made by Apple CEO Tim Cook. Working to correct a popular belief that companies manufacture in China because of low labor costs, Cook declared, “the reason is because of the skill, and the quantity of skill in one location.” He added: “In the U.S., you could have a meeting of tooling engineers, and I’m not sure we could fill the room. In China, you could fill multiple football fields.” Said the Tribune, “Based on the latest numbers, there has never been a time when the need to match job seekers with the nation’s most needed jobs has been as critical.”
 
A tougher stage: politics
 
If you are Elon Musk, you might feel compelled to take on highly politicized positions without any concern over how the organizations and businesses you lead will respond to the statements you make. However, for most top executives this paradigm does not exist. That said, there are important reasons to weigh in with perspective on more sensitive issues.
 
In a recent Fast Company download about this development, Daniella Ballou-Aares, founder and CEO of business membership organization the Leadership Now Project said, “reinforcing the legitimacy of elections rises above partisanship. It’s a commitment to uphold the rule of law, reinforcing trust in American institutions and strengthening the economy.”  

What’s in it for business? For one you might agree companies are dependent on an enduring system of laws, even as some may bemoan or seek to circumvent regulations. Government instability can lead to downgrades to the U.S. credit rating and foment market volatility. Meanwhile uncertainty over election outcomes and potential changes in regulations and policy can interfere with a clear path on capital expenditure decisions and long-term planning.  

We are all operating now in the midst of deep distrust in institutions including media and government. Knowing this, businesses have an opportunity to support voting and civic engagement in a positive and constructive way. Alan Fleischmann, founder of global CEO advisory firm Laurel Strategies said, “many CEOs I know and work with are encouraging their teams to exercise their right to vote while promoting civility and mutual support.”

Consumers respect honesty

People desperately want businesses to rise above a perceived myopic preoccupation with balance sheet demands to recognize they have a legitimate role on societal challenges such as global warming and the impact of wars on quality of life both here and abroad.
 
Recent studies reinforce that people truly respect businesses that are open and transparent about the challenges they face in meeting sustainability and emissions goals. This humanizing of the corporate façade is an open invitation to bringing assessment and contributions to the public discourse. What do people seek in this context? Truth and transparency.

Your call to action: courage, honesty, integrity and being on the side of the angels

When we operate from a foundation of empathy and compassion for the welfare of people and the world around us, audiences are drawn to this voice and character of communication. Practically speaking it means dialing down jargon and complex arguments in favor of simple storytelling that respects those receiving the message.

When you are in alignment with your corporate higher purpose and with the publics’ best interests at heart, you are “on the side of the angels.” This positioning can free you to speak with confidence and compassion about what you believe is right.

Process of preparation

In the same way we invest heavily in the work underneath building a new brand narrative, its vital you collaborate with your communications team to do the homework and due diligence around fully understanding the most pressing issues you should be prepared to weigh in on. Stakeholder research can be a significant contributor to decisions in this area.

Some of the narrative will be related directly to the operations and conduct of the business you lead. Other topics will reflect your belief system as a company and what you think is important on issues where your organization has a stake in the outcome – and where the topic is relevant to your new role as a respected voice in society.

These story platforms can be mapped out with key messages and alternative approaches for discussion internally. From our perspective, we stop short of scripting the entire story line because too often it promotes antiseptic memorization that lacks the authentic human voice.

Keys to stronger communication outcomes:

Be real

This may read as an offbeat example, but the Olympics gave us a shining model of authenticity from an unexpected source. Of note, authenticity is vital to how a CEO is perceived in the glare of the media spotlight.

During the Paris games a new sports presenter emerged: Snoop Dog. Note that Snoop didn’t change who he was to fit his commentator role. Instead, he embraced his persona, delivering his perspective with a signature laid-back style and his own observational humor. This authentic delivery fostered a tangible connection with the viewing audience that felt like they were watching a friend, not just another sports analyst.

Too often, we think the media milieu means reliance on scripted, one-size-fits-all language that isn’t designed to truly connect emotionally with the target audience. CEOs need to think about how they relate to core stakeholders, ensuring their voice resonates as genuine, relevant and personal. People gravitate to people they trust, and trust is built on authenticity. 

Be human

People prize honesty and truth. They respect confident and open individuals who aren’t afraid to admit mistakes or acknowledge they don’t have all the answers. Here are some of the characteristics you should be reaching for in media settings:

• Show empathy, care and consideration for other people
• Display openness and honesty
• Avoid lecturing or admonishing

Be consistent

Media and stakeholders alike will quickly observe the connection between your statements and the behavior of your business and its policies. Thus, its important the organization operates, makes decisions and takes action in alignment with the beliefs you convey.

You don’t have to know everything

It is the business of media to probe and form questions in the moment. Possible that a query can arise that you don’t have the answer for. That’s fine. Much better to convey you’ll look into a topic and report back later than give a speculative answer that could prove to be inaccurate.

Building a baseline record on issues in relevant, unedited forums

Media unfortunately is mostly a headline and soundbite gambit. Speaking opportunities in the right venues can offer a long-form and unedited forum to take a deep dive of the issues you and your company has a perspective on, thus constructing a public record of your complete positions in the process.

For example, if sustainability is a key issue for your organization, there are a number of conferences focused on these developments where you can explore the details of what you think is important and supply the supporting rationale. You can post recordings of those speeches and discussions at your web site as validation.

There will be some constituents or pundits who disagree. That’s ok, too. You are a subject matter expert now, with a responsibility to convey your organization’s point of view. Welcome to the new world of corporate leaders as advocates.
 
If this article has you thinking about constructing a comprehensive strategy around communicating positions and views on issues above and beyond your business performance, use the link below to ask questions and start an informative dialogue. We can help you navigate the most pressing and relevant topics to build an effective executive comms plan and message map.

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Bob Wheatley is the CEO of Chicago-based Emergent. Traditional brand marketing often sidesteps more human qualities that can help consumers form an emotional bond. Yet brands yearn for authentic engagement, trust and a lasting relationship with their customers. For more information, contact [email protected] and follow on Twitter @BobWheatley.

Paid influencers might be a problem

When a key marketing ‘best practices’ principle continues to be validated time and again, you start to regard it as fundamental and credible guidance. Once again, we’re seeing new evidence that consumers question the veracity of brand content created by paid influencers, while simultaneously embracing the comments and experiences of real-world users.

How can this be? It’s simply a matter of trust. Those motivated by a profit agenda are viewed as less objective and trustworthy than those without underlying financial self-interest. Career endorsers are often seen as paid shills or at least they have the appearance of same to consumers.

What is the litmus test for trusted communication?

Communication that comes from sources:

1. Without any hidden or potentially compromising (paid hustler) agenda
2. Whose behavior is informed by simple honesty and factual integrity
3. From voices that put the concerns and needs of others ahead of their own self-interest

In a recent Marketing Daily report a new consumer study, “The State of User Generated Content” from EnTribe, reinforces the credibility gap between trusted sources and paid influencers.

• 64% of consumers say they follow their preferred brands in social channels.

• 63% of consumers complain about the frequent appearance of influencer content in brand social posts.

• 85% of consumers believe influencers are inauthentic or unrelatable.

• 85% say they prefer to see content from citizen users.

• 84% believe user generated content drives brand trust.

• 77% of shoppers say user content makes them more likely to buy.

• 65% say user content makes them more loyal.

Never underestimate the power of trust

Let’s face it, consumers find it difficult to believe the claims and assertions made by brands. Why? Because true or not they believe companies will inevitably put their self-interest and profit motives ahead of their own welfare. In the consumer’s mind paid influencers suffer from a similar compromise of ‘never bite the hand that feeds you.’

Who do consumers believe or at least accept more readily as truthful and honest assessors of brand integrity and performance?

Each other – consumers will believe their peers before they embrace the brand’s own statements. That said, when trust breaks out it may also benefit the genuine acceptance levels of what a brand conveys on its own.

Editorial, non-paid media – say what you will about fake news, for the most part people continue to think that journalists are objective observers who attempt to unearth facts and evidence to confirm or deny what brands claim.

Credentialed experts with science, medical or academic backgrounds – individuals whose professional reputations are built on a hallowed ground of objective evaluation are perceived to have skin in the game and something important to lose should their recommendations turn out to be a fabrication.

Of course, just like restaurant reviews can be skewed because of a bad night in the kitchen, there is no such thing as unassailable, 100 percent bank-able opinions from any quarter. That said, the body of evidence weighed in sum will tip the scale one way or the other.

Why is trust so important to belief?

The always-on Internet and 24/7 reporting cycle have put every brand in every category inside a glass house. Anything than can be known, will be known – sooner or later. Too many trips into bad behavior land and trust fractures from half-truths or outright misinformation have caused a societal-level sense of caution and skepticism about what companies convey.

Here’s the antidote to trust fractures:

Actions speak louder than words. What a brand does – the actions it takes – can serve as evidence of its integrity and corporate soulfulness.

A brand’s devotion to a higher purpose and evidence of this belief system tend to project an aura of honesty and values-driven code about how the business is run and what the leadership team prioritizes.

Want to be trusted and believed? Then operate that way by putting the consumer’s welfare, wellbeing, priorities and needs ahead of company self-promotion interests. Selflessness is seen as an admirable trait in human behavior and when brands act this way (and are even willing to openly admit when they make a mistake) it helps cement consumer trust.

What do we know…?

• That trust is the fundamental grist underneath any real relationship that works. It is true in life and in human relationships as much as it is in the give and take between people and the brands that matter to them.

Without trust you have an intractable problem. With embedded trust you have an opportunity to secure belief and engagement. Trust is never claimed. It is always earned. User generated content supplies the verification.

Trust is a strategic and organization-level consideration that should be baked into the foundation of any business and marketing plan. Should guidance on brand trust-building best practices be of help to you, and how to translate that into compelling communication, use this link to start an informal conversation about your questions.

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There’s method, expertise and relevance involved…

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard a client express skepticism about the earned media channel of communication. Not because they don’t think it’s extremely powerful and effective – they do. Their tenuous belief has to do with a perception that seemingly random conditions lead to outcomes. That a great story secured is more of a happy accident and not, in reality, the outcome of a surgical, planned methodology.

Here we will debunk the media myth and explain the path to editorial glory. However, even though there are five steps and each one relevant to the successful outcome, the expertise involved to properly execute each one of these to maximum effect is also a byproduct of experience. Knowledge honed over years of working in the trenches to appreciate the nuance of what flies and dies in the reporting world. Let’s take a tour together on the path to editorial victory based on the fundamental understanding that great stories don’t fall like manna from heaven but are a result of a strategic process.

Granted you can’t buy legitimate editorial coverage, so the entire proposition isn’t transactional (for the most part) – at least it isn’t for the blue-chip media properties where journalism and reporting rules hold sway. But that’s the beauty of it. Editorial media is a reporting environment, based on storytelling that emanates from inspection, examination, evaluation and consideration; thus, why it is far more valuable, effective and powerful than an ad.

The essential truths

It’s helpful to understand what separates the editorial wheat from the chaff.

• A ’story’ that’s not really a story won’t get told – truth to anyone looking at the reporting medium with clarity. The fundamental story idea you start with is the lynchpin to outcomes. How the story concept is constructed has a lot to do with editorial interest, relevance and value. Great reporters can see a great story unfold.

• Story concepts built on self-promotion looks like advertising and thus why editors and reporters suggest contacting the ad department. When the story isn’t really there to benefit the media viewers/readers, reporters sense that immediately.

• When you speak in editorial terms, with material that respects the editorial paradigm of inspection, examination and reporting, you can earn a conversation with editorial gatekeepers. This is where seasoned experience pays off most often.

Press releases are invitations to stories, not stories in themselves. The facts are most releases are devoid of a story, contain too much self-promotional, non-essential attribution and aren’t interesting. Media material is needed and valued when it’s done right. If it walks and talks like a story worth telling then you have something.

Five key ingredients to better non-paid media outcome

1. Frame the larger story

Where you start is connected to where you will inevitably finish. The story concept is key. If you are planning a new product launch for example, the story isn’t the product launch. Rather it is placed within a larger context about trends, reports, studies and cultural shifts where a larger problem is being solved by the product – residing within a broader context.

• Is there new technology involved that falls out of a growing trend in consumer behavior and need?

• Is there a societal benefit or consequence that brings value to how people live, prosper, grow or succeed in some way?

• Is a higher purpose connected to the company that is being served by this launch, are you bringing a new idea or solution to sustainability and climate impacts for example?

• Is there a relationship between your product and a health and wellness outcome that benefits peoples’ lives or helps them overcome a barrier to personal growth?

Bottom line – find the larger story and outline how these parts fit together to create a better whole. Supporting studies and quantitative research can be powerful tools here if you can prove the condition is important and meaningful to consumers’ lives.

2. Do your homework

What do we know about the reporting world? For one, editors and reporters need trusted quote-able sources to do their jobs. The executive in charge of marketing or brand cannot be the only source cited in a story worth telling. What subject matter experts can be enlisted to help placed credible context around the problem you are solving?

Are there real people, not paid endorsers, who’ve had experiences with the product and found value in the outcomes of using it that reinforce the larger context of problem-to-solution?

Can you identify studies and reports from independent sources that lay the factual foundation for a cultural or societal shift you are addressing? Please note if it’s a study you paid for then its value cred is diminished right out of the gate (not entirely but take note).

When you are able to supply the reporter with respected third-party sources and experts that corroborate and verify what you are saying, you’ve accomplished two important things: one, you are able to help shape the story outcomes; and two, you are helping the reporter who is always under time constraints to do their job more successfully. Win and win.

3. Pick your targets wisely

The days of press release spray-and-pray are over. This technique is an old-school hedge-your-bet move by some publicists who attempt to win on a quantity game, assuming that some percentage of media receiving material will somehow run the story. Those days are gone.

The path to wider coverage begins with bellwether, respected media properties that tend to be influential to other channels (national print to TV). Moving the story along a planned continuum is a smarter play. Hope is never a strategy.

Where you take the story has a lot to do with where the reporter has been before. What media are likely to be interested in this story within its larger context? You can determine that in part by understanding the audience they serve and what will be inherently valuable to them in serving their readers/viewers.

Which reporters are likely to resonate to your concept/idea? If you do the heavy lifting to understand what they’ve published previously you may find a pattern of interest where you can draw lines of relevance from previous work.

4. Magic of vertical build

The industry trades that cover your category are a great place to start to frame the story elements and while doing so create evidence the angle has merit, reporting legs and is worthy of being told. Trade placements are not considered competitive to larger media properties, rather it serves as helpful background and elevates confidence in the story bona fides.

A stepped strategy that begins in trade channels is a strong game plan as you move up the editorial food chain to media with a larger, broader audience.

5. Editorial syntax in everything you do

If it looks like a story and walks like a story then it’s a story. When you create supporting material to take your idea out into the reporting world, it needs to respect editorial sensibility. If you truly understand how reporters would treat the subject and prepare your backgrounding materials in a way that screams you understand the rules and how they do their job, you earn respect right at the front door if inquiry.

So much of what editors and reporters see each day is self-promotional and never served in the context of a bigger story concept. They are required to wade through, identify and separate what is useful from what is not. Most won’t do it and thus why the pitch never materializes as a published piece.

If you want a reporter to respect you, listen to you, then serve the story up in a frame that bristles with editorial savvy and states, obviously, that you know them, their world, their audience and how they will likely treat the story themselves.

Too often story material is created to please the internal approvers because it sounds like an ad and tells the key messages directly, and without any editorial context around it. Looks good on paper, but in reality the release may fall flat on its face once in the hands of those who report rather than promote.

It’s tougher than it looks

All of this work is a bit like a symphony of well-crafted components that serve to anchor a story in the greater good and embed success in the effort rather than impede it. The paint-by-numbers approach of release generation to spray-and-pray distribution is truly a walk down the pathway of a loose dice roll to any tangible media outcome.

Better in the end to be strategic about how this great work is conducted and be patient with a process that has more moving parts. Inevitably it will position you for greater earned media success in the long run.

The relationship-building nuances of becoming a trusted source for real news with reporters are inexorably linked to achieving media objectives. Seasoned experience is required because you must have been at bat a more than few times, learned the differences between good and bad, before you understand what to do and what to avoid.

Simply said, reporters know if you know the drill.

If you think you need a fresh approach to non-paid, earned media outcomes use this link to initiate an informal conversation. We promise an interesting, useful dialogue.

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