Getting to know a new client is always exciting. Relationship building is at the heart of everything we do. As a long-standing PR agency, Taylor Alden is committed to nurturing new clients and strengthening long-term relationships with existing ones. Of course, one of the reasons we have built a sound reputation in the architecture and construction PR arena is because of the great relationships we enjoy with key media players. We have known our editors and journalists for many years, often watching them move around and building their own reputations and knowledge. The impression we make is vital in keeping us in the forefront of journalists’ minds and being a valuable ally who can provide the information they need to do their job, while at the same time optimising great opportunities.
Right from the initial stages with a new client, we are keen to introduce the team to our media contacts and one of the best ways to do this is through a media trip.
Preparing an interesting, informative event is vital. Editors and journalists are busy enough so asking them to leave their workplace to travel to a factory in another part of the country needs to be worth their while! The starting point with any press trip has to be to decide if the media will be interested in what a client has to show and tell, who is going to be available from the company to meet with them, and how to present the company in the most impactful way. A good media event gives the client a chance to showcase the company’s values as well as the range of products and services; whilst giving key media players the chance to gain first hand knowledge and the opportunity to ask questions, meet the key company personnel and to form opinions of the company. This information exchange is valuable, and access to the whole client team is important; be it management, product development, research or manufacturing.
Media trips are about building relationships. They are not about generating instant coverage but that’s not to say we are not thrilled when we see social media and online content in the days and weeks following a good media trip. Knowing that our media contacts trust us to invite them to events that are relevant and beneficial to their work and that we have left a lasting (good!) impression of our client in the minds of the editors and journalists means we have strengthened our relationship with the media and it is this that results in coverage opportunities for our clients after a media trip and in the future.
We recently organised a journalist event for our new client, cast stone specialist, Haddonstone, where editors from major housebuilding and architectural magazines visited the company’s manufacturing facility, met and chatted to the MD and the building and construction team; rounded off with an al fresco lunch and tour of the stunning show gardens to see a collection of garden ornamentation and architectural landscaping elements. The relationships established during this trip have already resulted in a greater awareness of the company’s brand among visiting editors and we’ve managed to secure thought leadership articles which will be published in leading titles in the coming months.
