Posted by Matt Purdue
It seems that my colleagues, particularly Ed Moed, are on a bit of an Olympic blogging kick lately, so, OK, I’ll bite. Like Ed, I was glued to NBC’s coverage the other night when one of those pop-up teasers appeared in the corner of my television screen. (Yes, I know I’m a dinosaur for watching this on television instead of via online video stream.) NBC pinged me that swimmer Natalie Coughlin’s race was coming up in a few minutes.
At the time, I didn’t know anything about Natalie Coughlin. I felt a little bit like I was watching a Spanish-language telenovela: I sensed something dramatic was about to happen, but I was clueless as to what it could be. In a few seconds, despite NBC’s exhortations, I decided that missing Natalie Coughlin’s race wouldn’t change my life. I flipped channels.
But NBC’s Olympic strategy should not be lost on PR professionals: At the end of the day, it’s the people, stupid. In other words, take a lesson from NBC’s playbook. They’re coverage has focused on people, people, people. The Olympic swimming competition has been full of interesting side stories. For example, the Beijing pool is actually deeper than most, which enables faster swimming. Also, new swimsuit technology is making competitors speedier than ever. But NBC gives us Michael Phelps’ mom and, of course, Natalie Coughlin. And guess what? This may turn out to be the most-watched Olympics. Ever.
The lesson should be clear by now: Often a client’s greatest asset in getting the word out is its people. We work so hard on developing “thought leadership” and pitching new products that we often forget that journalists and other influencers crave real conversations with real executives. Every one of us should stick a Post-it on our monitor that reads: “Get to the CEO.” We absolutely must convince the C-level executives at our clients that their voices are all-important to the press, and that to move the strategic needle for an account, they need to get involved. Sometimes the quickest way to opening a door to a key stakeholder is by offering a meeting in the C-suite. Try it.
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