PR Secrets: The Knight and the Dragon

Managing Director of PR in HR, Kay Phelps, shares some of her best PR Secrets in her blog. This week - how knights and dragons can help you secure coverage for your brand.

It’s not often you’d put the word ‘dragon’ in the same sentence as gender pay gap, discrimination, mental health, harassment or any number of other employment issues - but bear with me.

A lovely PR friend of mine once gave me a great media analogy..

She said that every story needs a dragon, a dreaded problem that needs to be resolved. And every dragon needs a knight in shining armour to do the slaying -- so in the media, it'll show the audience that there are ways to beat the dragon.

Summing up a media story in this way is brilliant. 

Firstly, it’s memorable. Secondly, it's a strong reminder to always, always focus on the issues that the audience may be experiencing.

Then, through experience and education, it’s possible to demonstrate how your company’s services, skills or products slay that particular dragon.

In our HR and workplace market, journalists are constantly writing about issues.  Whether it’s People Management talking about harassment claims, Personnel Today discussing wage growth, HR Magazine outlining productivity issues or Employee Benefits helping their audiences with employee financial issues, the issues are always there first, and then they’re supported by experts who can discuss context and potential solutions.

So when you next think about a story you want to tell the media, remember your audience's dragon. And then show how your services or products are the knight in shining armour; riding in to resolve the issue. 

You’ll be showing understanding, expertise, authority and knowledge, perfect for any media campaign.