5 top tips for winning investor/media relations campaigns

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Anthony Fensom

Standing out from the crowd is difficult at the best of times for smaller businesses, particularly in Australia’s crowded resources sector where there are some 800 listed companies. How do you get your company favoured by investors and media in such a competitive environment?

In 2011, BWH Communication won Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) awards at both the national and state levels for its campaign for Brisbane-based minerals explorer Carpentaria Exploration (ASX code: CAP), entitled “Carpentaria Exploration – Striking a Rich Vein of Support”.

Here’s five reasons why the judges liked the campaign – and how you can apply them to your company too:

1)    Do the research. CAP listed in November 2007 at the end of a long bull market for resource stocks, but like the rest of the sector then ran smack into the GFC in 2008/09. Research identified what the priority areas were for coverage, which stockbrokers were paying attention to CAP and the sector, what investors were saying and where the company saw its key targets, including shareholders, potential investors, the media and community. Such information is key in preparing a strategic communication plan specific to the company that reflects the current (and anticipated) environment. This includes determining the key spokesperson(s), workshopping the key messages, undertaking any required media training and identifying the target audience.

2)    Be proactive. Investors and the media aren’t on standby just for you, so be proactive in getting the message across. If the CEO is going interstate for a conference or meeting, organise meetings with media/investor targets in the same city. If a publication is running a current feature on the company’s target industry, check if they will accept editorial ideas and follow up. Be alert to what’s happening in new and traditional media and pursue all opportunities to spread the message. Make sure also that your spokesperson(s) are available to respond quickly when the need arises. In CAP’s case, this has meant doing media interviews and fund manager meetings in remote or overseas locations, and often taking the time to respond directly to investor queries.

3)    Get the message across. When drafting announcements for the stock exchange or a presentation for brokers, ensure the highlights are presented up front and stated simply and concisely. Don’t bury the message in verbose language, or leave it to the reader to wade through pages of jargon before getting to the conclusion. Hit them between the eyes, like a good tabloid headline, and you’ll be halfway there to getting their understanding, and hopefully support. Timing is also important – CAP aims to release its ASX announcements early in the week and close to market opening, where possible. Similarly, media releases are never issued near deadline.

4)    Personality rules, OK? It’s no use having a boring and bland spokesperson, and Carpentaria’s executive chairman, Nick Sheard, is anything but. Every company or brand has its own personality, so find yours and use it to your benefit, to ensure you are different from competitors. What is your unique selling proposition? What aspects of your business make it stand out? Not every CEO can act like Richard Branson, but it helps to have an engaging personality that makes people pay attention.

5)    Use all the tools at your disposal. In the “old” days this might have meant a presentation at a stockbroker’s office or a media release to the local newspaper. These still work, but in the 21st century there is also social media such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Every company has its own varied audience and there are multiple channels to reach them. While some are more effective than others, depending on the type of business, don’t be precious about a particular format or you will be doing the business a disservice. For its part, CAP has used all the above channels to communicate with its audience.

Have any further suggestions? We’d love to hear them.

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