On May 28, 2009, Asia’s largest corporate news distributer PR Newswire Asia successfully held a media coffee for the first time in Singapore. Revolving around the theme ”Taking the bait: Getting media hooked on your story”, media experts and communication professionals from more than  28 companies exchanged enthusiastically their perspective and experiences.

Media experts from Channel News Asia and Charlton Media group were present to discuss various media related topics in a casual setting and light-hearted ambience. Topics such as “How to get the media interested in your product/service”, “Finding the best angles and what to say in a media release”, “Linking your product/service to something” and “Dealing with media – Do’s and Don’ts”, along with questions from communication executives, were discussed in great depth at the event.

Apart from the humorous examples cited by the speakers other useful tips by them included:

·        Emails must be concise and engaging. A straightforward email would provide the information editorial teams require in their decision to feature products/services and at the same time offer them convenience.

·        Don’t be self- or client-oriented. The feature you hope to obtain coverage for should be focused on your service/product and reflected in your email and press release.

·        Offer a ‘wow’ point to the editorial teams. Editorial teams need to sell the story and highlighting the unique aspects of the product/service would provide them more reason to include this information in their publications.

·        Be personal. Editorial teams do not appreciate an arrogant attitude especially when you are the party seeking coverage for your product/service through the media.

·        Give editorial teams time to read an email before following up with a phone call. As editorial teams are swarmed with thousands of email each day, there is no absolute answer on when they would see yours.

·        Be actively involved in social networking with media experts so as to establish a positive relationship. Editorial teams turn off easily as they often receive an impression of dispensability from some companies. 

Following the ‘Media Coffee’ session, guests were able to network amongst themselves and approach the media experts if they had further questions. Many guests gave positive feedback and all were looking forward to the next ‘Media Coffee’ event.

                                                                   Snaps from the event

                                                        A sunshine smile for the Day!