How to maximise coverage in today's shrinking media landscape
Updated: Oct 13, 2021
A recent client success got us thinking about how important it is, perhaps now more than ever, to have genuinely compelling and strong stories when angling for widespread media coverage across WA.
Perth’s inferiority complex means we’re potentially missing out on investment opportunities and chances to grow our city and our state – this was the key outtake from a new piece of research Hunter pitched to media last month.
Hunter was engaged by Committee for Perth to promote a key piece of independent research undertaken as part of the Hashtag Perth project, a two-year initiative that aims to develop a plan for how best to leverage Perth’s positive attributes and address its weaknesses.
This was the first collaboration between Hunter and Committee for Perth, which is a member-based organisation focused on making a positive difference to Perth’s future.
Hunter was tasked with managing media and maximising coverage of the report, while also working with Committee for Perth’s media partner Business News and the project’s major sponsors.
In a very tight timeframe, Hunter worked with Committee for Perth to identify key areas of interest and media angles – including the fact that while Perth locals love living in Perth, they are reluctant to recommend it to outsiders.
We developed a media plan and key messages before drafting a media release and infographic, working alongside Committee for Perth to fit their brand guidelines.
The results were strong – with Committee for Perth receiving more than 30 clippings across all major news outlets in Western Australia, including:
· The West Australian (newspaper and online)
· Business News
· ABC Perth Radio 720AM
· 882 6PR
· Channel 9’s TODAY (morning news updates)
· Channel 7 News (6pm bulletin story)
· Channel 9 News (4pm in-studio interview and 6pm news story)
· Channel 10 Eyewitness News
The coverage reached more than 9 million consumers and extended into a second week with additional coverage from Committee for Perth media partner Business News.
All media coverage was positive, and all included key messages, both factors we use to analyse the quality of media coverage we achieve for our clients. Committee for Perth CEO Marion Fulker was quoted or featured in every news article.
The story angle also led to further engagement opportunities between news outlets and their social media audiences, with Channel 9 News Perth undertaking a poll on its Facebook page and Channel 7 News Perth asking its Facebook followers if they agreed Perth suffers an inferiority complex. The topic also lent itself well to talkback, with 6PR’s Oliver Peterson continuing to discuss the subject throughout his show after interviewing Committee for Perth CEO Marion Fulker early into it.
This was a fantastic example of how, despite a shrinking media pool, finding a strong news or human interest angle can capture the imagination of the media and the public, resulting in multiple coverage opportunities for the same story across competing outlets.