Media Relations

Media relations is not just about issuing press releases about new products, new services, new appointments – and the other things that you want to publicise.

SVD has a “different approach” to media relations, which has helped us win the trust and friendship of national, regional, and specialist journalists – and is the reason why the news-room and picture-desk that we provide on our website for every SVD client receive hundreds of journalist visits every week.

While our clients pay our fees, it is the journalists who deliver the opportunities for our clients: and those journalists want more than the usual press releases.

They want – and we provide:

Newsworthy surveys of our clients‘ customers opinion on key local, regional, or business sector issues: we have developed a successful formula for delivering those news surveys, which generate major thought-leadership coverage;
Newsworthy comment from experts on issues affecting their readership – from transport for commuters, compliance with red-tape, performance of public service agencies, to recruitment and training of skilled people. We have refined a formula to enable our clients to be those quoted experts;
Access to “fridge-contacts” (you open the door and the light comes on): journalists need contacts who can be relied on for a newsworthy and prompt response to news stories and questions – including out of office hours: we have developed a formula for getting our clients into key-journalists‘ contact books, so that they are the ones quoted – a good PR consultant helps clients to forge their own direct relationships with journalists;
Predictions: today‘s news media no longer rely on reporting what has happened – they want to report what might happen in future: we work with our clients to provide and publicise those predictions;
Identify and influence thought leadership: the news media want to be part of the process of “taking things forward” – from backing issue-campaigns (eg, saving Post Offices) to reporting new thinking: we work with our clients and their target news media to identify and develop opportunities for high-profile joint venture initiatives.

This approach makes all the difference between occasional news items and major coverage of core issues. Our case-studies provide the proof!