Last week our cyber security ratings client BitSight launched its latest thought leadership paper in conjunction with analyst firm Forrester. The study, titled “Better Security and Business Outcomes with Security Performance Management”, highlights how security leaders measure their enterprise’s security performance and how to adequately communicate it to the board, senior executives, customers, and critical stakeholders.
To accompany the launch, C8 was delighted to have Jake Olcott, BitSight’s VP of Government Affairs, over from the USA to be the spokesperson for the UK media.
Press Day – creating a buzz
For C8, media relations is fundamental to the success of our clients. So, the opportunity for the research launch meant it was an ideal time to set up discussions with key journalists. Face-to-face meetings are essential to develop strong media relations and secure that all important quality coverage. We invited several journalists from technology and business publications to discuss the new research, which provided a great opportunity for our client to build good relations; these foundations will make it easier to pitch BitSight stories in the future.
Delivering successful media briefings
Know your journalist: make sure you are well-prepared with information on your clients, but also on the journalist– what was their last article about, what did they last tweet? What topics do they typically cover? Do they have a regular feature? Take the time to understand what content they like to receive as this will be beneficial for your client and make life easier for all.
Make it easy for them: journalists are incredibly busy so make sure you accommodate them. Whether you meet them for a drink at their local coffee shop or have the briefing in their office reception, always be willing to go that extra mile.
Prepare and debrief: always take time with your client to discuss, before and after, your thoughts on prep and on how the interview went to capture their opinions too as it’s good to know what success looks like in their eyes. Gathering all opinions helps to manage expectations and you can also pick up on any concerns.
Why research works
Why research worksMany companies and PRs battle to get commentary in the news. The challenge is always finding something important, relevant and interesting at the right time – especially with news cycles having such a quick turnaround. Thought leadership research provides the media an opportunity to create stories based on solid facts. We know that one of the main benefits of thought leadership content is supporting and bolstering your client’s content marketing efforts, but we also firmly believe thought leadership highlights expertise and authority within an industry, and that it has the benefit of building trust between a brand and its audience, for both the journalist and the customer.
Not just a tool for media
Also, good thought leadership content is far better at generating business opportunities for your client than general sales conversations, according to the Edelman-LinkedIn study from 2017. Business decision makers across a range of industries and company sizes found the following:
- Thought leadership led to 41 percent of C-Suite executives including a company in a business opportunity where it was not previously considered.
- Nearly half of business decision makers said thought leadership has directly led them to award business to a company.
- Close to half of decision makers feel thought leadership helps companies command a premium for their products and services.
Work with the disruptive-tech PR specialists
C8 is proud to work with global technology companies in the technology, cybersecurity, environmental and educational space. Discover more about how we work with our clients and get in touch.