Press Office

Onside-PR-can-provide-full-press-office-services

Press Office Provision

Working with journalists can be terrifically rewarding – but it is a task which should be handled with care.

Why care? Well, get it wrong and you won’t get any coverage. And believe us, it is so easy to annoy a journalist!

Having spent years working in a national newspaper newsroom and listened to conversations former colleagues have had with PRs we know this better than most.

We speak the same lingo. We understand the pressures faced by the media, the deadlines and crucially what is, or isn’t a story whether that is for national newspaper, TV, radio or trade publication.

And by acting as the first point of contact we are able to screen potential media exposure. Literally, buy time to stop and think, and provide clarity and envokes carefully consider responses and removes the issue of being too available.

Onside PR will provide virtual press office facilities for clients, which involves managing all media relationships and publicity tasks – and physically man a press office for events as and when required.

delimiter image

Trust and Timing

Knowing which media to approach when

Trust and timing. Get them both right and reap the rewards. 

The trust element is crucial when pitching a story to the media.

Do they trust that there is a story behind the phone call or email or is this just some PR guff and nonsense?

And time your run to the media just as a centre forward does to beat the offside trap!

Calling a journalist who is close to a deadline, or sending over a press release to a publication already brimming with stories is not going to gain a positive response.

Believe us, having spent in national newspaper newsrooms there is nothing tenser than being close to a hack, working on a major news story and under pressure from the newsdesk, as they take a phone call from an overly friendly PR who wants to see if they are running the ‘excellent’ press release they sent earlier.

The what? Press release?? Stand back. Strap in. And wait for the volley of expletives!

Onside PR is blessed with an extensive media contacts book. We know the journalists writing the stories, the sub-editors and editors deciding on headlines and on what goes where and when.

If we don’t know them personally, when they understand the experience of the people they are dealing with, they take our call because they trust us and our timing will be right.

Instead of the local journalist having a direct line to the business owner and becoming too used to speaking we create a scenario whereby everyone stops to listen when the boss speaks.

When they do decide to publish, Onside PR ensure they have all the tools they need to succeed including hi-resolution imagery, video, logo, relevant links and complete media library of marketing collateral.

learn more
delimiter image

Press Office Provision

Be prepared for everything

Onside PR provide ongoing support to internal media teams.

This is extremely useful for both marketing executives and business owners as it provides a neutral voice.

Too often, internal media teams get so wrapped up in the brand they represent, that they stop seeing it from a neutral standpoint and wonder why press releases and launches aren’t attracting media interest.

It is totally understandable. If you are working day-in, day-out, in a particular environment you become blinkered to the outside world. It’s a natural reaction.

Onside PR can provide the reality check needed to shock media executives and business owners back to the real world if they really want to attract media attention.

That might involve ongoing consultation over strategy or guidance during a crisis, or a call-to-arms to parachute in and simply help the press office to cope with a particular incident.

We can also provide training and education for employees, adopt an angel type approach to nurture marketing executives and analyse the strengths and weakness of internal media teams.

Learn More
delimiter image

Press Office Facilities

Providing the media with required tools

Don’t moan about the lack of media coverage if the event itself doesn’t run to perfections.

Journalists are human beings but they are also under intense pressure.

As a former journalist, Onside PR founder James Fletcher will tell you they are all, mostly, cynical. And by God, we like to moan.

Lack of working space, an inability to get online, cramped interview spaces, cold tea and sandwiches past their sell-by date are enough to make the blood boil.

None of the above should matter if the story is strong enough.

But they do. Believe us.

So many events fail because of the lack of understanding about what is actually needed. Sure, the 80-foot statue that rises out of the ground and hovers over the audience is great but the wifi doesn’t work and the bacon butties are cold!

Onside PR understand what is required by both client and journalist and we ensure the balance is struck to achieve success for both sides.

This includes the provisions of proper press facilities, telephone lines, TV feeds, working space, mixed zone facilities and press packs filled with vital information.

learn more

Some Of Our Work

View More

How Can We Help You?

logo