How to get good radio content from PR companies

PR companies, they exist to get your message across.
 
Sir Richard Branson once said, “Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad.” 
 
But how do you achieve that and specifically for radio?
 
radioinfo asked Fran Chalmers Head of Content at MediaCast an innovative source of lifestyle news content for broadcast presenters, producers, journalists and editors across Australia.
 
Fran oversees the media radio team and is responsible for ensuring that all campaigns are well rounded, engaging and written in a way that works for radio.
 
Being able to identify what appeals to broadcasters and audiences, both in news and talkback programming, is a key component of Fran’s role. 

Fran is also the Co-Founder of MediaCast and brought the business model over from the UK after several years working within the broadcast industry in London.
 
 
How does MediaCast differ from other PR companies?
 
“MediaCast keeps up-to-date with the latest news and events to ensure all the stories we develop fit in to the current news agendas. We only work on bespoke, one-off campaigns as opposed to ongoing retained agreements with our clients. The feedback from our clients suggests that this approach enables them to focus all their energy on producing something that is relevant, current and interesting for broadcast.
 
Our technology has been specifically developed with broadcast media in mind and is tailored to work for talk back, news desks, metro, regional and community radio stations. MediaCast wants to both add value to the PR process and make life as easy as possible for broadcasters. MediaCast pulls as much relevant information together so busy presenters who cover a variety of topics every day are as informed as possible when conducting an interview.”

 
How are you changing the way brands and organisations look at radio?
 
“We often find that when we start working with brands, they have been conditioned to believe that the best approach for radio is to produce and distribute news grabs. However, from our experience both radio stations and clients get so much more from a live interview. We develop all of our content with this in mind, allowing radio presenters to have a more in-depth conversation with spokespeople as well as having access to pre-recorded interviews, broadcast friendly press releases and plenty of background information for broadcasters to use on-air. Once we demonstrate how successful live radio interviews or ‘Radio Days’ are in terms of engaging with the public, our clients often revisit their communication strategies and engage us to develop angles, source relevant industry experts and ambassadors to develop a strong content for broadcast.”
 
What as a PR agency do you see as the advantages of radio for your clients?
 
“The nature of radio is a very personal one, people of all ages can tune in to radio anywhere and will generally feel a strong loyalty to their favourite presenters – so hearing messages on-air is like hearing them from a friend, making it an extremely powerful PR tool.”
 
You brought the business model over from the UK, can you give examples of how directing your attention to radio worked for clients there and subsequently here? …or have you found Australia to have a different, perhaps even more challenging radio market to the UK?
 
“MediaCast as a concept came from London, where Radio Days are common place in the PR industry. While we have adapted our business model to suit the Australian landscape, the core concepts remain the same.
 
Using this model, brands can speak to radio presenters and have a much more engaging and personal conversation that cannot be achieved with the pre-recorded interviews or news grabs. This also allows radio presenters the opportunity to have access to interesting talent for their shows and for brands to speak to relevant audiences with regionally relevant content. Our vision is to bring radio to the forefront of communication strategies.”

 
 Why has MediaCast chosen to focus on radio?
 
“With 18 million weekly listeners and the accessibility of radio, people can tune in anywhere and anytime, making it a very exciting and reactive platform that allows brands to engage with Australians, much more than is possible with other forms of media. Often brands or agencies focus on news grabs or a range of key stations within their communications strategy. We understand the true benefit of radio, which is why we work to educate brands on including it in their strategy – both in editorial and advertisements through our partners.”

 
 
 
 

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