The hugely talented Mr Weatherley


Brian's B2B blog...

Welcome to my B2BMediaTraining blog – some small thoughts on life, the universe and dealing with the press from someone who crossed over from practitioner to teacher.  The following selection of short articles provides an off-beat (and unashamedly tongue-in-cheek) insight into the many different aspects of the media, along with hints and tips for better communication and an understanding into what gets journalists reaching for their pens, tablets or smartphones to cover your story...


Posts from the 'December 2021' archive...



Nation building

The end of the year is always a good time to take stock of how much media coverage you’ve achieved over the past 12-months. But how do you measure success? By the number of column-inches you’ve accrued in hard-copy publications, by the number of hits on the media section of your website, by the number of ‘likes’ registered on your social media pages?

There are plenty of media monitoring services out there that can count-up all those things and show you exactly where you’ve got press exposure. But what about those instances where you might have got coverage…but didn’t? Let me explain. You’re not going to be sending out stories every day―after all, there’s only so much ‘news’ you can generate at any one time, and besides, the media isn’t going to cover everything you send out no matter how important you think it is.




Media savvy companies look beyond just churning out press releases. They provide insight and commentary in what’s become known as ‘Thought Leadership.’ They track and note the trends and changes in the industry sectors that they operate in and then, having created a strong narrative, they share their thoughts with journalists on what those trends and changes signify, and the impact they’re likely to have in the short, medium, and long-term.

Of course, to do that you need to pro-actively look for those trends and changes in-order to interpret them for the media and create a ‘bigger picture’ dialogue. And the end of the year is always an appropriate time to provide a round-up of them all as you’ve invariably got 12-months’ worth of information to reflect upon. The same data can also help when it comes to forecasting changes over the next 12-months. All of which is the perfect basis for staging a ‘State of the Nation’ press event.

Many years ago, I was present when a major manufacturer launched such an event at the start of the New Year―the primary reason being to remind journalists that it was the market leader, based on supporting industry stats which it duly presented! However, it also provided an excellent platform to deliver additional context and explanation on broader aspects of the industry, plus an insight into developing trends, and some useful crystal ball-gazing too. It immediately became a regular (and highly popular) occurrence, offering journalists a unique annual window into what was happening in the industry and beyond.

Even when the manufacturer in question was no longer market leader it continued to hold its State of the Nation event―and it continued to be well-attended by the media hungry for that bigger picture story. Moreover, the facts and figures it supplied had a habit of popping-up in various general features and articles written throughout the following year―and naturally, the manufacturer got a name check as the ‘source provider.’

So, can you do a State of the Nation? If you can, it could provide you with media coverage well beyond your everyday company activities. More importantly, as an acknowledged Thought Leader for your industry you’ll give journalists an excellent reason to keep coming back for more of your knowledge and wisdom…