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Why Taking One Global Approach for All CEO Media Interviews Is a Mistake

Even though digital communications are making the world smaller and driving some commonality in practices around the globe, the practice of journalism is anything but unified in terms of approaches, l habits and preferences.

According to our global partners in the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN – www.prgn.com), who polled some 215 reporters working across North America and Europe, in spite of some common threads running throughout, the journalists in each country seem to have their own unique perspective that can have a major impact upon how your CEO’s media interviews turn out.

For example, the PRGN survey results indicated that:

• Reporters from the United Kingdom prefer to interview CEOs by phone rather than via a visit to the CEO’s office or company facility – presumably because of time and budget restraints;
• German and Italian reporters consider the private life of the CEO to be fair game and often an important component of their article;
• North American journalists are much more likely than others to review your CEO’s social media profiles when doing their research before an interview;
• Two out of three Dutch journalists will typically allow you to review the article they’ve created before it goes to publication; and
• Swiss reporters are more likely than others to focus intently on previous media coverage and third-party opinions when doing pre-interview research – so any previous negative media coverage or comments will be more likely to affect the tone and direction of the CEO media interview.

So where can a North American PR executive obtain the local and cultural insights about reporters in other countries … without the expense of retaining one of the large, global mega-agencies that often require multi-million-dollar PR budgets?

One source is a PR agency like Bianchi PR, which is an active partner in the Public Relations Global Network, “the world’s local agency.” PRGN brings together the local knowledge, cultural practices and media relationships of seasoned PR experts in more than 50 of the world’s key markets.

In global PR programs, nothing beats specific market knowledge, “boots on the ground” in-country, strong local media relationships, and the undivided attention of seasoned, entrepreneurial PR professionals like those in PRGN’s agencies.

For more insight on the PRGN survey or information on how you can enhance global media interview outcomes for your CEO … and avoid media faux pas by tapping our network of local PR experts, contact Jim Bianchi at jbianchi@bianchipr.com.