They asked Jackson Wells how they could leverage media interest from the professor’s visit.
Professor Flyvbjerg is an eminent man. He is the first BT Professor and Chair of Major Program Management at Oxford University and a global expert on mega-projects, with a particular interest in transport infrastructure. A highly sought after industry heavy weight.
One element that is common to all companies, associations and organisations, is the desire to differentiate themselves from competitors. Large sections of companies (marketing, branding, public relations) are dedicated to this and a common route is to position the company as a thought leader.
This beast can take many forms; and one of them is to engage an international expert, which provides an excellent opportunity to engage with three key stakeholders: media; competitors; and staff.
You can hold internal presentations as well as question and answer forums for staff; host industry forums led by the expert; and leverage this to organise meetings with journalists.
To create interest around Professor Flyvbjerg’s visit we decided to engage with journalists interested in infrastructure development and policy. After a quick phone conversation with the professor, I had more than enough juicy quotes and ideas to tantalise the media.
We sent out personal letters inviting a handful of major metropolitan and trade journalists to sit around a table with the professor and fire questions. After a few phone calls and emails we had a list of journalists who were keen to meet and interview him.
As always, timing was crucial to the success of this project. Evans & Peck brought out Professor Flyvbjerg mid-December, the silly season traditionally produces rather lean newspapers and many journalists are looking for interesting profile pieces.
Unfortunately, the day of the interview coincided with the announcement by then NSW Treasurer Roozendaal of the government’s controversial electricity sell-off. Major metro journalists were called back to the newsroom but, much to her delight, a trade journalist had the Professor’s sole attention for the duration.
We also arranged for Professor Flyvbjerg to have a chat over the phone with a journalist who was interstate and unable to attend the scheduled interview. An effective end result can take many different forms.
A crucial aspect of being a thought leader is educating the media and providing them with opportunities to extend their networks. If a journalist thinks of you when researching a story, thanks to contacts you have provided, you are one step ahead of your competitors.
