Magenta in the media

Rather like a builder living in a house in need of repair, it can be easy as a PR agency to be so busy doing other people’s PR that you forget to do your own.

So this week, I resolved to change that and to start getting the Magenta name out there, not just into the trade press but into some more unusual publications. It started with the opportunity to be featured in a piece in Marie Claire. And then, in conversation with a Telegraph journo, I discovered the chance to get Magenta mentioned in another article, which came out today.

magentapr-large_trans++iEYSsjLjJhKdsvXqKaSPU4ial7MhmAIi7GHYCwFxgdUThe reaction from clients and the mickey-taking from friends (I can never walk into the playground again without someone mentioning ‘mumpreneur’) has been great fun. But I’ve also learned a much more useful lesson.

As a PR, my team and I spend a lot of time talking to our clients about how to deal with the media: what to say, and, often more importantly, what not to say. We write briefing notes for press interviews outlining key messages and train our clients in body language and speech. So when I was interviewed by a journo at the Telegraph about what it was like working with my ex-husband, you would have thought I would have been completely prepared, briefing note and key messages to hand.

Of course not. Instead, I found myself speaking to her while also dealing with my son’s GCSE Maths homework, my daughter’s year 2 times tables and rescuing a slightly frazzled shepherd’s pie from an overheated oven. I forgot what it was I meant to say, and didn’t want to say but fortunately managed to get most of the right message across. More luck than judgement.

All of which goes to show that it’s much easier to preach than practise what we preach. While I don’t think I’ll be in the Telegraph again soon, it’s been an interesting lesson in what it’s like to be a client and why I need to be a little more understanding when a client isn’t necessarily on top form for a radio interview at 6am.

If you feel you need support in dealing with the media, then download our handy guide How to Deal with the Media or check out How to Boost your own Personal Brand https://www.magentaassociates.co.uk/insight/

Cathy Hayward

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