Challenge:
A leading government technology company was receiving substantial negative coverage across the country, due to civil rights activists’ aggressive campaigns, as well as its previous litigation with several prominent news organizations. The company also needed help combating damaging misperceptions around its brand and product. Coupled with its major defensive needs, the company sought to bolster its proactive efforts to secure positive earned media opportunities. In addition, the company needed assistance in implementing a complete rebrand, including its name, logo, website, and social media pages.
Action:
Red Banyan began its work with a complete reconstruction of the company’s messaging, starting with softening its tone and humanizing the brand by focusing on the life-saving impact of the company’s technology. Next, our team created new media relations protocols, ensuring a faster and more effective processing of media inquiries, increasing the accuracy of reported facts, and creating opportunities to build productive relationships with reporters. Simultaneously, we created crisis protocols to help minimize negative media coverage and drafted messaging that effectively addressed some of the common criticisms directed at the brand. Finally, Red Banyan developed and executed strategies to generate positive media coverage, generate thought leadership among the company’s executive team, and leverage the support among the company’s clients to our advantage.
Impact:
In the first six months:
- Changed the company’s approach to media relations from combative to cooperative
- Aided company in softening its messaging and voice for better public perception
- Helped the company carry out a successful rebrand
- Fielded more than 100 media requests: both critical and positive
- Conducted four media training sessions for senior executives, teaching them how to navigate difficult questions
- Fostered friendly relationships with the media
- Helped turn several negatively skewed news stories into balanced ones
- Secured 25 media interviews for company CEO and senior executives
- Secured a major speaking opportunity for company CEO at a national conference featuring a key audience for the brand
- Wrote five Op-Eds on behalf of company executives and their clients
- Assisted client with developing its social media and community engagement policy
- Drafted and placed paid advertorials in strategically important local news outlets