Rediscovering the role of digital PR and media relations through good old company storytelling made of in-depth and originality, will be the way to communicate after the pandemic. And… no more newsletters when you have nothing to say. So he thinks Matteo Gavioli, hhead of media relations of Espresso communication.
How are companies communicating during this pandemic? How do your clients ask you to work?
«Large companies, SMEs, startups, organizations, associations and personalities have understood, also thanks to the effects of the pandemic on a global scale, that communicating means continuing to exist in the eyes of their target. In a world where people hardly move anymore, relegated at home by DPCM and smartworking, the streets and clubs are unfortunately increasingly desolate lands, and the only vehicle of messages are television, digital information, social networks and supermarket aisles. All those who do not want to disappear, subjugated by unsustainable radio-television investments or marketing strategies that, in my opinion erroneously, bet everything on adv channels, are rediscovering the central role of digital PR and traditional media relations. What makes the difference again, even more so in this difficult phase where people are looking for positive values and messages of hope for our country, is the authoritative and independent opinion of journalists, generalists and sectorialists. Precisely for this reason more and more customers, also and above all from the food world, rely on industry experts like us to tell through the much reviled but effective digital corporate storytelling how much their commitment (also in terms of sustainability), innovation, investments and the desire to grow are leading them to overcome the crisis by planning an increasingly rosy future for their employees and their products. But that's not all, through our expertise in research to identify international trends we are able to make them protagonists even in sectors that go beyond those of reference such as food and Ho.Re.Ca., such as lifestyle, health, well-being and current events, on traditional, digital, radio and TV media. This is asked of us more and more often because it is a capacity that goes beyond that of most agencies to tell the product tout court, a modus operandi that greatly limits the results and effectiveness of communication. In summary, communicating to your target is essential, but integrating your messages towards B2B and B2C channels with ad hoc strategies is definitely more engaging towards the press and much more profitable in terms of media visibility ».
After the pandemic, how will communication change? Which channels should be privileged and which ones have had their day?
“I firmly believe that the pandemic, at least in terms of communication, has opened the eyes of entrepreneurs and marketing directors, at all levels. In fact, it is no longer possible to implement spot actions, without a strategy, to obtain the sincere attention of consumers and to pass messages and products into the collective imagination. People have been so much overexposed to standardized, serial, unoriginal, monothematic advertising messages, to the point of leading them to make the effort, unthinkable until recently, to go in search of in-depth information, themes that can make the mind travel, or at least distract from the dramatic situation that surrounds us. Having acknowledged this, the communication will increasingly focus on a digital omnichannel and "tailored" approach with the tailored production of ad hoc content for each media, which is able in a coherent and effective way to speak to both those who rely on traditional newspapers and the most authoritative newspapers to get information, both to those who, like Generation Z, search on social networks and in the stories of influencers on TikTok e Twitch the news to be commented on and the companies to be designated as their "love brands". Make way for classic media relations, with an increasingly decisive importance of the network of personal contacts of those involved in PR (also due to the emptied editorial offices), to digital campaigns linked to 360 ° PR actions with the involvement above all of experts and micro-influencers, to the events carried out digitally and respecting the necessary security measures of the post-Covid phase and, above all, to the production of ad hoc video materials that tell not only product news in an engaging and non-advertising way, but also the determining role of corporate social responsibility, corporate social responsibility, in the country that thinks, creates, and produces of tomorrow. At the channel level, therefore, I would leave no stone unturned in this perspective of communicating globally to different audiences, with different favorite channels, but one thing I want to say, out of the teeth: enough with the rainy newsletters, empty and redundant, spam "can only accompany" ».
Will companies develop their communication channels to communicate directly with consumers?
“It's a question of survival. Those who do not listen to their consumers and do not put themselves at the service of requests and needs over time are destined to suffer commercially and, at times, risk disappearing. If it goes well from the debate on traditional and digital media, if it goes wrong even from the market. Precisely for this reason, there are more and more companies, small and large, that communicate with their consumers also through direct lines even on social networks (such as Facebook), with real live chat with customer care. Giving answers quickly and showing oneself available to listen is fundamental in the relationship with customers as well as in everyday life, and more and more entrepreneurs and startuppers are aware of this. Another indispensable channel of direct communication with consumers has become corporate e-commerce, which, driven by the pandemic, is increasingly central (as well as necessary) within the turnover and development of its customer base. This is demonstrated by international data: just think that according to a research recently published by Google a percentage that varies between 20-40% of people in Western Europe buys food and beauty products on the web more frequently than in the period before the pandemic and, with the acceleration of the digital switchover, 12-25% of consumers the EMEA region makes international purchases more frequently. It is precisely here that many people ask questions to brands and expect to be followed in the purchase: those who do not align themselves with the necessary investments and the necessary digital innovations will inevitably lose market share in Italy and abroad, where the "Made in Italy "is a must that no one can do without".
What will be the relationship of the press offices with independent media and journalists and what will be the most effective way of dealing with them?
«The role of the press officer in the future will be even more central to connect the interest of the media to the integrated storytelling built strategically for client brands. The standardization and seriality of messages, including digital ones, in addition to the increasingly narrow spaces given the expansion of the areas relegated to advertising space, must push those like us involved in public relations to open their operational horizons and always commit to more to find original and engaging ways with which to obtain spaces in the media thanks to contents where there is news at the center. I believe it is fundamental, being a journalist myself, never to send to the press material likely to be similar to "hustlers", but real news supported by authoritative sources, including international ones, which certainly tell our client, but which reveal global trends and curiosity of the sector. In my opinion, here lies the difference between a press office that collects case histories and results, on a daily basis, and a press office that does not stand out from the crowd (even if it has a high-sounding name): we must not be mere press officers, we must be "journalists of company "who place themselves on the same level as their interlocutors in terms of language, form and needs, with an approach totally different from the traditional one. And it is precisely here that the most effective way of relating to the press comes in: the personal relationship. As I often repeat to colleagues, from the intern to the senior account, we never talk enough with journalists, not only about the content we sent them, but also in a disinterested way of more and less: the sincere personal relationship, born maybe from a recall or a Whatsapp, from LinkedIn or from a real or digital press conference, it is irreplaceable, it must be cultivated and jealously guarded. Especially if over time it turns into a true relationship of mutual trust and even friendship, albeit in professional terms. A concept to be sculpted in stone at the entrance of each agency, at the desk of each account, at the center of each strategy and during each interview, in my opinion ".
Can you tell us about your projects, your innovative communication offers?
"It is difficult for me here to talk about specific projects and brands in particular, I would prefer to let the results talk to understand where we bring our customers and how often they appear in the most important newspapers, paper but above all digital, at a national level both for as regards the specialized media, both as regards the generalist media. For this reason, I invite anyone interested to consult my profile LinkedIn and to scroll back in time the posts in which I share the best publications obtained, only in this way can we really understand the potential of a press office that is not right as a mere hub for sending content, but as a real "corporate editorial office". This is our strength and what sets us apart from most other press offices. In terms of communication offer, what is innovative for us is to constantly have a curious and attentive look at new social trends, with particular reference to Clubhouse, TikTok e Twitch, where we are offering our customers, old and new, targeted actions and contents to win over new consumers also for the new generations. This, taking up what was said before, must always be linked to an overall communication strategy that integrates traditional and social media, B2B and B2C, corporate and in-depth messages: this is the way for us to succeed in an office communication campaign. print of today and of the future ".
