Tim Johns, producer at BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show, and Good Broadcast director Phil Caplin joined Gorkana for a webinar to discuss why broadcast media should not be ‘the forgotten media channel’ and how to best pitch to journalists on radio and TV.

During the webinar Caplin questioned why more PRs and communicators are not taking advantage of the broadcast opportunity. While it takes more effort to get measurable results, unlike with social media for example, TV and radio exert great influence on audiences  and often – for consumers as well as other media – set the agenda for the day, according to the experts.

In order to succeed in broadcast PR, successful media relations is key and Caplin and Johns gave their top tips on pitching for TV and radio. Here is just some of their pointers:

Understand the landscape

Johns said: “Remember every single programme is hugely different. One of the biggest mistakes any PR company can make is to the send same press release to 100 different journalists. You have to look at each network – Radio 2 and Radio 4 have massively different agendas, for example. Just understand how large and varied the landscape is; it’s really important.”

Personalised approaches are best

Caplin said: “Every approach needs to be bespoke. You need to ask your audiences are and where you find them.”

Quick wins are important

Broadcast PR is not always about forward planning, according to Caplin. He said: “It’s about quick wins and strategically ‘slotting’. Turn opportunity around quickly by reacting to the news agenda and thinking about an interesting voice from your clients to continue the conversation.”

Spokespeople need to sound relaxed

To get spokespeople to relax and deliver core messages both experts offered advice. Johns said: “Don’t overload them with bullet points, don’t make them think about anything other than a key message that they already should know as experts.”

Caplin said: “Tell them to enjoy themselves and forget they’re on radio. They are the expert and know there stuff, just enjoy it!”

The webinar took place on 26 April 2017. View the entire recording here: