The press office is the command centre of a company's communication with its audience and the place from which the most important information from the life of our organisation flows outwards. What are the benefits of having a press office, what are its tasks and how do you run it to take care of your organisation's image?
Press office - main tasks
About to launch your new product? Have you received an important industry award? Are you running an interesting charity campaign? Communicate it via the press office. Public relations specialists are in constant contact with journalists and are responsible, among other things, for sending out press releases, arranging interviews or responding to media enquiries. However, in order to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by PR activities, extensive experience is needed, constant monitoring of market trends and competition, knowledge of the media market, its needs and long-term contact with the media. It is also important to constantly monitor communication activities and publications, so that you can verify whether the activities you are carrying out are having an effect, in which media with which profile your brand is mentioned and published, and whether the path you have chosen is the right one.
How do you set up a press office?
The running of a press office is usually entrusted to specialised PR agencies and/or employees with the appropriate professional background. Working with an agency is an excellent way to build a brand image that stands out from the competition. With a well-prepared strategy and well-considered activities, PR specialists are able to reach all target groups with key messages, tell the brand's story, build reputation and, at the same time, advise on additional activities that will benefit the company's business. In addition, contracting a PR agency is helpful in creating a consistent and clear picture of the company's activities and prevents communication chaos. The agency ensures that your company is constantly present in the media space and that information about your business reaches your audience.
How to run a press office?
The press office deals, among other things, with the creation of information campaigns or announcements concerning particular aspects of the company's activity. One of the main duties of the office's employees is to prepare materials for the media, which should relate to the most important information concerning the development of your company (e.g. financial results, expansion into a new market), a key event (e.g. winning an industry competition), products or services (e.g. the premiere of a new product from your portfolio) or the organisation's employees (e.g. an important promotion or the transfer of a well-known expert from another company). In addition to this, the press office handles, among other things, answering journalists' queries, also works on information campaigns, organises press conferences, arranges interviews, carries out creative dispatches to journalists, and collaborates on additional materials such as image films, reports or research.
Virtual press office
A virtual press office is a tool for managing communication between your organisation and the media. It allows you to reach a wide audience quickly and effectively with company-relevant messages and gives journalists access to published material 24 hours a day. It fulfils the role of an online business card. The main advantage of an online press office is the collection and organisation of key information about a company in one place. It allows control over the information published, so journalists and other stakeholders can get the most important information directly from an official source. It also shortens the communication path, so that a journalist can obtain additional information or expert commentary directly from those involved in the organisation's PR activities. It is also a good place to provide the media with additional information in the form of graphic, audio or video files, the large size of which makes it difficult to distribute by email.
The unquestionable advantage of having an online press office is the possibility to carry out integrated communication activities in various channels, such as a company blog, social media and other channels in which a brand's image is created. A virtual press office is also a good complement to the daily work of the PR team.
How can the press office help you in the event of a crisis?
A rumour, a deliberate action by a competitor, misinterpreted information or leaked emails are just examples of situations that can lead to a crisis these days. So the best prescription to save you time and nerves is to create a press office, consistently build up your PR strategy and take care of your brand image every day, not just at the critical moment.
Crisis PR practitioners have to work perfectly under stress and time pressure, as crisis situations require cold-bloodedness on the one hand and instant decision-making on the other. It is also important to prepare procedures in advance and to include people who will be available to journalists and have the physical ability to operate a virtual press office.
A press office can bring many benefits to your company. First and foremost - it will make your organisation's communication more coherent and structured. It is also a tool that will contribute to a better perception of your brand among specific target groups including investors, business partners or customers.
