Brand the Bite

When you have the opportunity to speak to the Media, it's easy to get caught up in the moment. Questions such as, "How do I look?" become more important than, "What should I say?"

To help bring you back to your main objective, which is to get your story told in the best possible light, it's helpful to think of what sound bite you want to appear on radio or television or what quote you want to read in print. So, before you begin the interview, have one or more "bites" in mind that you'll sprinkle throughout the interview.

Sound bites are the key informational or influential nuggets you want readers, listeners or viewers to take away from the news story. You want them to see and hear your point of view. Here's one technique.

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It's what we call "brand the bite." That is, call attention to your brand as you answer the question. If you're asked to respond to a question about safety, your response should include something like, "Here at (company name), safety is our top priority," or "We're constantly working to improve our safety procedures at (company name)."

The result is not only a sound bite that tells your story, but a bite that also mentions your corporate brand in the process. This obviously works best for live interviews, since there are no guarantees a reporter will include the brand language in the story. But here at Mack Communications, we strongly recommend you try it anyway.

For full media training or coaching, please contact us at [email protected].