“National channels such as TF1, M6 or France 2 can no longer be said to set the tone”
To succeed in national communication, Lisa Wyler is convinced of one thing: everything starts in the regions. “I see a PR strategy as a multi-stage rocket. You first have to work on your regional target. The day a company is in trouble and needs media support, if it hasn’t built that foundation, it will be much harder,” she explains. Besides, she adds, “journalists at TF1’s 1 p.m. news often pick up their ideas in the regions. France Info increasingly relays stories from ICI. Not working with the regional press would therefore be a strategic mistake.”The landmarks have also shifted, observes Michael Chefles. “National channels such as TF1, M6 or France 2 can no longer be said to set the tone. With media fragmentation, even a video published on a regional daily’s website can quickly go viral nationwide.” The agency’s founder shares this view: “National visibility has never been so accessible to regional brands since the arrival of the web.” To achieve national reach, brands are no longer limited to so-called traditional press. Communicators can also target podcasts and newsletters, whose audiences extend far beyond their home region. “The line between regional and national, even international, is less and less relevant as a way of looking at things. The idea that you absolutely must work with a Paris agency has not been true for a long time,” she concludes.
Understanding how newsrooms work
Even so, “these national press results are not guaranteed,” the PR expert qualifies. Companies must therefore build a genuine communication plan and understand how newsrooms operate. At SNCF Gares & Connexions, for example, “headquarters drives the major topics. They are first handled nationally in Paris, then rolled out locally,” explains Michael Chefles. For the “Gare Remarquable” label, the PR campaign was first launched from Paris with a press release designed for the national press. “Then our regional teams took over to adapt the campaign to the specifics of their area.”
This organization makes it possible to meet the expectations of each newsroom and the stakes of each city. All the more so as, in twenty years of practice, the PR specialist has seen the profession evolve. “With the national press, we are often approached at the last minute. Journalists are more pressed for time and turnover is higher. It is increasingly difficult to personalize the relationship,” he observes.
Defining your objective and your angle
To be effective, Lisa Wyler recommends going back to the basics of a communication plan: “You have to ask yourself why you are seeking national visibility. Is it a business imperative or a brand awareness goal? Does the company have a project or an activity that resonates with national news? Will that news have an influence at the national level?”
Once the objective is set, the angle of the story is just as decisive. “The national press is interested in what directly affects our travelers’ daily lives. We are asked about what is in place in case of a heatwave, or about new shops opening in stations,” Michael Chefles elaborates. For example, he illustrates, “a story about Strasbourg station, if it is not tied to national news, will not interest the national press.”
Timing matters too. “Some companies have no concrete news, but their activity may be in tune with a current concern,” Lisa Wyler details. “As November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, approaches, the media pay more attention to initiatives related to this subject. It is the right moment for a company or an association to propose concrete actions to put in the spotlight.”
The next step is to adapt the subject to the targeted medium. “For television, if you want quick results, you have to arrive with an almost ready-made story,” she advises. Radio and television also demand availability. “The spokesperson’s schedule must be able to clear in two seconds, and the spokesperson must be comfortable in front of the camera,” Lisa Wyler warns. Hence the value of media training sessions beforehand.
Approaching regional special correspondents
To put every chance on your side, another avenue is “often overlooked by communicators”: correspondents who work for both the local press and national media. “They can act as ambassadors with their national newsroom,” the PR expert elaborates. A company well known to these journalists will more easily be pitched to national newsrooms.
At SNCF Gares & Connexions, local teams are the conductors. “They are the ones who know the journalists and their expectations, as well as the institutional, political and operational stakes of their territory. They work with these media every day and maintain a relationship of trust built over the course of their exchanges. It is important to leave them in charge, because this proximity facilitates contact, whether to present a major national project or to publicize local news,” he specifies. These strong ties with the PQR can also open the way to media exclusives with the national press, adds the head of the PR agency, “provided you have material to give journalists once the article is published.”
Ultimately, reaching the national press does not require reinventing everything. A clear objective, a subject in tune with the news and relationships of trust with journalists remain the foundation of the profession, in the regions as at the national level. But the context is changing. Media fragmentation is shifting the boundaries: a regional story can go viral, and national journalists also draw their ideas from podcasts, newsletters and social networks. For regional brands, the way in is therefore no longer singular. One constant remains, which both experts recall in their own way: national coverage is prepared in advance. It is built on a solid regional foundation, a well-managed calendar and clearly identified relays.Read also:
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