Ranhill Utilities Internal Media Workshop 2009

Our team recently conducted an internal media relations workshop for 28 senior management staff of Ranhill Utilities Sdn Bhd and its subsidiary, SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd (SAJ Holdings is the water concessionaire for the state of Johor), Ranhill Water Technologies, Ranhill Water Services and Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd.

And we are proud to say, it was a fantastic workshop!

We were honoured to have the CEO of SAJ Holdings, Encik Abdul Wahab, Mr Koh Boon Sian , the CEO of Ranhill Water Technologies and Mr Yap who is the CEO of Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd as participants for the workshop.

The main objective of this one day workshop was to expose the participants to the strategies of media relations. ‘What is News’, ‘Media Relations 101’, ‘Press Release Writing’, ‘Crisis Communications’ and ‘Press Conference Tools and Techniques’ were the main topics discussed during the workshop. The participants came from diverse backgrounds. Some of the participants included business development managers and the operations team. Therefore, the workshop had to be designed in such a way that it was relevant to all. Nevertheless, the participants had broad smiles as they walked out of the door after the nine hours of learning experience.

Some comments from the participants:

“Fantastic, very interactive and excellent workshop! I learned a lot as the things shared, especially on ‘What is News?’ was really informative and touched on things that I never knew about.” Mr Yap, CEO Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd.

“I would definitely recommend this workshop to others. The presentation style, joint exercise content and open discussions were one of the best!” Mr Hemant Thakore, Head Business Services Ranhill Bersekutu Sdn Bhd.

“The presentation style was one of the best. Definitely met my expectations as a platform to share real experiences and knowledge.” Rajehan Abdul Karim, SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd.

“Excellent session. Very open and two-way. It is really great to have three speakers with different areas of expertise to share their expertise.” Name and title not specified.

“Good exposure for non public relations people to understand how things work in the media.” Name and title not specified.

Media Relations Workshop August 2009

We will be having another workshop next month (10 & 11 August 2009). You can read more about this workshop in our website www.intelectasia.com
Media Relations August 2009

Media List & Contacts (Malaysia)

Many have asked me about media contacts. I have actually started a media database, but it is not easy as it really involves a lot of hard work and consistent effort to ensure the media database is always relevant and up to date, especially when there are so many changes in the local media scene (just spoke to a reporter from Malay Mail and apparently they are still undergoing a lot of changes).Nevertheless,I am sharing some contacts that you might find useful when dealing with the media. Hope it helps! (please refer to my latest post March 2015 on latest media contacts)


Quick Malaysia Media Contacts

Facebook Bootcamp for PR

View more presentations from nicole.landguth.

Facebook Bootcamp for PR

I think this is one very good presentation by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide on how to use Facebook as a tool for PR.

I think I have mentioned this before that its time that PR practitioners have to start looking beyond the traditional media. The new media such as Facebook, YouTube, blogs and Twitter are now equally powerful when trying to reach out to the publics (i.e. stakeholders, media, consumers, public. But nevertheless, it is very important that your organization fully supports your new media endeavor.Many organizations still feel that the new media is waste of time (as shared by the participants during the workshop).

Somethings that you will learn in this webinar above:

>A Facebook Strategy Checklist
>5 Ways to Rapid Start Your Facebook Strategy
>5 Ways to Engage Your Community
>5 Ways to Activate Your Community
>5 Ways to Add Scale and Impact
>Tools and Tips to Measure Your Success
>5 Facebook Trends to Watch
>What NOT to do

A Very Successful Media Relations Workshop!

We were so happy and delighted that the media relations workshop on the 29th and 30th June went so well. I think the most important thing for any trainer is when the participants go back and say "Yes, that was worth my time". The team shared valuable insights for media relations. My personal favorite was when the participants did the 20 seconds pitch! It was extremely hilarious seeing all these PR people persuading the editor to cover their event or write about them.
And of course, the bonus was when immediately two days after the workshop, one participant received good coverage including two tv stations (TV3 and NTV7) to cover an event. I will post her comments soon!

Six Golden Rules to Win the Media's Attention

Often, as public relations practitioners or consultants, when we launch an event, we anticipate a good turnout from the media. We have to answer to many if the turnout is poor, the bosses, the clients etc etc. But how do we ensure that media turnout is good? Let me share five golden rules to win this battle!

Golden Rule 1- Always Have a Good Story

Half the battle is won when you have a good angle to your story. A good story is when a road show to promote tyres is tied up with a national road safety campaign. A poor story is the launch of a road show to promote tyres.

Golden Rule 2- Do not sell products or services

Being boring is very very dangerous for pr practitioners. Think differently; always make your story newsworthy. Always think like journalists/editors. Will you cover the event if you were a journalist?

Golden Rule 3-Develop a Thick Skin

After pitching or emailing, you must follow up. Check with the news desk whether they will be covering your event or publishing your press release. They are normally more than happy to answer your questions. But please, do not harass, do not call them every other day and ask "When is the story coming out?", "Will you guys be covering the event?" the first question can be asked only once, maximum twice. But if you build rapport with the journalist, of course it’s easier to ask, but again, how would you feel if someone calls you every other day to ask you the same questions over and over again. Unless, you want them to toss your story out of the window, which is highly possible!

Golden Rule 4- Develop a Variety of Channels

This is my favourite! I have mentioned this before in my press release. Do not depend so much on the traditional media. They are overloaded. Be different. Yes, go to the traditional media but also go to news wires ( I will share with you the press release wires that are free), blogs, podcasts, Facebook, Twitter. Editors or journalist might just pick up your story from there such as a recent story on cleaning up a waterfall in Selangor.Guess what, the organiser used Facebook to invite all the volunteers! The story was even aired in TV3!

Golden Rule 5- Jangan Tipu!

Yes desperation can make us do many things that we don’t want to! But we are bound by ethics, which means that we must always write the whole truth and nothing but the truth. When writing press releases, don’t inflate the numbers, don’t add things that never happened etc. This is also important when faced with the crisis. Always tell the truth. When inviting press, do not lie to attract them, if they find out, they will blacklist you forever!

Golden Rule 6- Do not Over Expose!

I had this chance to do PR for a premier higher learning institution. One of my favourite accounts!
They had so many good stories, and always it was a pleasure from my side to invite the media. This organization was always the first in doing something, won many awards, had excellent research facility and many others interesting stories. Every story was newsworthy. But there was one point; there were just tooooo many stories. Every other day, there was something happening. Unfortunately, this back fired. The media presence dwindled. The stories undoubtedly good, but the media can’t be reporting the same organization every day. Planning is the key. Space out the events. Have deliverables set. How many stories should be out every month? Then plan accordingly.


So here you are six golden rules to win media's attention. If you noticed, there is no mention of nice goodie bags, money or free lunch. Again there is no harm is giving out goodie bags and treating them to a nice lunch, (money is a big no no), but the key is - create a newsworthy story!

Join our Media Relations Workshop on 29 & 30 June 2009 to learn more about media relations strategies, tools and tips!