CorpComms Magazine

(1) Make sure you can rouse your team regardless of the hour

When you are called in the middle of the night by the group general counsel to be told there will be a stock exchange announcement at 7am the next morning, you need to be able to wake people up. Ensure you have up to date contact details for everyone you would need to involve in making an announcement. Have them with you at all times. Importantly, make sure everyone involved knows that a call could come at any time; if they are on holiday, you need an alternate name, ready to get to work at short notice.

(2) Think about the suppliers that you rely on

You know what tools you need and what support needs to be in place for an announcement. Don't let your media lists get stale and make sure that you test your conference call lines and IT systems regularly. You don't want to be half an hour from a major announcement worrying about whether your press release will go to the right journalists. If you know something is in the offing, check with your suppliers that they are not running 'routine maintenance' at what could be a critical time for you.

(3) Keep materials up to date

With many announcements, your core messages will not change radically. Keep messages and Q&As up to date. There will always be some tailoring to be done to reflect the reality of what is happening, but you know the narrative into which the announcement has to fit and you know most of the

key facts and figures required to tell your story. Socialise your messages; make sure key stakeholders have bought into them as far as possible to avoid last minute drafting.

(4) Understand how to get an announcement approved

Without the luxury of a long drafting process, you need to be able to manage the approval process very tightly. There needs to be absolute clarity about who is signing off materials and who is getting to see them as a courtesy. You need deadlines for comment and you need to actively manage the process, chasing people up regardless of their seniority. It is also vital to know what regulatory and legal requirements apply to your announcements and where to get a responsive lawyer at an awkward time.

(5) Keep on top of the comings and goings of your key journalists

It has never been easier to keep track of journalist moves. If there is someone new covering your company, take them through recent events. It is easier to communicate news to them if they understand the back story.

(6) Try to understand the pressure journalists are working under

Your key journalist contacts won't thank you if they arrive in the office to discover they have missed a media conference call with your chief executive and that their rivals already have a story online. As soon as your announcement is issued to the stock exchange, send it to the journalists. If it is 7am, text them to tell them there is news from your company and to look out for details of a call; if it is a more civilised time, phone them. Do this for the announcements that really matter. Do this for something that doesn't merit it and you can expect criticism.

(7) Allocate plenty of executive time for the media

If something significant is happening at your company, there will be competing demands for senior executives' time. Political stakeholders may need to be managed; staff will need to be told what's happening so that they can talk to customers; and investors will be interested. Journalists consistently tell us that they appreciate getting to speak to the senior team, even if it is at a press conference or on a media call. Marshall your resources carefully, to a detailed timetable, to ensure that all the stakeholder groups get what they need.

(8) Work for some early positive coverage

Staff, customers, investors and your fellow communicators will all benefit from seeing positive coverage of your announcement as the day unfolds. Factor this into your timetable and speak early to media with early deadlines (like the London-based Evening Standard), to key online commentators and to broadcasters. Review coverage constantly during the day to identify and manage any issues.

(9) Keep a record of what has been said

It may sound like housekeeping, but it is vital to have a record of which journalists have been spoken to, what they asked and what you told them. Across a large multinational business, where journalists may call several people, it is essential to be sure you are all on message and aligned when handling any tricky issues arising from your announcement.

(10) There's no such thing as excessive planning

When you don't have a lot of time, and you are assimilating new information which is going to be announced, being able to fall back on tried and tested plans and processes is invaluable. When the announcement is made, your timetable provides the structure which allows you to focus on getting the message across. 

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