Tell Your Story… Despite the Red Tape

Every company has a unique story to tell. The trick is conveying it without getting stuck in the internal red tape. These three tactics may help oil and gas public relations professionals earn credit for the good their companies do, despite cumbersome review and approval processes common in today’s oil and gas industry.

Pitch Bylined Editorial

Numerous high-quality industry publications cover the oil and gas industry, and they compete with each other for unique story ideas. Gain your management’s agreement on which published topics support current business objectives, including which subject matter experts are approved authors. Proactively approach the editors of these publications to determine their current editorial content needs, and pitch contributed articles based on current trends or solutions your management agrees are beneficial to drive the business. Because these articles are authored by someone at your company, and are strategically on point, you will have a higher degree of focus and message control, which helps increase the priority your internal reviewers will place on the content and deadlines.

Leverage Speaking Opportunities

Now armed with alignment with management, oil and gas public relations professionals can leverage content creation to other venues that reach key audiences. Speaking opportunities are an excellent way to gain exposure in a controlled forum and position company representatives as industry thought leaders. Many trade publishers host conferences that attract hundreds of industry stakeholders. Presenting to such an audience puts your spokesperson in front of influential publishers and reporters covering the event, as well as customers, regulators, partners and hard-to-recruit new hires. These speaking engagements often result in interviews with media attending the event on topics that have already been vetted for external release, and the interviews often are featured in business, trade and sometimes mainstream publications.

Repurpose White Papers and Technical Presentations

White papers and technical presentations are rich sources for stories about innovative solutions, technical advancements and strategic successes, once they are translated for consumption by non-technical reporters. These papers are typically approved for public dissemination prior to presentation, so they can easily be transitioned into contributed editorial features and/or interview talking points. Trade media serving technical audiences especially enjoy access to this type of content to educate their readers on new technology or innovation in the oilfield, and their assessment of your company’s technology or best practice validates your company achievements with key audiences.

At Ward, we excel in causing communication about and for the oil and gas industry, and we’re proficient in finding just the right solvent for internal red tape that inhibits the good PR management wants to see. Contact our award-winning oil and gas team for help, and we’ll help you cause the results you seek.