Project Date: 1999 – 2016
Project Type: Media Training
Situation
From a U.S. Presidential campaign to disaster preparedness to crisis situations, executives, officials and politicians have turned to High Point executives for guidance in preparing them to interact with media. When faced with or preparing for any major or difficult situation, hundreds of spokespeople across the country have benefitted from the experience and direction they receive from the seasoned professionals who help them effectively position themselves for media interviews.
High Point executives leverage their firsthand experience that includes representing organizations as spokespeople, and nearly a decade as a television news reporter and anchor, to create customized training programs for clients that keep them on message even in the toughest of interviews.
Strategy
In the wake of 9/11 and leery of an attack in Las Vegas or elsewhere in the state, the Nevada Department of Mental Health and Developmental Services used a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant to train more than 200 state officials to effectively handle media during a crisis. At the same time and for the same reasons, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) used similar funding to train its Lieutenant Governor and MNDOT staff.
High Point created a custom crisis training program, Media 911®, to train those spokespeople for the worst of situations. The training included in person seminars and one-on-one training on camera using potential crisis scenarios, development of key messages, a training video and a microsite to house all of the training materials and messages. Over the course of the last decade, Media 911® and a companion day-to-day media training program, Media 411®, have been used to train well over an additional 200 executive and other key spokespeople at American Water (NYSE: AWK) and Pepco Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: POM) and partners such as the Maryland State Highway Administration, county governments, local universities and school systems, area chambers of commerce and non-profit organizations.
Results
All media training conducted across the country has yielded extremely positive responses from trainees, with many asking for repeat services, and has served clients well during crisis events. Results include:
- Over 500 spokespeople trained
- Fortune 500 executives, officials, politicians and other key spokespeople have been trained including 200 spokespeople for the Nevada Department of Mental Health and Developmental Services
- Over 200 others at the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) including the MN Lieutenant Governor
- All executives at American Water and Pepco Holdings, Inc.
- Effective crisis messaging
- MNDOT used messaging from the Media 911® program to effectively speak with the media following the fatal bridge collapse in Minneapolis in 2007
- Pepco Holdings, Inc., used key messaging for all crisis events between 2012-2016, including the 2012 derecho storm and Hurricane Sandy