Visuals, Visuals, Visuals
(October 18, 2005)

When a CEO or executive director is focused on getting an article "into print" - don't forget about the visuals when developing the story idea and key messages.

Good photos, charts, graphs, illustrations, B-roll (background) footage and electronic logos are key to helping tell the story.

Advance planning on visuals is an essential part of any communications effort - whether working on marketing materials, a media campaign or the company intranet.

Looking back, there were times when I should have provided a good chart to illustrate a point in an article, or an up-to-date head shot to accompany a news release. Taking some time for front-end planning would have avoided last-minute scrambling to meet the deadlines.

Even if a visual is not readily available, and you're on deadline, be creative and don't give up.

Several years ago, Prairie Oak was doing some media relations work for a hospital. One Chicago TV station decided to cover the story about an innovative medical procedure. We had a great patient success story.

We asked the producer if she wanted footage of the patient - an avid athlete - playing sports with his children, something he could do again after recovering from surgery. She said they would do the interviews at the hospital, but didn't have a crew that could drive to the patient's home. We didn't have any B-roll either, and I told the patient about the situation. He said his family could tape it with their video camera.

Nothing fancy, but it worked. The station aired the footage of the patient playing basketball with his kids. The station liked the visual, which helped to confirm the patient success story.

Organizations, companies and individuals need to plan and budget for visuals when embarking upon any communications project. Here are some things to consider:

• Up-to-date head shots of senior team members available in electronic files
• Have one photographer take all the employee photos so they are consistent
• High quality photos - depicting new products and services
• Colorful, easy-to-read charts or illustrations
• High quality B-roll

When focusing on media relations efforts, don't forget to alert print and broadcast media for good photo opportunities at your organization. In this case, the photo is the story.

Having a clear picture of what is needed in advance - can save time and money later.

--Vicky Lekovish