The power of PR and journalists working together is a force to be reckoned with.
Take the case of Honeywell, a Fortune 100 company operating in the aerospace industry. However, the brand was widely unknown among the public. So they decided to show their technology to one of the most influential groups of people: journalists.
The company chose this path instead of directly approaching potential customers with aggressive marketing strategies. They focused on journalists, which makes sense because approaching them directly is one of the best ways to organically address the market.
Journalists in B2B
Journalists have to be just as, if not more, attentive and informed than business leaders. For this reason, they were the best audience for presenting the new Wi-Fi technology in-flight provided by Honeywell. They too can take advantage of it in the workplace and keep in touch. Again, the same applies to business professionals who want to stay productive, also many miles above the ground.
Instead of sending out press releases, the company invited journalists to try out its technology. Honeywell launched the Connected World Tour, with its own airplanes transporting journalists around the world. The plane was fully equipped with Honeywell's latest technologies, all of which were available for journalists to try out.
The tour lasted two months, carrying more than 90 journalists during this time. The members of the media came from various publications, such as The Atlantic, CNET, Economic Times of India, Financial Times, CNN and CCTV.
Content, content and more content
The journalists shared their flight experiences with the public. This had an immediate and global effect. Honeywell secured 106 original media clippings, which meant an estimated 8.4 billion media impressions. They presented Connected Aircraft at the 52nd International Paris Air Show. Here, key decision-makers had the opportunity to look at all the innovations in person.
In three months, Honeywell received 76% more coverage than its competitors, and promoted the company to a role of thought leadership in the industry. They achieved this by cleverly targeting the most influential audience, rather than the most obvious - the decision-makers. Because few would have known about this plane trip if only the executives were present.
Nothing beats the combined force of Public Relations and journalists when it comes to communicating our strengths.