Brand-produced video has become a key component in garnering positive media coverage, according to a new study from D S Simon Media.
The “DS Simon Brand Visibility 2020” report, which surveyed 366 journalists, found that media platforms across the board want to use brand video. The appetite for brand video is strongest among blogs—with 85 percent saying they use it—and television stations, which come in close behind at 84 percent. About two-thirds of radio station web sites (66 percent) say they use brand video, as do 54 percent of print media outlets.
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In addition, more than eight out 10 media organizations (82 percent) who use brand video said they use the entire video with no editing. That number reaches 94 percent for blogs, and the overall number is up 11 percent from Simon’s 2018 survey.
In-house spokespeople are more popular with journalists than are outside sources. Almost nine out of 10 respondents (87 percent) said they would rather interview an in-house spokesperson than a third-party expert. The reason for that: 83 percent of those surveyed said in-house spokespeople make brands appear more authentic, while only 44 percent thought that a third-party expert added to a brand’s credibility.
Making CEOs available to the media was seen as an effective way of boosting the appearance of brand authenticity by 76 percent of survey respondents.
And for those afraid that the messages they get into the media may be drowned out in a tidal wave of political news coverage over the next year, the study finds cause for optimism. Only 12 percent of TV news stations surveyed said more than half of their news coverage would be political in nature, with 67 percent saying that political subject matter would fill 25 percent or less of their air time.
Amid the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, PRSA's ICON conference in Wash., D.C., Oct. 28-30 featured a collection of panels exploring the intersection of political communication and PR from a variety of angles, navigating how practitioners can rebuild trust and uphold transparency in an increasingly polarized climate.
About eight out of 10 self-publishing creator journalists (82 percent) say that at least some of their stories are based on a PR pitch, according to a study from Muck Rack.
Robert Udowitz and Steve Drake, principals of RFP Associates, advocated for an agency selection process that mirrors the same rigor applied to recruiting key staff members, during their seminar at last week's PRSA ICON conference in Wash., D.C.
Close to two-thirds (63 percent) of those polled in a recent study from Tier One Partners say they’ve lost some of their faith in traditional news media.
The bull market that the PR and communications industry has seen for the past few years is showing some signs of wear, according to the newly released Davis+Gilbert Public Relations Industry Trends Report 2025.
