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Author: Jo Detavernier, SCMP, APR

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Crisis communications

Jo Detavernier speaks at PRSA Houston PR Day

Crisis communication

Jo Detavernier will speak about evidence-based crisis communication at PRSA Houston’s PR Day.

The annual edition of PRSA Houston’s PR Day will take place on 22 November this year. At this event, public relations and communications professionals of all levels and from all industries gather together during one day to learn from one another.

PR Day 2023 will be held at Hotel Zaza in Houston’s Museum district. Anyone who is interested in attending (PRSA membership is not required) can register on this page.

Focus areas of the 2023 PR day include communications strategies and tactics, digital content trends and best practices, reputation management, and crisis communication. Jo Detavernier will talk about the latter topic – in his lecture he will elaborate on what evidence-based crisis communication looks like and how practitioners can apply an evidence-based approach in all of the work they do helping organizations prepare for and communicate in crises.

Anyone who is interested in evidence-based crisis communication will find more information on the topic in Jo Detavernier’s contribution to the recently published second edition of the Handbook on Crisis Communication.

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Company news

Jo Detavernier will be a guest lecturer at Let’s Talk Science

Media interview

Jo Detavernier will be a speaker at this year’s Lets Talk Science summer school.

Let’s Talk Science is an annual event at which Flemish universities and non-university institutes of higher education help their researchers hone their communicate skills. This year, event takes place from 4 to 6 July and is hosted by the Ghent University.

Jo Detavernier’s lecture will be titled “A media relations survival kit for researchers” – Jo will give the lecture on 6 Juli at 02:00 PM CET.

In the workshop, students will gain insights into:

  • how media organizations produce content;
  • what journalists care for in a story (what constitutes “news?”);
  • how one can best prepare for interviews;
  • what delivery techniques matter the most;
  • how researchers can communicate clearly to a non-academic audience;
  • what to pay attention to when giving tv, radio, print interviews;
  • the written and unwritten laws on attribution and exclusivity;
  • how researchers can work efficiently with professional communicators in their organization;
  • how to correct course when interviews go wrong.

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Crisis communications

Evidence-Based Crisis Communication in a New Handbook

Crisis communication

Jo Detavernier contributed a chapter on evidence-based crisis communication to a new handbook edited by Timothy W. Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay.

The Handbook of Crisis Communication offers students, researchers, and practitioners a timely and comprehensive overview of the crisis communication field. Contributions from more than 50 scholars and practitioners reflect a wide range of methodological approaches, examine how crisis communication is applied across diverse contexts, explore the role of culture and technology, and present original research relevant to the development and evaluation of crisis communication theory.

The second edition of the Handbook comprises 38 chapters and delivers fresh insight into established areas of crisis communication while also addressing new and emerging lines of research. It integrates a broad range of new case studies, practical scenarios, and in-depth analyses of recent crises, making the volume particularly valuable for both academic study and professional practice.

Jo Detavernier contributed a chapter on how crisis communication can be developed as an evidence-based practice. In his chapter, he outlines scientifically validated insights drawn from crisis and risk communication research and shows how practitioners can integrate an evidence-based approach into their everyday crisis communication work.

The Handbook of Crisis Communication is published by John Wiley & Sons. More information about the book, including the table of contents, is available on the the publisher’s website. A shortened version of Jo Detavernier’s chapter is presented in this blog post.

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Company news

Detavernier Strategic Communication will provide PR support to Belgian trade mission

Trade mission

From June 4 to 11, HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium will lead an economic mission to Atlanta, New York City and Boston. Detavernier Strategic Communication will manage media relations for the mission in all three cities.

With over 540 participants from 270 leading Belgian companies, this will be one of the largest Belgian trade missions ever organized.  The aim of the mission is to explore further opportunities to strengthen partnerships between Belgium and the United States and to highlight the shared focus of the two countries on technology. The companies that will be visited by the trade delegation to the United States will be a mix of subsidiaries of Belgian companies and local companies that have strong ties to Belgium (in the former group of companies one will find AB Inbev (New York City), Solvay (Alpharetta, GA) and UCB (Smyrna, GA).

Detavernier Strategic Communication will provide strategic counsel and on-site support for the mission’s local media outreach. The agency wil inform local journalists on the program of the mission in their respective cities, pitch select events and set up and staff interviews.

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Company news

Jo Detavernier participates in Crisis Comms Mastery event

Crisis communication

Jo Detavernier will talk about how crisis communications can become evidence-based at the upcoming Crisis Comms Mastery virtual summit.

From March 24 until March 26, crisis communications experts will once more share their insights on how to prepare for, respond to and resolve a crisis like a PR master. From having the right tools, to getting a rock-solid crisis plan in place, to managing the story, attendees will learn how to make their brand or client ready to weather any storm.

The Crisis Comms Mastery virtual summit is organized by Agility PR Solutions. Attendance is completely free. Among the speakers at the previous edition of the Crisis Comms Mastery virtual summit are Melissa Agnes, Deborah Hileman, and Brad Phillips

Jo Detavernier’s session will revolve around how crisis communications specialists can make their profession a truly evidence-based one through the application of insights from the behavioral sciences, but also by embedding and nurturing a culture of evidence-based practice in their organization.

Anyone who is interested in registering, can do so here.

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Company news

Detavernier Strategic Communication among 19 best Austin PR firms

Austin

Expertise.com ranked Detavernier Strategic Communication among the top 19 Austin PR firms.

Expertise’s research and selection process identifies the top service professionals in over 200 different industries across the major cities in the United States. Every month, Expertise helps over 1 million customers find the best qualified service professionals.

52 PR agencies in Austin have a profile page on Expertise and of those 52, 19 have been selected by Expertise as the very best PR agencies on the Austin market. Among the criteria that Expertise uses to grade agencies are:

  • Reputation: A history of satisfied customers giving excellent recommendations
  • Qualifications: Established in their industry with licensing, accreditations, and awards
  • Experience: Masters of their craft, based on years of practical experience and education
  • Engagement: Approachable and responsive to clients and available for new business
  • Professionalism: Dedicated to providing consistently quality work and impeccable customer service

Detavernier Strategic Communication received an A for Reputation and an A+ for Professionalism (the firm did not receive scores on the other criteria).

A crowded market in an unregulated industry comes with a great many challenges for PR service providers to stand out (I talked about this challenge in this article about PR accreditations) – my team and I will continue to invest and work hard towards providing our domestic and foreign clients with high-quality strategic counsel and support.

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Media relations

Webinar: Introduction to American tech media relations

Tech media relations

On March 25th, Detavernier will host a webinar on American tech media relations with as a special guest Omar Gallaga (WSJ, CNN, Washington Post, NPR).

The webinar will focus on how European tech companies can be successful building their brands and activating demand through media relations on the American market. It is suited for entrepreneurs, marketing managers and PR managers. Topics that will be covered are:

  • The American tech media landscape
  • The American tech media relations toolbox
  • Crafting and pitching stories to American tech media
  • B2B thought leadership in American tech media
  • B2C product pr in American tech media
  • Media relations in times of COVID-19
  • Preparing and giving media interviews
  • Picking the PR tech stack
  • Sourcing consultancy services on the American market

SPECIAL GUEST Omar Gallaga (WSJ, CNN, NPR, Washington Post) will share his thoughts and experiences receiving media pitches on “the other side” and will be available to answer questions during a 15 min AMA session.

No public recording will be made available afterwards to anyone who has not registered.

To register, visit this page.

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Media trainings

Detavernier Strategic Communication hosts open media training at FINTECH Belgium

Media interview

FINTECH Belgium welcomes Jo Detavernier for a remote, open media training on March 2.

The content of this evidence-based media training was developed through an exclusive collaboration with Communication Science Group.

The training will last 75 minutes and will include:

  • an overview of what the media wants: news value, “desk opinion,” and media coverage as a product
  • an overview of the Belgian media market, with a special focus on fintech
  • a brief aside on preparing for media relations abroad
  • preparation for media interviews, including message maps, Q&As, and handling “tough questions”
  • evidence-based techniques for designing and delivering messages during media interviews, with particular attention to headlining, flagging, and bridging
  • one tailored mock interview with a spokesperson
  • the unwritten “rules” around attribution, scoops, and exclusives
  • best practices for following up after media interviews

Interested participants can register on this page.

Categories
Media trainings

Detavernier Strategic Communication will host a virtual media training on June 4

Media interview

A new, unique online session will teach participants evidence-based media interview preparation and delivery techniques.

In this one-hour online training session, Jo Detavernier will clearly explain – and illustrate with examples and demonstrations:

  • how spokespeople should prepare for media interviews (15%)
  • what effective media interview delivery techniques look like (80%)
  • how interviewees should follow up with journalists (5%)

Among the delivery techniques covered are bridging, flagging, and headlining. Participants will also learn how to best prepare and structure their messaging, how the media works (including news value, attribution, and exclusivity), and what to do once the interview has taken place.

Special attention will be given to message development and delivery techniques that are evidence-based, meaning that psychological research has validated these techniques as effective.

After the session, participants will receive a video recording of the training, which will not be made public or shared with others.

Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to Bookspring,, an Austin, TX–based nonprofit that makes gently used children’s books freely available to low-income children in Central Texas.

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Partnerships

Detavernier Strategic Communication announces partnership with Expandify

U.S. expansion

Detavernier Strategic Communication will provide exclusive content to Expandify’s Make It Big in the USA program. Agency clients can participate at a discounted rate.

Expandify, based in Menlo Park, CA, counsels European companies on their go-to-market strategy in the United States. The firm is led by Sophie Boutelegier, who recently spoke with us in this interview..

The Make It Big in the USA program is a three-month initiative that guides businesses through the nine steps required to succeed in the American market. Entrepreneurs and marketing managers learn how to prepare their organization, build a robust expansion strategy, and implement that strategy in a fast and efficient manner.

Detavernier Strategic Communication provides exclusive content to the program on how companies can promote their products and services in the U.S. market. Participants also receive a discount off the regular price for our services.

The first cycle is scheduled to begin on May 4.