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10 ways | shop talk


6 Put in the time You don’t have to be a public


relations or journalism major in college as Doncsecz was, but becoming a go-to person for the media takes effort. Her weekly spot on Fox involves pitching several stories a week, emailing talking points and getting up at 4:30am on the day of the show as “news can change on a dime.”


7


Cultivate relationships


Ann Morgan Scully, president of McCabe World Travel, has strong ties with top travel reporters. She once spent 100 hours on research helping a reporter who asked her to rank golf courses. “By the end, I felt like I’d had a master class in golf. Reporters have a lot of resources so you want to be the one they come back to.”


ASK ASTA


ASTA believes that travel agents who successfully convey their messages in the media attract new clients, promote travel generally and become the voice of travel in the media, rather than letting unqualifi ed pundits speak for the industry. As such, the Society’s online E-library has a dedicated section on Public Relation Programs


where users can fi nd a range of media-focused reports, papers and guides, including everything from ready-made speeches and presentations to media training, grassroots PR materials and a guide to participating in the political process. Each year, numerous bills circulating through Congress and state legislatures are proposing


taxes on agency service fees, changes in business taxation, potential solutions for health care reform and many other policies affecting travel professionals. This guide details the many ways to participate in the policymaking process and grassroots PR campaigns, and infl uence positive change for the travel industry. asta.org/elibrary


Talk in sound bites


“It’s worth taking the time to craft your main points into quotable sound bites,” says Scully, who estimates she made more than $1m from being included in a single article in Forbes.com. When someone asks for an interview, she always asks to set up a time rather than speak off the cuff. “That way, I can do research if needed and present my information succinctly.”


Brand your message


Scully suggests framing your messages with statements such as “We at McCabe Travel...” to brand your information and tell the story of you and why you’re different. You can’t ensure that a reporter will use everything — or anything — you say, she notes, “but if your experience can help others and you use real-life anecdotes to tell your story, it helps.”


You’re on the record


Years ago, a news reporter from the Washington Post called and asked Scully for her reaction to an incident in Egypt. “I thought we were just chatting and my fi rst reaction was ‘that’s scary as hell.’ What quote do you think blared out on the front page?” This impromptu dealing with the media made her realize that “the interview starts the minute you pick up the phone.”


fall 2015 | ASTAnetwork | 41


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