Are you already battling the January blues?
The first few weeks of the year can often feel pretty bleak as festivities end and decorations come down, but the miserable weather remains.
January could do with a bit of a PR rebrand.
But amid the doom and gloom, there has been a great feel-good story that also offers media interview and story-pitching lessons for the year ahead.
Step forward Crystal Palace.
The Premier League club has become the first in the world to offer permanent technology for visually impaired fans to improve their match experience.
The Give Vision headset acts as a giant magnifying glass, zooming in on parts of the pitch and around the stadium.
And it takes footage live from the host broadcast feed, allowing users to watch the game in real time.
Crystal Palace football club has become the first in the world to offer permanent technology for fans who are visually impaired, to improve their match experience
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 5, 2025
Read more🔗https://t.co/oF8zIMkUR3
There’s much to love about the story, which you can watch here.
But one of the reasons it stood out was that it had an excellent case study to help bring it to life and make it resonate.
Palace fan Neale Ormston spoke passionately to Sky News about the impact of his visual impairment on his love of going to football matches.
"For me, football has always been part of my life,” he said.
“If you ask my wife, she’ll say it is my first love.
“But it got to the point where I was just going to stop, not do my season ticket anymore, and stay at home.”
But the new technology has transformed his matchday experience.
"It's given the enjoyment factor a complete buzz," he said.
"Being able to see the far side of the pitch. Fans cheering. It's fantastic.
“It's enabling people to come back and be part of something instead of being stuck at home and just listening. Partake. Enjoy. Sing. It's what it's about.
“It's the love of the game."
As we stress during our media training courses, genuine human case studies and examples are crucial for stories gaining coverage.
They bring the vital human element. And we are all fascinated by the lives of other people.
We want to see and hear what real people think, not just what CEOs and other leaders have to say about their new products, initiatives or services.
Alongside Neale, the story also featured the people who developed the technology.
And Joanne Liddington, from Give Vision, did a great job of making complex technology easy to understand by comparing it to something we are more familiar with.
“It works by stimulating some of the photoreceptor cells.
“So, you can think about it a little bit like when people use hearing aids – it allows them to kind of regain some of that hearing. And it is the same with the headset with sight.”
Explaining complex information and ideas without losing or confusing the audience is tricky. And it can be the downfall of media interviews. It is something we often notice delegates struggle with at the start of our media training courses.
Simplicity is crucial. And relatable comparisons can help the audience grasp ideas and make them memorable.
Click here to get you free media interview briefing template. The handy guide ensures spokespeople are best prepared for that crucial next media appearance. It covers media interview essentials, developing key messages and making them resonate, anticipating difficult questions and expert tips for success.
The story featured a third interviewee – Crystal Palace’s chief operating officer Sharon Lacey.
She was able to address the media’s desire to look into the future, outlining her hopes that other clubs will soon use the technology.
“There are some meetings going on with other clubs behind the scenes to see if it can be implemented elsewhere,” she said.
“I think it is really important we all pull together and understand that one in 30 people have a sight issue.
“So, if we can pull together and make this good for our fans home and away and other clubs do the same, I think it will make a real difference to the sport.”
The story is also a reminder of the desire for positive stories in the media.
The news agenda often feels heavy, and media outlets understand that audiences also want stories that offer hope and relief from an all too often grisly world.
So, stories that inspire, uplift and entertain can result in brilliant coverage and PR wins.
And that’s a vision we can all get behind.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with nearly 40 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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