Case Study: Nationwide Building Society

Long term training partner

Media First has delivered media and communications training to people throughout the building society, from graduates to those at boardroom level. The courses have covered print, radio and television interviews to help participants improve their understanding of the media and how it can be harnessed to communicate with their audience.

Our Account Managers design bespoke courses to meet the specific needs of the participants. The training is led by current journalists with decades of experience of working in the media, who know what it takes to engage an audience. They work with the participants to build their confidence, give them the skills to handle difficult questions and help them to develop, control and communicate key messages.

What makes Media First stand out as the company to deliver the training?

“We have used Media First for the media training of our spokespeople for many years now. They always tailor the course for the individual, which means every person who goes through the course gets real benefit.

“This is vital when people have very busy diaries, as we want them to come away feeling prepared for dealing with the media, not that they have wasted a day.

“After the courses, each of our spokespeople has fed back how useful the training was, not just for dealing with the media, but also within their wider roles.

“Annually we ask an independent company to analyse the media’s views of our press office, including our spokespeople, and Nationwide comes top in its sector for having knowledgeable spokespeople and giving access to them. Without the great training of our spokespeople by Media First we would not have been confident enough to put them out there with the media.”

Michelle Slade, Media Relations Manager, Nationwide

How have participants benefited from the training Media First has delivered?

Media First has designed and delivered bespoke training to almost 200 people from Nationwide and we are exceptionally proud of the overwhelmingly positive feedback we have received about our courses. Comments from those who have taken part in training recently include:

“The practical interviews with immediate feedback were excellent and really helpful. The training was a very good use of my time.”

Head of Current Account Customer Management

“This was a really practical experience - you can’t beat being put under pressure.”

Head of Personal Loans

“Being able to practice, review and analyse interviews in a safe environment was really beneficial.”

Senior Product Manager