Media 101: Fortune Favours the Prepared
Most of us love watching a media train wreck. But are you, your boss, or your client ready to step up and drive the train? Brad Banducci's excruciating encounter with Four Corners offers some valuable lessons for all of us, as Anacta Communications Director Christine Jackman outlines below.
Brad Banducci walks out of an interview with Four Corners (Photo credit: ABC)
WOOLWORTHS CEO Brad Banducci’s announcement that he will quit the role later this year (2024) is the final act in a saga guaranteed to be studied by students of strategic communications for years to come.
(For those who missed the saga, Banducci announced his “retirement” a day after a disastrous appearance on Four Corners on 19 Feb, 2024, which you can watch here.)
We’re likely to see plenty of background briefing to the media in coming days explaining how Banducci came to sit down for a long interview with the ABC’s Four Corners program so hopelessly underprepared.
I’ll leave the personal point scoring and blame shifting to others. For now, the critical lesson is that too many political and business leaders still undervalue the importance of good communications advice and solid media training and preparation.
As a former political journalist and foreign correspondent who has advised and trained numerous leaders about how to deal with people like myself and my old colleagues, I am regularly surprised about how ignorant many otherwise highly accomplished executives and politicians can be about the media. Despite the demonstrated potential for a poor on-camera performance or a few ill-advised words to damage their organisation’s brand, drive down share price or voter approval, or even end careers, many busy leaders simply don’t make the time for adequate training or advice.
There a few common reasons for this:
First, in many cases, experienced communications teams and advisers are still kept out of the C-Suite and too far away from an organisation’s key decision-makers. But in the era of 24/7 scrutiny by the media and a general public who have been weaponized by social media, that attitude is outmoded and dangerous. While your boardroom may be packed with experts in your organisation’s inner workings and the bottom line, an experienced strategic communications specialist looks outwards, and is likely the best person to tell you how the public will react to your latest activity.
Second, leaders often make the mistake of thinking that they don’t need training in how to tell their organisation’s story, because they live and breathe it every day. But outside the comfort of the boardroom or office, telling that story to the media is like speaking a different language. And it's not just about the actual words you choose. Performing well before a camera or microphone requires training in body language and vocal delivery; there’s good research to show that more than 50% of your impact with a TV audience will be determined by body language alone.
On that point, it’s worth noting here that Banducci’s appearance on Four Corners, dressed in a Woolworths supermarket staffer’s uniform with a name badge, was a contrived misstep. It “failed the pub test”, as they say in politics. Viewers know you’re the boss; this was just over the top.
Third, very occasionally, there are some people who struggle with media or public speaking despite training. These can be the toughest cases, especially if the leader can’t “see” the problem or doesn’t want to admit it. At that point, there needs to be an intervention and a Plan B put in place; perhaps an alternative spokesperson needs to be trained and/or the media strategy refined so that your leader is used only for veru specific opportunities. A person who struggles with TV, for example, may be excellent in sit down interviews with newspapers.
In summary, underestimate the media at your peril – and the peril of your organisation and brand. Forewarned is forearmed. If you don’t incorporate reliable and experienced strategic communications advice as part of business as usual, perhaps it’s time to start.