By Niki Wheeler, Director, Launch,

We’ve all been there. Nothing on the cuts, alerts or social feeds on ‘D Day’ be it a campaign or brand launch or big news push.

Rather than putting your head the sand and pressing the snooze button, the best thing to do when the coverage hasn’t (immediately) landed is to face into the situation and take control when you’ve got ambitious KPIs to hit.

You’ll already have plotted out what’s in the calendar on embargo day and communicated with the client regarding likely outcomes (including additional elements they need to provide to help you out).

You’ve probably also provided ‘live’ feedback the night before things are supposed to land in order to manage expectations. Trust in your own culture here is important – with your team being realistic about what is a ‘hot lead’ vs a maybe. Hopefully the client has done some pre-briefings, interviews or bylines too.

Yet, despite good planning, hard work from the team and great intentions, you can’t always compete with natural disasters, the twists and turns of Brexit, royal babies or a big high street name going to the wall.

Unfortunately, nothing in our game is 100% guaranteed until it appears.

So, when it is nil points on your results tracker, it is critical to take a deep breath and set the tone – outlining your plan B to the client ASAP.

This means giving them a brief top-line on why you are where you are (slow burn story, big news events pushing you out, surprise competitor announcement). In my view, it’s imperative not to focus on excuses (however valid) but to give a clear and realistic view on what happens next. The major focus must be on what you’ll be doing to achieve the anticipated results – before they chase you or still worse, one of their bosses or colleagues chases them.

We often talk about ‘layering up’ an integrated sell in strategy which should mean that you and the team have already got a clear picture of what to do next – mostly because you’ve mapped (likely) scenarios.

Sometimes this means changing your targeting and deploying assets you’ve held back (research qs, fresh insights or quotes). It can also mean digging in to your budget so you can bolster your approach with a fresh range of tactics – including gifting, wires or additional influencer partnerships. Creativity and agility are also important – with total re-writes in order as you peg your story (authentically) to sexier breaking news or trends.

Most importantly though – it  means regular, transparent communications which provide clear updates on progress and even outline a plan C if necessary.

This is important whether you’ve worked with a client for years (who knows you pull things out the bag) or if it is your first rodeo (and you’ve got stuff to prove).

Overall though, the tougher sells can be a great learning experiences – whether it is broadening your little black book of media contacts or sharpening your nose for news.

Photo by Aliyah Jamous on Unsplash