When you work in communications, there is always a reason to stay at your desk: a launch to prepare, a statement to review, an interview that needs organising. Finding time to attend an event is always challenging and means moving other things around, especially when you work on a global level and have to be thoughtful about where to go.
Still, part of our job is helping journalists get to know the brand and the people behind it. Email is essential to how we work, but spending time together allows for a more natural conversation and gives them a better sense of who we are.
That is part of why we returned to the Travel Media Awards this year, with Holafly sponsoring the Specialist Travel Writer of the Year category (won by Gavin Haines by the way!), and the lanyards for the second time. And, I think there is real value in that: you do not get some of the best travel journalists in the same room wearing a lanyard that says Holafly every day.
Those spaces also remind you how much gets lost when we reduce media relations to a list of names and publications; two journalists covering travel may have very different interests, readers and ways of approaching a subject, something the Travel Media Awards also recognise by giving different stories and approaches space to shine.
When you work globally, as we do, those events and the lessons you learn along the way make you very aware of how much depends on local knowledge. A story that feels timely in one country can have little relevance in another, sometimes because of cultural context or local interests, and understanding those differences is where good agency partners make an enormous difference.
I value agencies that can tell us honestly when an idea needs to change, explain what we are missing and help us understand why a story is unlikely to work. That judgement requires them to know our business well and have strong relationships in their own market, while also requiring us to listen, including when their advice means reconsidering something we thought was already settled.
A global team brings the company’s direction, priorities and access to the business, while local partners bring an understanding of the media environment that takes years to develop. The work improves when both sides have enough trust to challenge each other and enough context to make decisions together.
Attending events creates useful time for that relationship, as working alongside an agency in its market lets you learn together, exchange impressions and better understand the advice that might otherwise arrive as a few lines in a weekly report. You come away knowing each other better and with a clearer sense of the work you are doing together.
We already recognise the value of meeting our internal teams in person, and the same should apply to our agencies. They are an extension of our team and the people putting our communications strategy into practice in each market, so making time to meet them helps build the shared understanding we rely on throughout the year.
For me, returning this year to the UK as a sponsor reflects a longer commitment, giving us the opportunity to see people again, continue conversations and recognise their work, but also, have a longer meeting with people we work with every day. There will always be plenty waiting in the inbox when we get back, but spending time with the journalists and partners we work with helps us approach that work with a better understanding of each other.
