Crisis management, media training, media relations and being a media spokesperson.
Sector experience
Mining, manufacturing, real estate, education, not-for-profit, tourism and recreation, small business, associations, government (Premier’s office).
Career background
Thirty years in radio and TV. Press secretary to Premier Christy Clark.
Education
Bachelor of Commerce from UBC.
If you were going to write an autobiography, what would it be called?
On Your Side.
Favourite part of Peak life
The excitement of getting a positive story in the news through the efforts of everyone on the team.
Career highlight
Creating my own brand in TV, ‘Olsen on Your Side,’ and helping thousands of consumers make better decisions in their lives.
Favourite B.C. pastime
Boating on Okanagan Lake.
Random fact
Originally I was a play-by-play sports broadcaster and rock-and-roll disc jockey, and was with the group at UBC which gave CiTR 101.9 FM (student radio) its name.
10 years of agency experience in the UK and Canada
EDUCATION
MA in Postcolonial Literature from Leeds University
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Currently the Communications Director at the Canadian Public Relations Society in Vancouver
IF YOU WERE GOING TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, WHAT WOULD IT BE CALLED?
Ticking off the ‘To Do’ List
FURTHEST FLUNG CITY YOU’VE LIVED IN?
London, UK
FAVOURITE PART OF PEAK LIFE
Ringing the bell to celebrate a new client joining our ranks
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
Managing a client’s communications during the UK’s infamous phone hijacking scandal that resulted in the country’s most long standing newspaper closing down
FAVOURITE BC PASTIME
Hiking, skiing and surfing – the outdoor life in BC is an adventurer’s playground
RANDOM FACT
Charlotte was recognized as one of Canada’s 30 Under 30 PRs by PR in Canada in 2014
While the media landscape is constantly changing, the importance of getting your message to your target audience hasn’t.
Media relations is the stable tool in any public relations program. It can increase your brand awareness, improve SEO, drive traffic to your website and increase your customers.
Peak was founded by two well-networked TV journalists, giving us an edge with the media — and we’ve since earned the reputation as the go-to agency in Western Canada for delivering quantity and quality media coverage. We’ve represented almost 500 clients and secure thousands of media hits each year from a local to national level.
Part of our job is being informed which communications channels – new or established – will have the greatest impact. We keep a close watch on the forecast for traditional media such as print, TV and radio, and the uptake and readership of blogs, social media and review sites. These insights inform our tailored campaigns.
Many clients ask us about the benefits of media relations when compared to advertising. To generate coverage, we need journalist buy-in on your story. This validation means the resulting coverage can be used as a third-party endorsement for you to showcase.
Predominantly media relations involves identifying and pitching news, features or opinion pieces to media. We do this as a matter of routine, as well as consider other tactics that can support your objective such as:
Identifying award opportunities
Identifying speaker opportunities
Hosting news conferences
Hosting consumer events
There are many more tactics for reaching your audience. We would work with you to identify which would be most effective.
Let’s chat about your media relations needs. Call us on 604-802-7139 to arrange a free consultation.
The Nature Trust of British Columbia, a leading land conservation organization based in BC, recently called for donations to acquire and protect the Salmon Estuary River on Vancouver Island. Here lies a critical land that provides a year-round habitat for some of BC’s rarest wildlife and fish species, including Great Blue Heron, Marbled Murrelet, Northern Pygmy Owl, Roosevelt Elk, and eight species of salmonids.
F-Pacific Optical Communications Co. Ltd. announced the establishment of their North American headquarters in Vancouver and plans to open a new manufacturing plant in Surrey that would create 200 jobs. The campaign resulted in over 50 pieces of coverage, equating to over 47 million impressions.
Please visit the F-Pacific case study page for more information on the previous work we’ve done for this client.
Hundreds of buyers lined-up at the WestStone Properties Evolve sales centre for an opportunity to buy a home in the 35-storey concrete condo tower in Surrey, which boasts prices starting at $93,900 during pre-construction.
The foundation of successful communication is clear writing. If you want your message to get across and be taken seriously you need to be clear.
Some people believe that in order to gain attention, their story needs to be BIG and that leads to exaggeration.
One year at CTV Vancouver, we were major offenders ourselves. We had to ban the term “parent’s worst nightmare” because we used it so often on our newscasts. It had become lazy shorthand for almost every story involving a child. A child’s serious life threatening illness was a parent’s worst nightmare. A child being bullied was also a parent’s worst nightmare. So too were a murdered child, injured child, a missing child, even a close call involving a child. It was unnecessary hype which detracted from the news rather than enhancing it. Our news had become a parent’s worst nightmare.
You see this phenomenon in other storytelling. I had a chuckle recently when the price of oil rose by about three dollars overnight and business writers said it had “skyrocketed,”“soared,” or “surged” higher.
The writers might defend themselves by saying a seven per cent overnight move in oil prices, albeit temporary, is a big move, but in saying so it lacked context. It ignored the fall that preceded it. By having a narrow focus on just a few hours, the writers looked foolish to anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of the oil market.
Imagine you are watching a movie where actor Jackie Chan jumps off a 107 foot tall building. I like Jackie Chan; he does all his own stunts and has the bruises to show for it. At the 45 foot mark Jackie hits an awning and bounces up about three feet. Would movie goers gasp and say “look at him skyrocket! Wow Jackie is soaring!”? I think not.
Oil had fallen from a high of $107 in the summer to about $45 before thisskyrocketing, soaring, surging move happened. That’s the proper context.
Here are seven ways to avoid similar news release exaggeration, that makes you and your company look silly:
Never forget the context. Context is important and relates not only to you but also to your community and sector in which you operate. So for example, your “best year ever” may be true, but if your competitors have grown twice as fast as you, you might want to focus on something else—like innovation or new product development.
Don’t be lazy; be creative. Clichés such as “parent’s worst nightmare” are a crutch. Don’t use what you used last time by default. Take the time to be creative and get it right.
Be specific. If it’s your best year ever, what is the measure? Sales, sales growth, staff growth, profit, happy customers?
The headline needs to match the story. The headline at the top of the news release needs to be supported by the words below. A critical error is using a jaw-dropping headline which isn’t supported by the facts. It causes media blood pressure to shoot up with excitement and they get let down by the content. A disappointed assignment editor will kill your future story opportunities.
Stick to what you know and can prove. Facts are important. Media will want proof and if you can’t prove what you are saying then a positive event can turn negative in a hurry. Media are like sharks, when they smell blood in the water a feeding frenzy begins. Don’t believe me? Ask a media person. Feeding frenzy is a news media term not limited to the Nature Channel.
Tell your best unique story. If everyone in your industry is telling the same story, highlight what makes your story unique. If you can’t think of anything fresh, neither will the media.
Be flexible. If it’s a busy news day, your story is not getting on. It means your plans need to be flexible. If breaking news has made your story no longer relevant for that day, make yourself available tomorrow. Show you understand the needs of the media and it will pay off down the road. Don’t get mad that your story was bumped, even if the media cancelled an interview at the last second; get your story out there the next day instead.
One final thought. Every time you interact with the media you are making an impression, even when the media decides not to run your story. A good impression means you will get a fair hearing next time while a bad impression closes that door, sometimes forever.
Bell Media CEO Kevin Crull has to go. Wendy Freeman, president of CTV News, must go too.
How can viewers of Canada’s largest private broadcaster have confidence in this news source when the owner dictates how news is covered and the head of news allowed it fearing for her job? In an unprecedented statement from Canada’s broadcast regulator, the CEO of Bell Media which owns CTV was lambasted for meddling in news coverage.
Crull has apologized for interfering in CTV’s coverage of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission’s decision to allow less expensive cable and satellite TV ‘pick and pay’ options which could impact Bell Media’s bottom line.
An obviously enraged Crull banned CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais from all CTV news coverage after he saw him interviewed on Bell-owned BNN, a business television channel.
Fearing for the loss of her job, CTV News chief Wendy Freeman caved in and allowed the manipulation until more ballsy news people in her organization gathered ranks and put Blais on the late news. But Freeman’s waffling and giving up editorial control under pressure let down all those who work in CTV newsrooms across the country.
Real reporters put their jobs on the line when told how to cover news or to leave out elements that balance coverage. They push back harder when their own management tries to influence what should be fair and objective news coverage for commercial interests.
Crull’s weak mea culpa explanation of how he was merely suggesting coverage that showed the impact of the CRTC decision, apparently without the CRTC chairman’s input, is not enough.
Enlightened Canadians will wonder what other news stories have been ‘shaped’ by CTV’s ownership. What credibility does CTV News have now?
Years ago, I was one of three reporters who strongly protested a decision by the television station president who blocked coverage of a lawsuit launched by disgruntled contestants of a game show produced there.
We told him this could never happen again and pointed out the damage that could be done to the station’s reputation as well as our professional reputations. To my knowledge, there was no further meddling.
That was immediate action with a strong statement to maintain independence and objectivity in reporting news. Bell Media and CTV also have to make the strongest statement possible to regain and retain credibility. That can only be done with the removal of those who don’t uphold these principles.
For those regulars on the Peak blog, you’ll recall that, towards the end of last year, we shared some tips from the Art of Leadership conference.
There were a lot of key takeaways that day so here are a few more to consider when looking at how you can be a more effective and inspirational leader (or start working towards becoming one).
Overall, some of the main points that stood out to me included:
Leadership is about values and behaviour
It’s about having the right set of goals that everyone is aware of
Collaboration is a key leadership quality
Positivity goes a long way
At one point, the conference host remarked, “True leadership happens when you’re not in the room.” That struck a chord with me as so often we feel like we have to be extremely involved with a process or team in order to achieve the desired outcomes. This statement challenges that concept. True leadership essentially should make everyone a leader.
Dr. Vince Molinaro of Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions was also one of the conference speakers. Dr. Molinaro emphasised the important of getting the best out of people, of leadership accountability, and the skill of being able to connect strategy and leadership.
He brought his approach down to four key terms that leaders need to sign up to – in what he called “The Leadership Contract”:
Decisions: Define who you are as a leader. Be deliberate in your decision making. Differentiate between you as a person and you as a leader.
Obligation: As a leader, you have to step-up. It’s your job to make things better. What’s your leadership legacy? You want to ensure you leave a company in a better and sustainable state for the future. Position your company for success.
Get tough! As a leader, you still have to tackle the hard work. Ensure you have regular check-ins with yourself and question whether you’re wimping out on anything you shouldn’t be. Make those tough decisions and have candid conversations.
Connect! Ultimately you’re leading a community. Who has got your back? Clarity breeds commitment.
It’s easy to listen to the theory. But, in order to grow as leaders, we need to look at how we can realistically apply some of these theories to our day-to-day work. Something as simple as creating a checklist or assessing more challenging situations and how you approached them can be a really effective way of continual learning. And don’t be afraid to seek feedback from your colleagues. It’s the best way to learn.
