I noted in one of my previous blogs that I would talk about mediatude at a later date.  Well, today’s the day.  Mediatude is a concept I created that in its simplest terms, defines attitudes the media develops about whomever or whatever they are covering.  It can be positive or negative and most often affects how that person, company, team, etc. views the media.  If you’re being scrutinized by the media negatively, Toyota for example, you don’t like or trust the media and want to avoid them.  If the media is saying something positive about you or your company, you more than likely won’t mind commenting.  It’s natural to feel this way in both cases.  The trick is, however, to understand what the media’s position is (obligation to let public know the news) and manage the media to your advantage.  You may not like the media, but you can’t let them know that.

One way to manage the media is to use your corporate voice as a means of defining who you are, what your company stands for, what your personality is.  Your coporate voice should always be a part of your media statements and should be reflected from the top down in a company and in all communication documents (i.e. annual reports, advertising, marketing campaigns, etc.)  Sometimes, your corporate voice may need some tweaking or needs to change altogether.  Whatever the case, just make sure it is consistent.  That way, the public always knows where you stand.

Here’s a media equation to help you:  Corporate Voice + Mediatude = Public Perception.  Use your coporate voice to work with the kind of media coverage you get, and you will end up with a much more positive public perception.  If you don’t have a corporate voice in your company, create one; and, if you don’t know what your own individual corporate voice is, think about it, create one and use it to your advantage.