Public Relations: Interview Guidelines

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Intelligent Interviewing
Whether you’ve engaged a professional public relations fi rm or are fortunate enough to have journalists seek you out on their own, getting the interview is only half the battle. Sounding and looking good are essential to building credibility for your funds or individually managed accounts. The resultant third-party endorsements add credibility to your other sales and marketing efforts. A good public relations program revolves around delivering positive stories in well respected publications and broadcasts with extensive reach. A successful program delivers those same stories with your fi rm’s philosophies and messages in the forefront.

Intelligent interviewing allows you to be in control of what’s important. It ensures that your unique value proposition is communicated to the investing public. So, while being relaxed and natural with reporters and TV personalities is good, what’s best is being prepared and in control.

SunStar’s interview tips that follow are a distillation of the skills we teach and allow you to practice in Media Bootcamp, a program developed for portfolio managers and other spokespeople in your fi rm. You may fi nd it helpful to consult these tips before every interview opportunity.

What’s YOUR Story?
If your fi rm can’t articulate a clear, concise value proposition, stop right here. Without this critical fi rst step, there is no story to be told. Your face to the market will be undifferentiated at best, possibly even confusing. It’s time to take a step back, evaluate the strengths of your philosophy and process, the unique attributes of your products or managers and the distinct advantages you offer to your target market. That said, let the interviews begin.

When you’re called to do an interview, you’ll expect the reporter to ask the questions. You may even get them in advance. But that’s their story —not yours. To accurately and fully answer those questions, be sure you have your story internalized. This will allow you to cast your answers in a way that puts your fi rm in the best possible light.

Preparation is essential. Whenever possible, ask the journalist what his/her questions will be in advance. Some will accommodate your request, giving you time to think through your answers. Others won’t, so instead you should prepare your messages on topics such as:

• Why your asset class?
• Why your fund and process?
• Why your fund now?
• Recent decisions that had positive outcomes.
• Important themes in your portfolio.
• Top stocks and why you own them.
• Overweight sectors.

When you approach an interview with the key messages you want the public to hear at the top of your mind, your chances of delivering those
messages go up a hundred-fold.

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