For most times as PR professionals we are conditioned to think beat wise…the same way as journalists do…and the conditioning more often than not finally concludes itself into a media list for a specific beat and there ends all possibilities of communications…I think so. I will tell you why.

Now let’s say for example, you are assigned a particular Client in the infrastructure space. The first step is to work on a media list of the media covering the infrastructure beat. Similarly you are assigned a Client in the education beat; likewise you start working on a media list for that space. What happens in that process is that we leave out possibilities of generating stories for that Client in other opportunities that are not necessarily related directly to him. But he or she can still have some scope of potential talents and Clients and can have a say and just because we limit ourselves only to think beat wise, the Client loses out on visibility opportunities.

Now consider a situation where let’s say you are assigned a Client in the Aviation space…Now ideally you would only prepare a basic Aviation Media list…But lets say you increase the scope of your media lists to HR, Media and Marketing, Education, CSR and along with that chart out an audience map to see if you can reach out to your TG through alternate and new age media as well as other routes in the communication space. We all in situations of ultimate need and dire adversity do end up working on all those media lists for the same Client…but how about preparing it when the Client is signing you on.

So the Aviation Client could contribute in HR stories related to training, retention, requirements and capabilities for the job, profiling of HR spokespeople who are managing such massive talent in their fields, since Aviation is related directly to people over and above just being a part of the travel and tourism industry. The Client could find mention in Educational supplements in stories related to Institutes from where they hire talent, how to prepare to get into the Aviation industry etc. The Client could find mention in Media and Marketing stories where he could comment on media spends and ad spends on their ATL initiatives, the mass media strategy to reach out to their TG etc…

All am trying to say is that think beyond one particular beat…since most industries today overlap, and work in mutual coexistence. Most organisations today find themselves dabbling in multifarious businesses and all you have to understand or find one converging point and make it relevant for the journalist to think that he should get your Client to participate in a story that not necessarily is directly related to him.

But trust me it all still makes sense…since the TG is not one homogenised group of people…you never know who you could touch and connect with and fructify the purspose of being a communications consultant by availing an opportunity to your Client to give him a relevant platform to get his POV across…it just needs a little bit of your time to see the relevance and think beyond one master beat specific media list.

If you are already doing it…GREAT If not, may be now is the time to start