Develop a strategic media relations plan for a client situation outlined below.

The challenges for the media pitch assignment are:

To identify newsworthy angle(s) to pitch to a media organization.
To research the appropriate media (both print and broadcast) to contact for your pitches.
To propose the recommended strategies to reach identified media for a prospective client, and to outline the required steps and timelines for implementation of your media pitches.
The plan should be comprehensive and incorporate all of the elements of a strategy as taught in class.
Grading for this will consider

The newsworthiness of the developed angle(s), and the final media pitch
The appropriateness and creativity of the media strategies used to connect to specific media.
The quality of the supporting research. How do you know this is the right media outlet to connect with and why could this pitch be considered for news coverage?
This plan must be professionally represented, and ready for final approval by a potential client.

The following situation is a mix of real and made-up details for the purposes of the assignment. You are not to contact any of the media or people mentioned it the scenario. Include all the potential media outlets you want to contact in your plan. Remember this is a plan, not the implementation stage, and you would still have to get final approval from a supervisor, manager, executive team or client.

 

Scenario:

Vidyard, a local high-tech firm that creates video tools for sales and marketing teams, has moved to a new space in a restored historic building at the corner of King and Queen Streets in downtown Kitchener.

Michael Litt, the founder of the company, recently gave a virtual tour of the building that incorporates the architectural details of the historic building combined with the modern amenities that you would expect in a high-tech company. There are lots of meeting and collaboration spaces, a play area featuring a modern kitchen with a soda water dispenser that distributes any flavour that you can imagine.

 

It also has a roof top patio, and great sightlines with restored windows that allow people using the space to see up and down King Street and Queen Street and look on to a new civic space created nearby on Queen. It is also about a Tim Horton's restaurant and has easy access to coffee and other foodstuffs.

The real attraction is the drop-in spaces for employees who can work in the office or work from home and set up shop wherever they like. That includes quiet areas and spaces for collaboration that modern high-tech workers prefer. There are also conference rooms with video hookups to allow you to present meetings virtually or in person.

The company is planning to hold a grand opening event on Feb. 25, at 1 p.m., when they hope to invite the public to view their new locations and the attractions of the modern workspace. That day will feature tours and demonstrations and a kickoff event featuring Litt and his senior management team.

In addition to the grand opening festivities, they are hosting a talk featuring Elizabeth Metcalfe, a modern office architect and influencer who helped design the space and will highlight how combining the old and the new is such a focus of high-tech space redesign. She has a big following on social media and will broadcast this live to her followers around the world.

Vidyard has hired you as a media relations specialist to get the word out about this event to highlight the great work the company is doing and the adaptive reuse of the building that they've taken over.

In addition to being a great way to celebrate the company's accomplishments, Vidyard also views this as an opportunity to recruit new talent and attract them to new workspace and working conditions they are highlighting. With Covid protocols easing they want to reassure people it's time to come back to the office, and demonstrate what a modern office has to offer.

They don't mind also taking a leadership role in the local tech community and showing off a little bit about why this area is called Silicon Valley North.