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by Scott McClure on 4.15.2010 in Advertising, Brand Development, Interactive Marketing 0

Back in the day, as a young cub reporter for a daily newspaper, one of the first lessons I learned was the value of having reliable contacts. I’d spend at least some time each day talking with the mayor’s secretary, the deputies at the jail, the police dispatchers. It was usually just friendly conversations about the job, family, politics and the like, but establishing that bond and trust led to more than one call about breaking news, an important arrest, or a development that gave me an edge over competing media. My sources knew and understood my motives, and also knew that the information they shared would be treated confidentially and professionally.

Although my days of chasing police cars and investigative reporting have been replaced with days of client strategy meetings and fighting for share of voice, there is still tremendous reward to be gained from establishing and maintaining personal contacts. I try to set aside at least some time each month to call editor and publisher friends, association leaders, non-competitive agency contacts, and others associated with areas where Brighton serves clients. These contacts interact with the same target audiences that our clients want to reach, and usually provide their information from a different perspective.

The calls start with personal pleasantries – after all, many of these relationships reflect years of acquaintance – then shift into discussions about industry developments and what we’re hearing from the field or about others in the industry that we know.

These calls help me be an effective, timely source of information for our clients, better enabling me to keep them in the know regarding significant business developments or shifts, or simply industry buzz.  It also helps Brighton be a better strategic partner as we develop and implement timely, on-target marketing communications that move the needle with audiences.

And I think today’s new technology reflects the importance of personal interaction. Rather than just making a call from time to time, I find myself interacting with my key contacts on Facebook and Twitter on an ongoing basis. These tools are a great way to quickly get a read on developments and glean developing news across a broader network. If they had been around 30 years ago, I might have saved some mileage and time every day. But then again, I would have also missed some great coffee and jail house stories.

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