Gantt charts are soooo last century. But we dusted one off for a new engagement.
Reason: Our new client had never hired a media relations firm. They were uncertain what we would be doing on a day-to-day basis and whether or not we would deliver results.
That’s when we dusted off our friend Mr. Gantt:
Taking into account the client’s business, we knew we could get them up to 40 solid media hits per month after 12 months.
The art was in communicating to them what we were layering in over time to drive their media hits from zero upward.
The Gantt chart spells this out in black and white.
- In the first month, we knew that simply introducing the client to the thousand or so reporters covering the beat in which the client operates would begin delivering hits at a rate of about 5 per month.
- We also knew that, after a month on the assignment, distributing their market commentary on a nearly daily basis would bring them safely up to about 10 hits per month.
- And finally, we knew that layering in contributor relationships starting in month three would get them comfortably to about 20 hits per month.
And so on…
The ROI on media placements is squishy at best. And that leads some clients to ask themselves, “What exactly is it they are doing?” The Gantt chart answers this, and overlaying anticipated results gets everyone on the same page.
Epilogue
It turns out that during our catch-up call with the client at the end of month two, we were delivering media hits to them at the rate of about 14 per month. Pretty good, but below plan. We told them we still had a few tricks up our sleeve and would ultimately deliver on the forecast. Because the client could see what was done and what was coming via the Gantt chart, they believed us.
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