Beyond handshakes & photo-ops: Make lobbying fly-in days matter more

It’s that time of year. Associations and nonprofits are flying members into Washington to make their case to Members of Congress and their staffs to make laws, repeal laws, add money to special causes, or take money from someone else’s cause.

Lobbyists know that it’s hard to break through the noise without (a lot of) money. But the right PR assets can turn client handshakes and 15-minute meetings into media coverage that drives the policy changes your clients want.

Make your clients matter to the press

Lobbyists know more than almost anyone that building relationships the right way matters. You don’t want to lean hard on the new Member who isn’t on the relevant committee to cosponsor your bill, and the most articulate pitch will get rejected by media gatekeepers if it isn’t relevant to his or her beat.

Media gatekeepers – such as reporters, editors, and producers – will cover only that which meets the the Three Ts standard:

• The right Topic – in this case, your clients are meeting with key Members of Congress to achieve important outcomes.

• At the right Time – which is why you push an appropriations priority during the spring, just ahead of Congressional action on those bills, instead of over the Christmas recess.

• From someone with the right Title – such as the principal at the local school or leader of a regional business association.

One final tip – don’t rely on generic outreach to land your clients in the press. Double-check each outlet for its preferences and norms on matters like op-ed word counts, TV vs. text, and preferred voice styles.

This is a lot of prep work, but it’s worth it. And your client will likely approve the plan with minimal changes.

Get clients involved throughout the process

Once you and the client agree to incorporate the press into a fly-in strategy, maximize the value of earned media by involving the client all the way through. You don’t want to have the right quote go to the wrong outlet, or the client to prepare for a friendly interview when the interviewer opposes the client’s policy position.

We recommend asking and answering the following three questions with the client:

• What are the client’s skills and talents?

• What voice does the client want to represent?

• What mediums are best for those skills and voices?

This means working together to develop:

• Key talking points that you can turn into media-friendly quotes.

• Bullet points that can be turned into thought leadership essays.

• B-roll footage for TV appearances.

• Short videos for podcast pitches.

Again, this can be a complex process, which is why many shops bring in outside help for media training, content development, and pitching. But just as you’d never send a client into a Member meeting unprepared, it’s important to ensure that the client is well-prepared to place the correct narrative into the press.

Execution time

Once you’ve got the Three Ts in place, the outlets figured out, and the client is ready to go – it’s time to execute. Here are three ways we recommend securing press leading up to, during, and after fly-in visits:

• Co-branded press releases with friendly Member offices. These are usually pretty simple to put together, and they look great on social media, in newsletters, and on client websites. Just make sure to get the right photo-op to go along with it!

• Interviews and comments in relevant and accessible press. The folks representing your client’s opponents will go for longshot coverage at The Washington Post or The Wall Street Journal – let ‘em. You’ll rack up a bunch of medium-level hits at trusted local, regional, and industry outlets that will make national media headlines a foregone conclusion, even if it takes a little while.

And while your opponents are still trying to place the longshot interview, your client will be sharing all of their media success on social media to put constant pressure on Members to do what your clients want.

• Thought leadership from your clients and third-party authors. These op-eds can use the fly-in as a credibility hook, and drive home your client’s key talking points. Tailor them carefully so you can repurpose the same talking points for different audiences, such as regional stakeholders and industry leaders.

Nurture the relationships to create persuasion and pressure

Once your clients are in the paper or on TV, the media relationship must be nurtured. This doesn’t mean sending harassing press releases; it does mean keeping a cadence of relevant content in front of gatekeepers, and setting your client up for periodic Zoom and coffee meetings. Two ways to do that are:

• Look for other opportunities to share your insights with journalists whose beats include issues about which your clients care. The journalist who picked up your clients’ fly-in about safer cars might also want an interview when a local car accident makes the news.

• Keep the media apprised of when clients meet with members back home on district work-days,, which can be a boon for local news coverage. This may not seem like a big deal, but remember – your PR team is helping journalists earn a paycheck in a time when the entire industry is struggling to stay afloat.

Getting people to Washington is a huge effort that often seems to bring underwhelming results. Adding earned media to the mix brings better outcomes now and sets the stage for long-term persuasion, pressure, and policy that will make your clients happy – and bring in even more bucks for you.

Kelly Ferguson & Dustin Siggins originally wrote this piece for Real Clear Policy.