Reed Elsevier - Media Training

Challenge: Reed Elsevier – former Director of Corporate Relations
Catherine May is Director of Corporate Relations and Communications at Reed Elsevier. Once a year she organises a summit bringing together communications personnel from across the business. This is an important opportunity for Catherine to reaffirm the lines of communication with staff working across Europe and the US and there is always a great deal of pressure to deliver an enjoyable yet constructive meeting.

Solution: The Aziz Corporation

The Aziz Corporation worked closely with Catherine and one of her PR consultants to prepare a highly detailed role-play exercise centring on an acquisition.
The scenario was made as real as possible by formulating all the minutiae of the purchase from the financial information of the target company to the details of its operations. The take-over created national competition issues in at least two markets, as well as employment issues and the reactions of an extremely sceptical trade union.

Benefits: “oh, but I’ve already been media trained”
The training session was judged to be a great success by all involved, even those members of the Reed Elsevier team who had previous experience of dealing with the media.

“People say, ‘oh, but I’ve already been media trained’. However, it’s not something you can do, tick off and move on. You have to keep putting yourself out there to hone and refresh your skills.”