Conflict in the Boardroom?

By Eric Seidel, CEO
The Media Trainers®

Conflict and controversy.

Two staples of the news media diet. Even when neither exists, you might find them fishing for one or both anyway.

And when they dangle their hooks, often they try baiting you with something someone else might have said, suggesting there’s more to the story than you’re willing to tell. This third person technique is a favorite since it often can be used ambiguously yet seems credible and legitimate, as well.

Business reporters can lean on analyst comments, for instance, just as CNBC’s Mark Haines did recently interviewing the new head of Anheuser-Busch Inbev, the Belgium-based beverage company that recently bought the St. Louis brewery.

Is there a culture clash inside the company, Haines asked, where the new owners are more of a "fly coach" mindset as opposed to the former first class style of Bud’s executives? Haines, of course, attributed the suggestion to a Wall Street analyst.

But CEO Carlos Brito didn’t bite. Instead, he very smoothly lined up his company with its customers and a clear message to those amorphous analysts: “We try to emulate what our consumers do. They fly commercial, I fly commercial…They’re our bosses.” (Click on video below to see and hear the question and answer.)

Brito’s answer was an excellent example of focus. He had a clear vision of who were his real, and intended, audiences in this interview and Mark Haines was not among them. Haines and his co-anchor served only as his conduit.

Fast Food Fight

vs.

How to Avoid Slamming Your Competition in the Media

by Eric Seidel, CEO

The Media Trainers, LLC

Reporters look for conflict. Some might even try to create it during an interview. (Hard to believe, I know, but some actually do try to manufacture this.) Conflict, and/or controversy, makes for a better story. Now, with a deep recession factored in, there’s more potential meat (you should excuse the pun) to go after, especially between competing brands.

And the food and restaurant industry offers a full menu of possibilities. We’ve seen stories about how high-end eateries are suffering while the so-called low-end, or fast food, stores are benefitting.

So that leads to the competition between those low-end restaurants, like Quiznos and Subway, both known for their submarine sandwiches. And it’s this head-to-head fight that seemed most interesting to Fox Business Network’s David Asman when he spoke with Quiznos CEO Rick Schaden. (Click on video below for the Q&A; it’s brief.)

Asman compared Quiznos vs. Subway to Avis vs. Hertz, Quiznos being his Avis of this particular fast food fight. Instead of reacting defensively, Schaden used the comparison to his benefit. Without saying it, he positioned his company as a David fighting Goliath; a guerilla marketer that enjoys the “fight” and uses edgy advertising.

Schaden never mentioned Subway by name. He was responsive to the question, but on his terms. In other words, he didn’t get sucked into Asman’s specific agenda, but instead made it an opportunity, and he took full advantage.

Learn to do these two things: (1) answer questions on your terms, and (2) be positive while the intention might be to incite a negative reaction, and you are well on your way to mastering the interview game.