THE BRIEF
In 2025, FESPA elected a new President and appointed a new Global Business Development & Regional Manager for the Americas. With FESPA’s flagship Global Print Expo 2025 taking place in May and FESPA Mexico happening in September, it was vital to ensure that these new spokespeople could navigate planned and impromptu interviews and confidently represent FESPA across various media platforms.
THE APPROACH
Based on the successful delivery of multiple media training sessions for FESPA over more than 20 years, FESPA again approached AD Communications to run tailored media training for these new spokespeople by leveraging our deep knowledge of the organisation, the speciality print communities it serves, and key industry talking points. Recognising their differing needs and experience levels, we recommended two separate classroom-style sessions, tailored to each participant.
Both sessions included in-depth discussion of media interview best practices, interview preparation, filmed role-play interviews with instant playback and feedback, as well as social media dos and don’ts, all tailored to their respective roles and responsibilities.
Thanks to our extensive experience of the sector, specialist media reporting on FESPA, and with a former industry editor as part of our team, we were able to anticipate likely talking points and prepare both spokespeople for potentially challenging questions.
Appreciating that interactions with journalists often take place in informal settings, we also offered guidance on how to navigate social situations where conversations with editors may arise.
We explored the remit of both trainees and advised on how they could professionally deflect questions outside their remit, helping them handle situations confidently when lacking specific domain expertise. We also addressed delivery, body language and tone of voice, with a focus on maintaining composure under pressure. Reviewing the video footage enabled participants to identify areas for improvement and refine their approach with our guidance.
The media training was an outstanding, highly valuable experience. I gained practical insights into effective communication strategies, partocularly for high stakes and time-sensitive interview settings.
Arturo Morales de la Campa
Global Business Development & Regional Manager – Americas
FESPA
