As the specialist media trainer for luxury houses, we train people from every department and area of responsibility. For example, we provide Media Training for managers working for luxury brands so that they are well equipped to do interviews about issues such as developing new markets, achieving sustainability goals and making the most of the opportunities that e-commerce has to offer. Working closely with their in-house comms teams and public relations agencies, we prepare them to do interviews on these subjects with the Financial Times, The New York Times, Vogue Business, Bloomberg and other outlets.

We also provide Media Training for presidents, vice presidents and chief executives of these organisations who might be doing profile interviews or talking to journalists about major developments within their brands. We work with these senior people and their communications teams when they have just been appointed to head up a brand, or they’re taking on an exciting new role. We can help them convey the brand marketing messages to a journalist in a way that works for them and assist them in developing their narrative for the brand under their leadership.

We also work directly with the communications teams and PR agencies of luxury brands to help them deal with potentially difficult issues. These might include sustainability, supply chain management and the threat of adverse publicity because of a particular issue or incident.

One of the groups that we work with extensively – and enjoy providing Media Training courses for – are the artisans and craftspeople themselves. In our Media Training courses, we work with the comms teams of luxury houses to help these experts tell their stories, develop confidence, and use the kind of examples, anecdotes, and stories that journalists are always looking for. We also help them, as we do with all of our Media Training clients, to avoid getting drawn into areas that could be distracting or unhelpful. The craftspeople we work with tell us that they feel more comfortable and confident talking to journalists after undergoing role-play media interviews and practice workshop visits with our media trainers. All of our trainers have covered the luxury industry for a wide variety of international outlets.

Unlike the larger Media Training consultancies that employ salespeople to sell commoditised, standardised Media Training formats, people come to us because at Communicate Media Training, we create every course from scratch. Clients in the luxury sector also like us because the person they engage with at the start of the process to create a Media Training programme is the person who delivers the training, so they get exactly what they asked for.

Our Media Trainers will also manage ongoing support and contact. We’ll create a course to meet your exact needs. We can, for instance, develop a short, intensive one-to-one Media Training workshop for an artisan, store manager or other spokesperson who is to talk to a journalist and would like to build their confidence, identify key messages, express those messages confidently and authentically and be aware of any difficult issue; as well as knowing how to move away from it. At the other end of the scale, we also provide Media Training courses for four, five or six members of a luxury house’s management team. Here we work with them wherever they are based globally to deliver a comprehensive press, radio/podcast and TV/video training course covering all the issues and helping them develop their corporate and creative narrative.

Whatever the timescale, subject matter and budget, we can provide a course that works for you as a luxury brand.

Talking to the media implies both opportunities and risks for those working for luxury brands. In a competitive market, gaining media coverage provides you with a chance to promote your brand, tell a story about your exquisite craftsmanship, publicise a new store opening and talk about the exciting range of products that you’ll be launching this season. This kind of media coverage can complement your advertising and social media campaigns.

As a specialist Media Training company for luxury houses, we are acutely aware of how important brand image is in this sector. Doing a media interview without being adequately trained is risky for any professional, but this is particularly true for those representing a luxury label. We work closely with the PR companies and in-house communications teams of luxury houses to ensure that their spokespeople have a good idea of what a journalist is looking for, their key messages, and how to get those messages across.

We also help employees of luxury houses to use the kind of examples, case studies and even simple human anecdotes that journalists are always looking for. We help participants handle difficult questions and move away from irrelevant or unhelpful subjects. Most of all, we give them the confidence to take control of the media interview, thereby significantly increasing the chances of developing the kind of positive media coverage that those in the luxury sector are always looking for.

Spokespeople from luxury brands who do our Media Training courses find that they have a much better idea of what a journalist is looking for and how to gain more control over a media interview.

They tell us that they learn about identifying and articulating the type of stories that journalists are always looking for. Those working for luxury houses can develop their confidence because not only do they know what they want to say to a journalist, but they have lines to take if they are asked about issues that might be risky.

As well as building confidence, people who do our Media Training for luxury houses tell us that they polish up their general business communication skills. This might involve being more focused on the message in a meeting, using the kind of stories that help in everyday business communication to illustrate and prove a point, and refreshing their style of delivery. They become more confident and compelling presenters and lead meetings more effectively. Our presentation courses for luxury brands focus on these areas in particular.