The countdown to the Tokyo 2020 Games begins today (proudly sponsored by Omega the official timekeeper) with a number of events taking place across Japan to celebrate the “One Year to Go” mark.

One of the major events today was the unveiling of the "sustainable" medals that will be awarded to the athletes during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The medals make history by being crafted from 100% recycled metals.

Between April 2017 and March 2019, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) conducted the “Tokyo 2020 Medal Project”. The aim of the project was to collect small electronic devices such as used mobile phones from all over Japan to produce the medals.

Approximately 6.21 million devices were donated over the two year period to craft the 5,000 Olympic and Paralympic medals. The Tokyo 2020 Medal Project hit its metal collection target in July, 2019, generating 30.3kg of gold, 4,100kg of silver and 2,700kg of bronze.

Scopic works to help Japanese businesses grow globally, contact us to find out more.

Now more than ever before in our digital age, it’s important for both big and small businesses to have a crisis management and brand reputation plan ready to effectively respond to potential threats and crises.
 
Here are five essential crisis management tips to protect your business and brand's reputation.
 
1. Be prepared
Don’t wait until a crisis hits to create a crisis management and brand reputation plan. This means taking the time, now, to plan your approach; outline the procedure to follow, prepare key statements and messages, and identify the most appropriate channels of communication. Now, is also the time to select the spokesperson to manage and represent your business and brand throughout a threat or crisis.

2. Be open
Don’t remain silent. You may think that remaining silent and waiting for the threat or crisis to blow over will protect your brand, but no it won’t. Explain what occurred, make a formal apology and try to right the situation. If you’re honestly still waiting on facts a simple statement like “We’re aware of what has occurred and are currently looking into the facts.” Remember to never say “no comment.”
 
3. Be honest
Don’t lie. Always tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Trying to hide the facts will only result in more damage being done to your business. When a crisis does occur you must quickly collect the essential facts. What happened? When did it happen? How did it happen? Who was affected? What is the potential impact on your customers, employees and business?
 
4. Be quick
Respond in a timely manner to both customers, employees and media outlets. The longer you wait to communicate the more damage will be done to your business. This is why it’s crucial to have a crisis management and brand reputation plan in place as it allows you to respond quickly to potential threats and crises.
 
5. Be consistent
Maintain consistency by keeping to your crisis management and brand reputation plan at all times. Your plan may include a "public statement" that has been prepared according to potential scenarios that are related to your industry. By having such statements prepared and key messages at hand it’ll help your spokesperson maintain consistency. 

We all make mistakes, but having a crisis management and brand reputation plan ready to counter any potential threats in a transparent and timely manner will protect your business and brand's reputation.

Scopic works with you to protect and grow your brand, contact us to find out more.

Press Releases are a smart way to share your brand message or story with a wider audience.

1. Getting out there is fun, but getting picked up is the best part
Your press release headline and first paragraph need to grab the attention of the editor or journalist. Make sure you cover who, what, where, when and most importantly why your press release should make the news in the first paragraph. Remember to write in an inverted pyramid style – most important to least important, just like in the press.

2. Keep things clear, accurate and short
Write in short sentences, short paragraphs and keep the information clear and to the point. Include facts/data from a research paper or report as it is to the point and it's much more likely to be picked up by a publications. As a general rule, keep the press release to one A4 page. If your press release is picked up you will get the chance to add more detail later if required.

3. Quote someone special
People like to hear news from credible sources or experts in their field, so make sure to always include quotes. Using quotes will help make sure that your story is "newsworthy" and newsworthiness plays a central role in whether your story makes it to the presses.

4. Close on your brand story
A press release is all about building positive public interest/relations, but focus on the news first and keep a short "Brand Story/Message" to the end. Remember, a strong relationship between your business and media outlets is mutually beneficial. If all goes well journalists, bloggers, content creators, everyone will be sharing your brand story brand.

5. Make it look smart
Make sure you put Press Release (large font 14point) at the top of your page and remember when emailing media outlets make sure to have “Press Release” and your headline in the subject.  Remember to attach an image that works with the release…

Head your press release with the following:
Press Release
For Immediate Release – (Date)
Editors or journalists will need to have your media contact details to ask questions or to arrange an interview if required.

Close the press release with following:
Media Contact:
Email:
Phone:
Press Release Ends

Scopic helps you engage and build new audiences through creative communications, contact us to find out more.

Media Releases or Press Releases are extremely effective ways to share your brand story with a wider audience.

1. Make sure your media release gets picked up
Your media release headline and first paragraph need to grab the attention of the editor or  journalist. Make sure you cover who, what, where, when and most importantly why your media release should make the news in the first paragraph. Remember to write in an inverted pyramid style – most important to least important, just like in the newspapers.

2. Keep things short and simple
Write in short sentences, short paragraphs and keep the information clear and to the point. As a general rule, keep the media release to one A4 page. If your media release is picked up you will get the chance to add more detail later if required.

3. Quote someone of authority 
People like to hear news from credible sources or experts in their field, so make sure to always include quotes. Using quotes will help make sure that your story is "newsworthy" and newsworthiness plays a central role in whether your story makes it to the presses. 

4. Save your brand story for the end
A media release is all about building positive public interest/relations, but focus on the news first and keep a short "About Us" to the end. Remember, a strong relationship between your business and media outlets is mutually beneficial.  

5. Professionally format your media release
Make sure you put Media Release (large font) at the top of your page and remember when emailing media outlets make sure to have “Media Release” and your headline in the subject.

Head your media release with the following:
Media Release
For Immediate Release – (Date)

Finally, editors or journalists need to have your contact details to ask questions or to arrange an interview if required.

Close the media release with following:
Media Contact:
Email:
Phone:
Media Release Ends

Scopic connects people through creative communications, contact us to find out more.

Scopic is a Japan-based communications and marketing consultancy that helps businesses communicate globally through the shaping and implementation of smarter communications, marketing and sales solutions. We work with your business to plan, create, and activate whatever is needed to market and grow your business.

If you're interested, connect with us via the emails below:

Communications Inquiry
hello@scopiccommunication.com
Business Process Outsourcing [BPO] Inquiry
global@scopiccommunication.com
Copywriting Job
editor@scopiccommunication.com
Account Enquiry
accounts@scopiccommunication.com