An Interactive Media, Crisis and Moderator Training for Heartland Film
Crisis Training • Media Training
Heartland Film
Heartland Film is a nonprofit arts organization that runs the 11-day Heartland International Film Festival in October, the Academy Award®-Qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival in July, the Truly Moving Picture Award and additional year-round programs. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Heartland Film was founded in 1991 with the mission to curate, promote and celebrate thoughtful and engaging films from diverse perspectives.
BACKGROUND
All the films presented at a Heartland Film event have one thing in common: they do more than just entertain. The films selected inspire conversation, ignite imagination and shift perspectives.
A crisis can happen at any given moment to any organization. In Heartland Film’s situation, it could be a potential threat at an upcoming event, a rumor or false accusation that makes its way to the public, or extreme dissatisfaction with a film shown. Whatever the situation, having a communications plan to navigate a crisis is crucial to the success of the organization.
Bohlsen Group partnered with Heartland Film to conduct media, crisis and moderator training for core members of their team. We educated the team on various topics including interview tips & tricks, how to avoid or identify a crisis, how to prepare for a crisis situation and how to prepare moderators for their events.
Our Process
Step 1 - Preparation
Bohlsen Group started this project by re-educating ourselves on Heartland Film’s mission, goals and characteristics. To successfully educate their team, we knew we needed to understand their organization inside and out. This included research on valuable keywords and statements about the organization, insight into each of their events and other information to guide us with the creation and execution of the training.
As preparation, Bohlsen Group also outlined what the training would look like, who would speak on what subject and the order in which we would present the information. Having a clear, concise education plan was an important step to ensuring the success of our training.
Step 2 - Tactics
Bohlsen Group gathered all the information necessary to conduct the media, crisis and moderator training. Presentations were then developed to specifically educate and address Heartland Film’s needs. This information was then developed into customized binders for the Heartland Film representatives to refer to, should such a need arise.
Step 3 - Execution
On the day of the training, Bohlsen Group traveled to Heartland Film’s office to spend the morning and early afternoon presenting our knowledge and starting strategic discussions with their team. Each section lasted approximately 1-1.5 hours, leaving enough time after each segment to answer questions. The training also included the presentation of a mock crisis scenario. Heartland Film team members were able to apply the knowledge shared with them to practice their roles should a crisis occur. Lastly, mock media interviews were taped and analyzed together as if it were a real-life scenario taking place in real time. This was an effective way to evaluate and assess for areas of improvement.
THE OUTCOME
Bohlsen Group left Heartland Film with six of their team members armed with media, moderator and crisis training knowledge. Marketing Director, Jessica Chapman, said “We all feel so much more confident about how to identify and manage a crisis and conduct any type of speaking engagement or media interview after the training. And the comprehensive binder of materials will carry us forward for many years to come.”