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Doug Simon is the Founder & CEO at D S Simon Media. D S Simon Media is a recognized innovator in broadcast public relations and the creator of the industry’s first AI-Powered Broadcast Media Tour™. Since the start of COVID, the firm has scheduled and produced more than 5,000 media segments annually, further establishing itself as a category leader. Clients include top brands in healthcare, technology, travel, financial services, food and beverage, consumer goods, entertainment, retail, and non-profits. Established in 1986, the firm has won more than 100 industry awards.
TRANSCRIPT:
MIKE: Does an organization’s earned media need to be AI-optimized?
DOUG: Mike, thanks for stepping in as host. It’s fun to be on the other side of the podcast. The answer to your question is absolutely. That’s becoming one of the crucial questions is improving your generative engine optimization, GEO, sometimes also referred to as answer engine optimization, is the fastest growing way to get your organization discovered. Earned media is one of the key drivers of improving GEO. So, now it’s imperative that the content that you’re putting out there and the news coverage you generate is optimized.
MIKE: Doug, that was a great place to start. What exactly is the AI-Powered Broadcast Media Tour™?
DOUG: The AI-Powered Broadcast Media Tour™ tour takes the satellite media tour to the next level. Because satellite tours are so effective at generating earned media on a wide scale, the need to optimize them for AI search becomes incredibly important. What we do is identify the key questions people are asking when they are using large language models, such as ChatGPT, to search for information relevant to your product or service during the initial planning for the tour. These findings get integrated into the entire campaign.
MIKE: These are all great innovations. So, tell us how exactly does it work?
DOUG: It starts by identifying the keywords that are driving your campaign initiative and your organization’s sales growth. We then identify the top ten queries customers and B2B prospects are asking on the 11 top large language models, LLMs. We use that information to shape all the content that is produced, from the media pitch to the questions stations are asking, as well as the answers to those questions that your spokesperson is providing. We also provide competitive intelligence as to how your brand ranks against competitors in AI optimization.
MIKE: Now, how is it discoverable?
DOUG: In addition to the earned media reach, we create additional video content specifically designed to have your spokesperson answering the top queries. We include a transcript and distribute the content across the internet, fully optimized for AI search. This can also be used for social channels. Increasingly large AI language models like ChatGPT are actually starting to scour video content, so the effectiveness of this approach will only improve. Additionally, this is going to increase the likelihood that stations will not only book interviews but also place your segment on their website. They’ll be provided with the information that we know these AI search engines are responding to, further improving your discoverability on their websites.
MIKE: And if an organization does this, what sort of reporting is involved?
DOUG: At the start of the project, you’ll receive a report that scrubs the top LLMs to determine the key queries your customers and prospects are asking when they do AI searches for relevant information. We’ll also provide competitive intelligence on how your organization ranks against the top 30 brands across these LLMs. Of course, you’ll also get the same detailed media report that includes where the content is aired on broadcast outlets and web postings with date, time, and audience reach.
MIKE: And when it comes to pricing, why didn’t we raise our pricing when it comes to producing and executing these AI-Powered Broadcast Media Tours™?
DOUG: We made the investment in the platform to be able to optimize all of the content we create for discoverability through GEO. AI optimizing all your earned content isn’t a luxury, it’s a must-have, that’s why we didn’t raise our prices. Our AI-Powered Broadcast Media Tours™ for the first time integrate this capability within the satellite media tour. You can reach millions of people while increasing AI discoverability.
MIKE: All right, Doug, thanks so much for joining us. I know that this is going to be an exciting development, not only for D S Simon Media, but with the brands and organizations that we work with.
DOUG: Mike, it’s great to have you as such an important member of our team. And thanks for hosting the show for me.
