Fusion moves into media training with Westin workshop.
Fusion Marketing has set up a specialist division to cope with the increasing demand in the Gulf’s tourism industry for media training. The Dubai-based communications agency conducted its first workshop with 15 hotel professionals from the new Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.
Westin staff attended the intensive workshop ahead of the hotel’s opening in a bid to become better communicators with the local and international press. “It was extremely useful and will help us communicate the ‘Westin Difference’ when the hotel opens in May 2008” says Charlotte Weatherall, Director of Sales & Marketing for The Westin Dubai, and Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.
Through the use of interactive video recordings, role-playing and practical exercises, Fusion’s new media training division is able to teach proven communication techniques to hoteliers. The Westin session focused on the issues that the hospitality industry faces in getting its message across to the media.
“It is a first for the industry in the Gulf region -- a specialist media training division that focuses on the hotel and travel industry. With the increasing number of hotels and tourism products opening on the Arabian Peninsula it will be increasingly important to create a fresh buzz about a brand,” says Nick Easen, Fusion’s media director.
Media relations skills, how to face the camera, crisis management, press release writing, what makes a good story and get coverage, are just some of the core topics the new division will focus on. The division will be headed by Nick Easen, who has worked for ten years as a journalist and consultant in Hong Kong and London for both CNN and BBC.
“There has already been considerable interest for our training workshops here in the Gulf because people realise how important the media is, especially in the travel industry since businesses don’t always handle the media effectively,” says Nicki Page, executive director of Fusion Marketing.
