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By Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
One of the biggest mistakes event organizers make is forgetting about
publicity until after almost all the planning is complete.
Do that, and you'll blow your chances of getting the best coverage
possible. Smart Publicity Hounds are aware of any and all media
opportunities and keep them top of mind when planning. Here are eight
questions to ask yourself during the early days of your planning:
1. Do we need pre-event coverage in national magazines in order for the
event to be a success? If so, what are the editorial deadlines for
getting into those publications? You particularly need to know about
deadlines for routine things like calendar listings. If publicity in
national magazines is absolutely essential, you may have to pitch six or
seven months before the event because many magazines have long lead
times. And if you're pitching stories that far ahead, it means your
planning will be pushed back, too.
2. Is the event taking place in or near a city that's a hub for one or
more of the major airlines? If so, coverage in the airlines' in-flight
magazines could really boost attendance, particularly if the event can
be considered a tourist attraction. The May 2004 issue of NWA World
Traveler, the in-flight magazine published by Northwest Airlines,
includes stories and photos about several events, from the Memphis in
May International Festival to an art show featuring works by
Scandinavian wood carvers at the American Swedish Institute in
Minneapolis.
(See "Special Report #29: Fly High with Publicity in Inflight
Magazines.")
3. Do we have enough photos and other graphics to submit to national
publications? If not, you need to round them up before your publicity
campaign begins. That could mean planning eight or nine months before
the event. For example, a regional art festival that's taking place for
the first time obviously use in its media kit photos from the previous
year. Instead, organizers would have to provide beautiful color photos
of some of the artwork that will be displayed at that first show. You
will also have to make sure the photos are available in several
different formats-prints, slides and electronically.
4. Can we plan specific activities in which we can ask media people to
participate, not just report? If your event includes a parade, a popular
local TV anchor might agree to serve as the grand marshal. If you need
someone to judge a competition, consider asking media representatives.
If you need a keynote speaker, TV people will often oblige. If they do,
there's a good chance they'll include your event on that night's
newscast. If you're planning an air balloon festival, make sure someone
from your group can take a reporter for a ride in an air balloon at
least several days or weeks before your event begins, so they have time
write about it.
5. Are we designing invitations so that they attract the media? If so,
your efforts are focused on the wrong people. Media folks are not
impressed by clever invitations. In fact, when I worked as an editor, I
hated opening an invitation that included an unexpected handful of
glitter or confetti that fell into my lap. Design invitations to attract
the people who will be paying to attend your event. Impress the media
with great story angles, and make it easy for them to cover the parts of
your event that most interest them.
6. Are we budgeting for fancy press packages, overnight delivery and
other unexpected "surprises" for the media, such as a news release about
the event hidden inside a balloon bouquet and delivered by a courier? If
so, please don't waste your money on ostentatious press kits either.
When I worked as an editor, I once received a balloon bouquet from
someone I didn't know, with a note instructing me to pop the yellow
balloon. I hate popping balloons. But I popped it anyway. The news
release that was folded up and put inside the balloon flew across the
room and landed under a bookcase. By the time I retrieved it and
unfolded it, I wasn't amused. I was furious! What do you suppose I did
with that news release? When delivering things to the media, also avoid
hard-to-open packages such as cardboard tubes.
7. Have we checked to see which other events are taking place at the
same time as ours? And if so, are we prepared to reschedule? Nothing is
worse than spending long months and thousands of dollars planning an
event, sending the invitations, buying the ads, then discovering a few
weeks before it begins that it's competing with two or three other major
events in the same city. If that happens, your chances for media
coverage are much slimmer. Check with your convention and visitors
bureau, city hall, chamber of commerce and other groups to see which
events are competing with yours.
8. If we're serving food, can we come up with a clever food theme to
help attract publicity? Media people might not like fancy invitations or
unusual press kits, but some of them LOVE fancy and unusual gifts of
food. For example, a PR team hired to publicize the opening of a new
train museum sent huge cakes shaped like a train to local TV stations,
to attract attention. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a local chain of
hamburger restaurants sent bags of hamburgers to local TV and radio
stations on opening day of baseball season this year, with the offer of
giving all customers free burgers during one day if the Brewers win 10
games in a row. The promotion was on most radio stations in town and on
several of the TV stations, too. Note: Gifts of food are used most
effectively with the broadcast media. Many print media have ethics
policies that prohibit food gifts. If you aren't sure, call beforehand
and ask.
If you run into problems with publicity during this year's event, and
the problems could have been avoided with better planning, you can add
even more questions to the list above.
For more than 800 tips on how to make your next event a smash--with the
public and the media--see
"How to Plan & Promote Sizzling Special Events."
Direct comments or questions about this article,
including requests for reprint rights, to:
Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
Phone: 262-284-7451
JStewart@PublicityHound.com
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