Using PR to Promote Your Affair
By Lidj Lewis, President of Visceral Media
The key to any successful event depends on your ability to effectively get the word out. Fail to do this and you’ll see the results reflected in poor ticket sales, RSVP registrations, and same-day turnout—a downright disaster for any event planner.
Yes, traditional methods of publicizing your affair—mailing invitations, making telephone calls, sending e-mail alerts, and posting information on your, or your client’s Web site—often deliver the desired results. But they may not be enough.
Savvy planners are generating even more exposure for their campaigns by incorporating public relations into their marketing mix. Unless you are organizing a very private event, you should seriously consider trying to attract media coverage for it. This is where PR comes in.
An effective PR plan will help you reach your target audience through a variety of media—television, radio, print, the Web, and even in out-of-home venues such as supermarkets. Supermarkets? Indeed. Your message needs to be as mobile as the people you are trying to reach. Just take a look around. People have access to information everywhere—on their cell phone, in their Blackberry, on cable TV, and in the gym. The information stream is incessant, if not ubiquitous.
At Visceral Media, we like to say “All the World’s A Screen”, an obvious Shakespearean spin on how media have become so much a part of our lives.
Of course, some media channels may not be appropriate for publicizing your event. Make sure your PR team understands your objectives, timelines, deadlines, audience demographics, and key stakeholders and influencers. Work closely with them on message development, adjusting the language to reach different audiences, if necessary.
Media coverage can often be secured before, during, and after an event. If, for instance, you are coordinating a scholarship awards ceremony, we can help raise awareness—if not contributions—by booking interviews on local radio stations. Conducting a day-long series of seminars for entrepreneurs? We will invite television and newspaper reporters to attend. If your client has won a prestigious industry award, we’ll contact trade publications to ensure coverage. And don’t forget social media. Using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to generate buzz and to invite guests is critical.
To be sure, there are several tactics you can use to get the word out about your event. If you would like more information about using PR, please write to us at info@visceral-media.com, or call 914-636-1654.
http://www.visceral-media.com.
Using PR to Promote Your Affair - (Read 595 Times)
Posted: Sep 16th, 2009 at 04:49 pm
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