Public Relations Tips: Special Events

What are some media outlets to get publicity for your event? What about talk radio shows? Can you get some interesting people who are involved in your event to be guests on local talk radio shows? I'll give you a couple of ideas as we go through this teleseminar. Can you take an interesting poll or a survey several months before your event-something that ties into the topic of your event, and then announce those results a week or two before the event to generate more publicity? For example, let's say you're a hospital and you're sponsoring a bike-a-thon to support breast cancer research. Survey women on how many of them do self-breast examinations, or how many of them over the age of 40 get annual mammograms, and then release those results right before the event.

There are all kinds of fun contests that you can sponsor that lead up to the event. There's a public television station here in Milwaukee. They have those TV auctions every spring, and last year, they did something that I thought was brilliant. They sponsored a contest asking local artists to take a plain old wooden chair and paint it and come up with a fun theme. They chose the most creative chair and they gave the artist a big award. I saw these chairs in the local magazines and on television and even in the local newspapers months leading up to the event, and months leading up to the auction. And then they auctioned off the chairs. It was a really nice way to work in a fun contest to create buzz about the on-air auction.

For more great information and tips on how to create media buzz for your event, read "How to Create Media Buzz When Promoting Your Special Event."

Posted by Dan at 01:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If there are other events going on at the same time, that can affect your event, do you have any suggestions for how to check the schedule of other events that might be happening, so if I'm planning an event in Los Angeles or New York, how do I check to see if there's anything else going on at that time that may compete with my event? That's a very good question and it's a very important one. Yes, there are three sources available. One of the things you can do is actually contact the community affairs directors at the local TV stations because often they have a master list of a lot of events coming up in the community. The chamber of commerce will have event listings.

In the Milwaukee area, we have the World Festival Association, and they have those listings because they're making sure they're not competing. If there's a festival association, you can call them. Local major theaters often will have a schedule of events-major events-not only planned for their theater, but also for competing theaters because they're all looking at that. The Visitors and Convention Bureau is a tremendous resource for that information, so if you have a Visitors and Convention Bureau, contact the director or the PR department for that organization. You generally have to go to multiple sources because nobody will have everything.

For more great information and tips on how to create media buzz for your event, read "How to Create Media Buzz When Promoting Your Special Event."

Posted by Dan at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How can you make sure you have an effective media kit? Ask if there's a specific reporter who's going to be covering your event and if that reporter has already been assigned. A lot of times, that reporter might not be assigned until a couple of days before you're going to have your event. Just work with the editor and be sure they know who you are, how to contact you, and you have a good rapport going back and forth, so that by the time the event comes, they know who you are. At this meeting, take a media kit with you. The media kit should include news releases about your event. It should include some interesting photos, a map of how to get to your event, a schedule breaking down what people are going to see once they get there, a good one-page summary of the event that they can just pull out in an instant and get a really good bird's-eye view of what it's all about.

Also make sure that this information is posted at your website. The media are relying more and more on electronic media kits. When you meet with these media people, ask them about deadlines. You want to know when every deadline is that you're going to have to meet, particularly for calendar listings. You want to get onto every single calendar that you can possibly think of. In the major publications, you want to get onto the calendars. At local cable television stations, you want to get onto calendar listings and onto calendars in all those tiny, little niche publications. Then ask them what else they need from you, and they will tell you. That's how you get those full-page spreads. For more great information and tips on how to create media buzz for your event, read "How to Create Media Buzz When Promoting Your Special Event."

Posted by Dan at 01:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How can you get coverage for your special events? Here are some sneaky ways to get coverage for your events. This first one is one that I think a lot of people don't know about and it's an idea that will help you get literally thousands of dollars in TV coverage for your event without having to spend much more than about twenty bucks, and here's what you do. You go to your local cable television company. All cable television companies have what's called a community access channel or a public access channel. This channel is set aside, according to FCC regulations, for anybody in the community. They can go to the cable TV station and they can record a program or show and have it aired on the community access channel for free.

All kinds of wild things are on your community access channel and some of it's not too good, but you never know. Again, everybody in your community who has cable television might be surfing at one point and come across your program. You might have to rent the camera equipment for about twenty bucks or so. But the air time is absolutely free. You can actually tape not only one program, but an entire series of programs that lead up to your event. You could do a program, for example, interviewing all of the fun chefs who are going to be at this food festival, or maybe even a program that shows them demonstrating foods that they're going to be making. You can do panel discussions. You can do all kinds of fun things. So that's one sneaky way. Here's another one. If you have an event that goes over several days, be sure somebody from your organization contacts news outlets at the end of the day and give them information such as how many people attended that day, any interesting things that happened at the event, any major awards that were given, any contest winners. For more great information and tips on how to create media buzz for your event, read "How to Create Media Buzz When Promoting Your Special Event."
http://101publicrelations.com/buzz.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=media_buzz

Posted by Dan at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Should you have a news conference to announce your event? Don't reporters like news conferences? What is your event is important? It might be but the general answer is no. The media hate news conferences for two reasons. First, so many people call news conferences, and the media often arrive at the news conference and there's absolutely nothing newsworthy going on. And they feel as though they've just wasted their time. But the bigger reason they hate news conferences is because they feel like a herd of cattle. All the media people go into the same barn, they're all fed the same thing, they're all given the same information, and everybody walks out with the same story. That's the broad-brush approach.

The much better approach is to take the time to meet one-on-one with media people and give them each a different kind of a story that best fits with the audience that their media outlet serves. I think that's a much better approach. Media like exclusivity. They like to know that they might be the only ones on a story or that you can really target different pieces of that story for them. Instead, you could also round up some of the biggest local celebrities you can find and do a special tea with the celebrities where people maybe change tables periodically. You can have all kinds of fun with it. You could do mother/daughter teas for Mother's Day. Look at all the big holidays on the calendar where you can tie in your events to holidays, anniversaries, special celebrations, things like that. For more great information and tips on how to create media buzz for your event, read "How to Create Media Buzz When Promoting Your Special Event."
http://101publicrelations.com/buzz.html?utm_source=prideas&utm_content=media_buzz

Posted by Dan at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What is one of the top reasons that someone is not chosen to be on a talk show? If you area nutcase on the air, the producer will lose their job. What constitutes a nutcase? You may think it's a positive trait to be enthusiastic (and it is), but anyone who is overly zealous about his passion is considered a nut. Bestselling author and screenwriter Richard Price talks about this phenomenon as "The dangerous thrill of goodness." He says, "What happens is you can get very excited by your own power to do good." Don't get carried away by this thrill.

One way to tell if you're being too zealous is that you're hammering your point at top speed with the energy of a locomotive pulling that toot lever non-stop. I remember a man calling me up about how he was single-handedly taking on Starbucks - who, he felt, had done him wrong. He wanted me to promote his cause. While this could have been a great David versus Goliath type story, he was long on emotion and short on facts. Some statistics or figures would have tempered his mania. But he also never checked in with me to see if he had my interest. By talking loudly and barely pausing for a breath, he appeared to be a man who wouldn't take direction well. His single-mindedness was off-putting, not engaging.

When you're talking to a producer speak for 30 seconds or so and then check in by asking, "Is this the kind of information you're looking for?" Listen for other verbal cues, such as encouraging grunts, or "uh huhs."

For more great tips on how to make sure that you're the one being interviewed on a TV talk show, read "Secrets to Get TV Talk Show Hosts to Book You As Their Guest."

Posted by Dan at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To make the most of your event publicity opportunities, you need to make the media's job as easy as possible.

 Make sure they have easy access into and out of the event, particularly photographers who must lug all that extra equipment. Provide parking passes.

 Give the media cold water and paper cups, or soft drinks, if they are covering outdoor events during the summer in sweltering heat.

 If the media is interviewing celebrities, make a mention about the event in quiet place available if the reporter or the celebrity would rather do the interview away from all the excitement. Assign someone on your committee the job of keeping track of interesting things that happen during the event-things the media might want to know about and include in their stories.

For other tips on making the media's job easy see Special Report #10 "Powerful Publicity Tips for Your Fund-Raiser or Special Event"

Posted by Dan at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We see photos of check-passings, ribbon-cuttings, ground-breakings and "grip and grin" shots all the time in local newspapers and an TV. That's the problem. They're far to common. And they're usually dull. If you can afford it, hire a freelance photographer or someone from the newspaper staff at your local college to shoot photos several months before the event, for use in your media kit. Subjects might be local celebrities or committees that are working on decorations or planning for a special activity.

Also have on hand several professionally taken head shots of the key event organizers. Here's something different. Why not sponsor a photo contest of your annual Grape-Stompin' Festival? Award prizes for the best photos. Then make arrangements with the winning photographers to use the photos in next year's PR effort.

If photographers will be photographing small children, prepare standard release forms which parents must sign before their children's photos can appear in the paper.

To learn more about utilizing visual aids for getting free publicity opportunities see Special Report #10 "Powerful Publicity Tips for Your Fund-Raiser or Special Event"

Posted by Dan at 01:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Create a plan that assigns specific tasks and checklists to your publicity committee one year out, eight months out, six months, etc. Know about every opportunity open to you. For example, if the state's best magician will be at your fund-raiser in September, ask if he can advertise your event to his audiences during the summer months. Meet with editors months beforehand to find out if any of them are interested in featuring a special aspect of your event. The food editor, for example, might want to do an entire page on the unusual ethnic foods that will be served at your festival, complete with recipes. A suburban reporter might want to interview the 85-year-old grandmother who hand-sews colorful costumes that will be worn at the event.

Don't forget your celebrities can play a key role. When Tommy Bartlett celebrated the 70th anniversary of his world-famous water shows, publicist Joan Collins of Madison, Wisconsin knew what she needed to do. It took her several attempts, but she finally persuaded Bartlett to perform for the crowds by getting onto a pair of water skis on his 80th birthday-something he had never done in his life. Bartlett remained upright for exactly 31 seconds, then took a fall. The photograph was sent to member papers of the Associated Press and appeared in newspapers all over the world.

To learn more about recognizing, and utilizing all your publicity opportunities see Special Report #10 "Powerful Publicity Tips for Your Fund-Raiser or Special Event"

Posted by Dan at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What can your event offer that's an interesting visual for television? If you don't have good visuals, you can forget about TV. Does your publicity committee have color slides from last year's event that you can offer to local newspapers a month or two before this year's event? If not, be sure someone is in charge of taking lots of interesting color photos this year, for use in next year's publicity campaign.

Will you allow reporters in the kitchen to watch chefs prepare the feast for a $500-a-plate banquet? Plan every single activity within your event so that it appeals to the media.

If the event is during the day, don't forget activities for children.

Some media outlets might cover one day of a multi-day event, but no more. Try to convince them to come on the first day, when the most interesting things are planned. Good coverage of the opening day will help boost attendance for successive days. Coverage after the last day doesn't help boost attendance.

To learn more about making your event media friendly see Special Report #10 "Powerful Publicity Tips for Your Fund-Raiser or Special Event"

Posted by Dan at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Will the media cover any event no matter how much publicity you give to it? No, it doesn't go without saying that. They won't cover it if there's another PR person out there who's smarter than you are and who's planning a special event the same weekend you happen to be. If they have captured the media's attention, and they have recruited a particular reporter to cover it, and it's the same reporter who would cover your event, and the reporter has to figure out which of the two are the most important and you lose, you lose. Also, I think that too many PR people think it's the media's job to promote their special event, and that is wrong, wrong, wrong.

It's your job to promote the event and it's the media's job to give their readers or viewers the really compelling stories that enlighten, inform and entertain. Both of those things can be accomplished and you can dovetail them to create some really good publicity for your special event. So contact them! A media database is a file of individual media contacts who you're going to need to call on to cover your event. Each contact includes valuable information on exactly what that particular contact covers and what they need to do a top-notch job. For every contact it's going to be different. You can create a media database if you have a contact manager program like ACT! or Goldmine. You can create a separate group called "media database." Or you can even keep a database in a three-ring notebook. It doesn't have to be fancy. Just devote a separate page to each contact.

For more great information and tips on how to create media buzz for your event, read "How to Create Media Buzz When Promoting Your Special Event."

Posted by Dan at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is essential to make the most of your post event publicity opportunities, so how are you going to keep the media interested in an event after it's over?

 If it's a major fund-raiser and you raised far more money than you had hoped, provide a bar chart showing the difference between this year's proceeds and those of past years.
 Keep in mind photo opportunities. If the proceeds are going toward the purchase of new hospital equipment, perhaps your newspaper might want to photograph someone using the new equipment when it arrives.

For more ideas and tips about how to best get post event publicity, see Special Report #10 "Powerful Publicity Tips for Your Fund-Raiser or Special Event"

Posted by Dan at 01:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spend at least a year planning the event. If you want national coverage, remember that many major magazines work six months out. That means that six months before the event, you must have your theme chosen, the activities schedule intact and your media kit created. Your public relations committee must be ready to start making contacts long before you have many of the other details nailed down.

Start planning by coming up with a clever name and logo. For optimum publicity, work the sponsor's name into the event. "The Alpha Phi Sorority's Bop-with-Your-Pop," the "Firstar Eve" celebration on New Year's Eve and the "March of Dimes Walk-a-thon" lets people know instantly who is sponsoring the event, or who is the beneficiary of money raised.

Use the logo on special letterhead and on T-shirts and caps that are distributed long before the event. To jump-start your publicity, sponsor a contest that ties into the event. For example, if you are sponsoring a fund-raiser featuring celebrity chefs, ask your community to vote on its favorite celebrity chef. Distribute ballots at local food shops and restaurants. Then give the winning chef special recognition at the event.

Time the event so it isn't competing with another major news event in your community. Call your local Chamber of Commerce or Convention & Visitors Bureau for guidance.

To learn more about timing, and publicity for fundraisers see Special Report #10 "Powerful Publicity Tips for Your Fund-Raiser or Special Event"

Posted by Dan at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you're hosting a special event, there are several great ways you can promote it by involving the media.

 Ask news anchors and TV weather people to serve as emcees or keynote speakers at your event, or be the grand marshals in your parade. If they agree, chances are good your event will be on that night's news.

 Invite media people to serve as judges at your event.

 Ask news anchors to join you in a demonstration that promotes your event. For example, I saw a 2-minute segment in which two TV anchors were invited to help a local chef decorate Christmas cookies to promote a special holiday cookie workshop being held at a local hotel/resort. The anchors looked as though they were having a ball. The event was so insignificant that it otherwise would never have been covered. If your organization is sponsoring a hot air balloon race, invite a reporter to go on a hot air balloon ride several weeks before your event, then write about it.

For more tips on promotion, see Special Report #42.

Posted by Rachael at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What are some of the amenities you must be sure you give to the reporters so that they can do the best job possible covering your event? You have to treat the reporters really special and you have to help them do their jobs and get in and out of your event really quickly and get all the information they need because sometimes they may only have 20 minutes to spend covering it, especially if it's on a weekend. Sometimes there's a lot going on, so they're going to be jumping from event to event, so here are some things that you can do. Give them special parking privileges. Make sure that if it's a big event, they know how to get into your parking lot quickly and they can park in a place right next to the door that's just for media people so they can get in and get out in the shortest amount of time.

Have somebody available at your event, if needed, to accompany that media person from place to place, especially if it's a big, major event, and they're going to only want to hit two or three booths at this event. Offer to take them around but don't breathe down their neck if they do not want somebody to accompany them. Just make sure that if they do need an escort that you make somebody available. Have somebody who is available with a cell phone who they can call if they get lost coming to your event, or let's say they need to contact you afterwards to double-check the spelling of somebody's name who's going to be in their story. For more great information and tips on how to create media buzz for your event, read "How to Create Media Buzz When Promoting Your Special Event."

Posted by Dan at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is essential to make the most of your post event publicity opportunities, so how are you going to keep the media interested in an event after it's over?

 If it's a major fund-raiser and you raised far more money than you had hoped, provide a bar chart showing the difference between this year's proceeds and those of past years.
 Keep in mind photo opportunities. If the proceeds are going toward the purchase of new hospital equipment, perhaps your newspaper might want to photograph someone using the new equipment when it arrives.

For more ideas and tips about how to best get post event publicity, see Special Report #10 "Powerful Publicity Tips for Your Fund-Raiser or Special Event"

Posted by Dan at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is essential to make the most of your post event publicity opportunities, so how are you going to keep the media interested in an event after it's over?

 If it's a major fund-raiser and you raised far more money than you had hoped, provide a bar chart showing the difference between this year's proceeds and those of past years.
 Keep in mind photo opportunities. If the proceeds are going toward the purchase of new hospital equipment, perhaps your newspaper might want to photograph someone using the new equipment when it arrives.

For more ideas and tips about how to best get post event publicity, see Special Report #10 "Powerful Publicity Tips for Your Fund-Raiser or Special Event"

Posted by Dan at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What's the best time to begin publicizing an event? I think you should start publicizing an event as soon as you know that it's going to occur. As long as you have all of the pertinent information, the major details-for example, the date and the time and the location and the purpose of the event. This might even be a year out or 10 months out, and this can be done with just a short little news release. After that, you can keep sending news releases about things such as the names of any committee chairs that you have chosen, any major sponsors you've lined up for the event, any special entertainers or speakers that you've booked, any new things that will be featured this year, and things like that. Don't try to cram all of this information into one release.

You can send a series of news releases, say every several weeks, that concentrate on a different aspect of your event. And keep sending these news releases as long as there's something newsworthy to report. . For events, ask yourself this question, "Would people who are coming to the event want to know about this information?" If there's a doubt in your mind as to whether or not they'd want to know about it, go ahead and send the release anyway because the media outlet is going to make a decision as to whether or not to run the release, and you stand a better chance of getting these releases printed at lower-level publications like weeklies and some of the special niche-oriented publications.

For more great information and tips on how to create media buzz for your event, read "How to Create Media Buzz When Promoting Your Special Event."

Posted by Dan at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When planning an event, it is critical to determine the purpose of your event.

What do you want to accomplish? Is it a fundraiser? Are you looking for new customers? Are you trying to build your image?

Determining the purpose of your event is the best first step to your planning process. Once you have a goal, you can cater each aspect of the event to it, which will make you more successful overall because you know what outcome you're seeking.

Of course, each purpose will be unique to the business and the event, but as long as everyone is aware of your goal, you can accomplish almost anything.

This is just one of the many tips found in How to Plan and Promote Sizzling Special Events!

Posted by DK at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)