March 2008 Pitching secrets from the pros Five events get great publicity by pitching the right story ideas to the right people by Heather Kirkwood
For all that’s spent in dollars and time on audience development, there’s just nothing like a blessing from the media to prove a show is truly where it’s at. While the media often enjoy a social status on par with lawyers and used car salesmen, the truth is when you’re show ends up on a nationally televised program, or featured in a well-known magazine, it’s a gold mine no ad budget could ever deliver. It demonstrates that someone perceived as completely objective found the event valuable enough to share with the world.
Rising above the noise, however, to get the attention of key editors and program producers is no easy task. It requires just as much work and commitment as any other aspect of producing an event.
Editors and producers, especially those at high-profile media outlets, can easily receive hundreds of press releases and phone calls in a single day. Small staffs and smaller budgets often make it difficult for media decision makers to sift through the possibilities and determine where to invest their time in a story.
Here are five success stories from shows that found a way to generate meaningful coverage for their events.
NATIONAL NETWORK COVERAGE 92nd Annual International Hotel/ Motel & Restaurant Show Nov 10–13, 2007 Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York Managed by George Little Management
When Melissa Gray, Media Supervisor at George Little Management, sought live, onsite coverage of the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant show in New York, it was as much for a local attendance boost as it was for recognition of the show’s owning associations — the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Hotel Association of New York City and New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association.
Her plan? Line up a star-studded slate of potential interview subjects that she could hand to a network on a silver platter.
Gray first sought buy-in from the public relations teams and the CEOs of several major hotel chains. She asked if they’d be willing to make their CEOs available for a high-profile interview if she was able to secure interest from a major network. It would allow the hotels to promote their brands on a national stage. Within days, Gray had commitments from Wyndham Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels, Carlson Hotels, Marriott International and Omni Hotels. It was made clear to the participants that the interview commitments had not yet been secured so expectations were kept reasonable.
Gray then began reaching out to national programs. She touted her experts, as well as story angles and the “plus” of having the show as a backdrop for the interviews.
Bloomberg Television responded eagerly and agreed to do a one-hour broadcast from the show as part of their “In Focus” program hosted by Brian Sullivan. During the live remote, they interviewed CEOs from Wyndham and InterContinental as well as the Executive Director of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals — an organization that brought a prototype of a futuristic hotel room. Cameras were positioned to highlight the booths and the crowds at the show.
“We were able to get national coverage for IH/M&RS and further position it in the market as a premier event for the hospitality industry where top executives gather annually,” says Gray. “Having CEOs of this caliber interviewed while onsite at our show positioned us as the industry show — where hospitality gets down to business.”
Gray’s Tip: Make it so easy for the media that they can’t refuse. By lining up high-caliber interviews ahead of time, all Bloomberg had to do was show up with their crew and conduct the interviews, says Gray. “We did the leg work for them and had the opportunity already secured.”
OVERCOMING IDENTITY ISSUES SHARE August 21–26, 2005 Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA Show produced by SmithBucklin
Crafting and reinforcing an event’s identity or brand is a continuous work-in-progress. But when you’re also trying to overcome an industry misperception, the stakes are even higher. Such was the predicament for SHARE, a volunteer-run association serving enterprise technology users, founded in 1955 shortly after IBM released its first computer.
SHARE’s 50th anniversary conference was in 2005, and while the organization wanted to celebrate the occasion, they also needed to combat the image in the marketplace that the group was a bit old fashioned, stodgy, outdated and comprised mostly of veteran IT professionals focused solely on mainframe computing and programming. This image, says SHARE’s leadership, was completely inaccurate.
David Reiners, Account Manager for SHARE with Tech Image, a subsidiary of SmithBucklin specializing in public relations, worked with the association’s leadership to carefully craft an image for the event that focused on the next 50 years. He also identified story ideas that could be pitched to the media that would reinforce this image.
“The organization is anything but outdated,” says Reiners. “Fifty years in the technology market is an achievement. It doesn’t mean old, it means stable and successful.”
Reiners took pains to explain in media outreach just who the association’s members really are — government agencies, academic institutions and major corporations — all of whom use mainframe computers for a variety of reasons, from computing scale to security concerns.
Reiners and SHARE leadership created a number of surveys to ask the membership about where they thought enterprise computing would head during the next 50 years. The results were only released at the event, and Reiners was able to promise media key interviews to help put the results in context. Now, instead of being perceived as a meeting celebrating a history and a bunch of old photos, the event was looking into the future and generating meaningful news in the process.
Twenty-two members of the media attended the show and generated 16 stories about the event onsite, as well as eight follow- up stories after the show. SHARE received coverage in such notable techie outlets as Computer World, Information Week, Network World and The Boston Globe.
Reiners’ Tip: Identify the news that will be made at your event, as well as the opportunities that will be missed if desired media outlets stay home.
TAKE THE HASSLE OUT OF COVERAGE Natural Products Expo East October 4–7, 2006 Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD Produced by New Hope Media, a subsidiary of Penton Media
For Natural Products Expo East, Sylvia Tawse, a public relations expert with The Fresh Ideas Group was tasked with gaining the interest of major consumer press outlets that had never attended a Natural Products Expo before.
She first identified a number of key editors, all in the New York City area, that she wanted to cover the show. But how would she convince them to come to Baltimore? “These days, with smaller editorial staffs, cut budgets and senior editors less willing to approve time out of the office, it’s harder than ever to get onsite coverage from consumer magazines,” she explains.
So she arranged for a group day trip. A limo would pick them up and deliver them to the door of the convention center. She promised she’d not only get them to the show and back in the same day (an admittedly grueling day) but an industry expert well versed in natural products trends would accompany the group in the limo and answer questions on the three-hour trip to Baltimore. The plan would only require the editors to miss a single day from the office and wouldn’t generate travel costs.
Nine editors took her up on the offer. Two found the show so compelling they booked hotel rooms and stayed an extra day after all. All nine have now made the show a regular part of their trade show schedule. The effort resulted in coverage of the show, and its exhibitors, in magazines such as Parent, Health, Good Housekeeping and Self.
Tawse’s Tip: “If you’re going to try this, check out the limo before you pick up the guests,” says Tawse. “Unfortunately, our limo had been used for a bachelor’s party the night before and the driver hadn’t cleaned out the Budweiser cans. Luckily, all the editors had a great sense of humor.”
WEEKEND COVERAGE FOR CONSUMER SHOWS Motor Trend Auto Shows Inc. Producers of 23 Motor Trend Auto Shows around the country
Many of the Motor Trend Auto Shows last as long as 10 days, and Lauren Holzman, Vice President of Public Relations for the company, says it’s an ongoing challenge to generate media coverage of the show on the weekend when the show has already been under way for several days and has been covered by the local media.
The key, she says, is to hold back some of the juicier news tidbits for the weekend, as well as to recognize that often the assignment editors in charge of weekend coverage are different from the ones on duty during the week.
“We invest a lot of time building relationships with the local media in the markets we serve,” says Holzman. “That includes knowing who the weekend staffers are and how far out they plan their coverage.” Holzman says stand-up shots from the show floor on the morning shows are particularly hard to get and are typically planned weeks in advance.
Holzman routinely holds back something she considers a coup for the weekend coverage to give the media another reason to cover the show again. She might, for example, hold back a Ferrari ride for the weekend weather man if he comes and does a live remote. Or, she might arrange for the experts on a key trend, like hybrid cars, to be available on a Saturday morning instead of earlier in the week. “You can’t use all your best material at once; you’ve got to give them a reason to keep coming out to the show,” she explains.
Holzman routinely gets great weekend coverage, even for her longer events. That exposure helps to position her shows as a great entertainment option for the weekend.
Holzman’s Tip: Keep parking spaces near the door to the convention center reserved for media. Make it easy for them to get in with their equipment, shoot the story, and get back out again.
WELCOMING THE BLOGGERS Web 2.0 Expo April 15–18, 2007 Moscone West, San Francisco Produced by CMP Technology and O’Reilly Conferences
The Web 2.0 Expo was a first-time event in 2007, spun off by show producer CMP Technology from its success with the Web 2.0 Summit. Suddenly, the event was transforming from an invitation-only conference held in a hotel, to a show held at Moscone West in San Francisco. Not only did the show have to rise above the extensive tech noise in the San Francisco media market and attract key press contacts, but also the new format generated quite a bit of interest from the blogosphere. The show’s public relations staff had to create a policy to respond to a flurry of requests for press credentials from bloggers who could maximize the new show’s exposure and create the biggest buzz.
“There are so many bloggers in the San Francisco area, not to mention the rest of the country, and Web 2.0 is a hot topic,” says Stacy O’Connell, Vice President of Marketing for CMP Live Events. “It’s a new challenge to differentiate between bloggers who can really benefit your show, and bloggers who just want to get into the show free.”
O’Connell and her team began to research how other shows respond to media requests from bloggers. Some don’t allow them at all, while others grant limited passes for bloggers to specific events that are separate from full-show press credentials.
But O’Connell’s team decided to take the time to investigate bloggers who requested media credentials for the show. They established criteria for those they would accept and decided to limit bloggers to 15 to 20 percent of the press.
Bloggers were screened to determine whether Web 2.0 was a regular topic of coverage on their blogs, or just something that came up every now and then. How often did the bloggers blog? Were the blogs really reporting industry stories, or were they just full of personal opinion? How well known were the blogs in the industry and what kind of traffic did they get? Bloggers who met these criteria were given full press credentials with access to all sessions as well as a few show passes to give away to readers.
“That helped to create more of a buzz,” says O’Connell. “Some of the bloggers held contests for the free passes.”
The show set up a room off of the show floor dubbed “the Power Room” where reporters could easily file stories or bloggers could give on-the-spot show updates. The immediateness of the bloggers’ coverage also helped build a buzz around the event.
The show attracted 180 journalists, about 20 percent of whom were bloggers. The blog coverage was high quality and there were no complaints from exhibitors that bloggers were taking up their time. “It was worth it to spend the time to investigate the bloggers,” says O’Connell. “After the show, we reviewed which bloggers really did give the show a lot of exposure and we’ll invite them back again. The few who came and didn’t write much about the show won’t get passes again.”
O’Connell’s Tip: All bloggers are not created equal. Spend the time to cultivate serious bloggers who have a following and truly report stories. Don’t waste resources on those who simply wax opinion now and then.
Heather Kirkwood, Senior Editor of EXPO Magazine, has written for the exhibition industry since 1997. She was part of EXPO’s editorial team that won the 2005 Folio: Eddie Award for Editorial Excellence and the 2005 min’s B-to-B Best Web Site Redesign Award. She can be reached at (913) 344-1376 or hkirkwood@ascendmedia.com. Tips for generating media interest before your event - Do your homework. Make sure you know what the lead times are for the media outlets you want to attract. Pitching a story too soon could result in its being lost in the shuffle, and too late will surely get it ignored. - Target specific media outlets and study them. What kinds of stories do they like? What sorts of formats do they use? This will help you refine your ideas and pitch your story in a way they can visualize in their magazine or on their show. - Do as much of the legwork for reporters ahead of time as you can. Line up interviews with experts and exhibitors for them. - Invest time building relationships with media all year long. Editors and reporters who believe you really do understand their needs are more likely to listen when you call. Pitch them ideas all year about trends or breaking news in your industry. Become one of their best resources for industry contacts and scoops. - If a key media contact says they can’t come, find out what the obstacle is? Is there anything you can do to help them overcome that obstacle? Is it budget? Is it time? - Media that only want the post-show press releases this year still might be candidates for next year. Show them what they missed.
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Tips for working with media onsite Many shows locate their press rooms in the hinterlands of the convention center. If possible, create a space on or near the show floor where reporters can check e-mail and file stories or conduct one-on-one interviews without losing time going back and forth to the press room.
Provide industry experts in the press room when possible to help give reporters primers on industry developments. Help them relate those developments to the outside world, especially if they’re from the consumer press.
Try to create the atmosphere of a newsroom in your press room and not that of a coffee lounge. Keep those competitive juices flowing.
Offer reporters personal guides on the show floor, if they want them, to help them quickly find the products that interest them.
Provide the press a place to store gear as well as all the hand outs they’ll gather on the show floor. Have high resolution photography available quickly after key events at your show.
Arrange time to take journalists to dinner and get to know them. Build relationships for the future while you have a chance to see them face to face.
Media tips for after the show Don’t go on vacation as soon as the last attendees board their planes. Remain available for reporters working on follow-up stories. Make sure you know where key industry contacts will be after the show so you can reach them if you need them.
Give a follow-up call to participating media to be sure they have everything they need.
Make sure show photography is available on the Web site with captions.
Making the best of bad situations Laura Holzman, Vice President of Public Relations for Motor Trends Auto Shows Inc. has had to make the best of a bad situation on a number of occasions to keep the media coverage, and thus the attendees, coming out to the show. In 2005, the Orange County Auto Show in Orange County, CA was surrounded by area forest fires. Holzman and her team made contact with the local Red Cross and collected donations at the show. Showgoers donated $18,500 which was matched by show management and donated to the Red Cross. Not only did the show get great press for the effort, but reminding the public that the Auto Show was still open gave the public trying to find a cool place to escape the smoke a place to go. “On the East Coast, when we have snow, I try to get live remotes from the “roads” inside the show with a morning news person or a weather person saying the roads are clear at the Auto Show,” says Holzman. “Bad weather can actually make an auto show ideal weekend entertainment if you can get the public to think that way – its warm and once you’re there, you’re there.”
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