Though they may be overshadowed in sexiness by digital and social media campaigns, PR-generated events—whether media events such as press conferences and product launches, or public and employee events like speaking engagements and town halls—are still going strong and are a key component of a PR professional’s mix.
While the primary goals of events remain constant—driving awareness, creating buzz and getting coverage from the media—the means to achieve those goals are changing.
DOING MORE WITH LESS
Marketing-driven events (big trade shows, for instance) took a hit this past decade, slowed first by 9/11 and then by the economic bust. With more targeted audiences, however, PR events have remained relatively unaffected. But now PR pros have to do more with less.
That can be turned into a positive. “We can do more with less now,” says Melissa Connolly, VP of public relations at Hofstra University in Long Island, N.Y. “Between the Web and social media outlets, we don’t use the mail and paper as much to promote our events, saving time and money.”
Consequently, Connolly and her staff of seven digitally push promotions, invites and follow-ups to lists of thousands of people.
EVENTS ARE ACADEMIC
These new processes were put in place in 2008, when Connolly and her team planned and executed Educate ’08, a year of free lectures, conferences, town hall meetings and interactive forums for students, alumni, faculty, staff and the public. It all culminated in the final presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama.
Educate ’08 illustrates a key strategic tip to remember about events: Be proactive about them—don’t wait for events to come to you. “Over the years, the scenario has been to wait for the faculty, alumni or administration to approach you with an event program to do,” says Connolly. Educate ’08 changed that.
With the knowledge that a presidential debate was looming, Connolly thought about the possibility of bringing big-name speakers to the campus as a lead-in. “I knew it would generate a lot of excitement—it was a core area of interest for me and no one else was going to own it,” she says. Hence, the program was owned by Connolly.
INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS FROM THE GET-GO
But it was impossible for Connolly’s team to plan the program alone. Instead she created advisory committees of key stakeholders, to be used as sounding boards and for brainstorming. “You better get buy-in if you involve people from the start,” she says. “Besides, some of the committee members may know a big-name speaker or two.”
Someone must have had access to big names: Educate ’08 featured national political journalists and pundits such as Maureen Dowd, William Kristol, David Gergen, Mary Matalin, James Carville and many more.
Unfortunately, a scheduled talk by John Edwards was canceled as his personal troubles surfaced. But that leads to another Connolly event tip: Expect the unexpected.
THANKS TO DIGITAL, EVENTS ARE FOREVER
Before digital arrived, once an event was done, it was done. Not so today. Sites like Flickr, YouTube and Facebook can allow an event to live on for months. Connolly uses video and live webcasts as much as possible at Hofstra events.
Digital technologies also play into the event strategies of Chris Rosica, president and CEO of Rosica Public Relations, a Paramus, N.J.-based company that specializes in media events.
For Rosica, pulling off a successful event involves local TV. “Believe it or not, people still tune in to TV, especially local market affiliates for news,” he says.
So attracting broadcast media is key to his efforts, but that’s not all. When Rosica executes a product launch or press conference covered by broadcast media, he’s able to tie in the traditional approach with search engine optimization.
Usually, he says, footage taken at an event will end up online and invariably gets picked up by search engines, with news moving near the top of the rankings.
“SEO loves content, and PR-generated content is king,” he says.
Rosica also reaches out to bloggers, particularly for new product launches. Advice: Remind bloggers receiving free products post-event of the Federal Trade Commission rules that require written disclosure.
EVENT MEASUREMENT
Rosica PR, which turns 30 this year, spent its first 15 years as primarily an event media shop. It’s known for branding Famous Amos cookies through cause-related marketing media events. When Chris Rosica bought the company from the family 11 years ago, he brought a keen interest in the Internet and its possibilities to add to the mix, and it shows.
“In most of our programs, we fuse traditional and online strategies and tactics,” says Rosica. Because of the online factor, media event success is very measurable.
To that end, Rosica has “quite a few tools in the arsenal,” he says, and was willing to reveal a few.
“We create landing pages and then track traffic to those pages,” he says. “We also measure search—how many people are searching for the brand or event topic, prior to and after the event.” If the event is a product launch, Rosica measures sales before and after the event.
MANAGE WITH CARE
For Connolly, events are more than just a function of PR. They are a source of pride and a unifying force for the university community. “Events, especially the ones that get people excited, are a key part of the academic year and we manage them with care,” she says. PRN
CONTACT:
Melissa Connolly, [email protected]; Chris Rosica, [email protected].