Throughout its series of fashion media tours for Belk, Panorama PR hosted intimate one-on-one meetings between the department store’s fashion spokesperson, Arlene Goldstein, and select press. For their upcoming fall 2010 tour, the agency will—for the first time—expand the meetings (though still small) to include a few press members from different outlets. According to the agency, both strategies hold advantages.
One-on-One:
• Make press time personal. “We felt it important for the reporter to have personal face time with Ms. Goldstein in order to develop a relationship,” says Darlene Rotch, CEO of PPR.
• Hew closely to message. “Our goal was to position Belk as a company committed to providing fashion direction and trend-right merchandise,” says Rotch. “These things can’t be accomplished in large forums.”
Larger Scale:
• Maximize your talent’s time. “We’ve done the groundwork to establish personal relationships with Arlene,” says Genevieve Douglass, manager of client services at PPR. “Now if we can minimize the repetition of her day from eight meetings to three meetings, it makes a big difference.”
• Open the floor. “We thought it would increase discussion within the room and bring up more questions for Arlene, perhaps creating richer press points than we’ve considered,” says Jessica Williams, communications coordinator.
Read the case study on Panorama Public Relation's media-driven effort fto shine fashion spotlight on Belk, Inc.