CREATING A SUCCESSFUL PR EVENT
By Megan Rose, Managing Director
Whether you’re launching a product, celebrating a client’s success or spreading the word about a business, creating a successful event is an effective way to deliver maximum impact.
The key to hosting a memorable event is to know your target market, understand the reach of your attendees and create an experience they will remember- and most importantly write about!
Clients should set a budget first
Usually we are asked to present an event budget when in discussions with the client. To say this varies is an understatement. Honestly events can start at $2,000 for a simple luncheon and reach upwards of $20K! We find it is best for clients to set a ballpark budget first, which enables us to and work backwards from there and assess what is and isn’t do-able. From there we can assess a client’s objectives, and logistics such as how many people they would like to attend, and whether they are hoping for a mix of customers, VIPS media and influencers at the event.
Choose your event date wisely
The next most important consideration is choosing a date. For this it’s helpful to know how your guests operate in order to work out a day, time and location that suits the majority. There’s no point in putting on a lunch for a bunch of journos if you know for a fact that they never manage to get away from the office during the day! However also remember that you will never please everyone. We always check on websites such as Social Diary to make sure there are no event conflicts and consider other things they may compete with our date and stop guests from coming.
Don’t forget the little things
Other things on your event check list which you need to have in place for a smooth run include great catering, goodie bags, save the date invites, official invites, parking, styling and ambience. Amazing food, service and music is always a winning combination!
Make sure the message gets cut through
Of course, the whole point of an event is to ensure your client’s message resonates. It’s essential that your guests know why they are there. Rather than just seeing or trialling a product at an event, think about what can they take away in terms of meaningful content or lessons learnt. To maximise your investment also just as important as getting the event right is getting your amplification strategy right, so the event can live on for weeks and months ahead. We always ensure the event budget allows for professional video and photography – capturing content that can ensure your event and campaign messages live on beyond the day. Also ensuring we have industry tastemakers, celebrities or influencers at the event that can create and share content is also a consideration.
Use it as a chance to mingle
Finally make sure that you are mingling with your guests and using it as an opportunity to get to know them! Don’t let juniors hang back and chat amongst themselves either – everyone from an agency should be working just as hard to network. Collaborating and building relationships is one of the key objectives at the end of the day.