Three ways to organise a successful PR event
As a public relations practitioner, putting an event together can be a hasle sometimes — but with a good plan strategy your event can be a success and deliver the results you desire.
Events offer consumers a more direct experience that can make them feel more engaged with a brand. They also allow brands to showcase what their products or services are all about and, most importantly, what value they will bring into their lives.
Here are three points that you can include in your next event’s planning:
1. Start by conducting in-depth research
It is important to establish the purpose for your event
before you do everything else. The purpose will indicate what steps you need to put in place before moving forward.
Here are a few things to consider while you’re in your research phase:
- Is your event more suitable for a breakfast session, roundtable discussion, panel discussion, speaker pressions or networking sessions?
- Find a suitable venue for your event. For example, if your event is about motoring, an outdoor venue would be convenient as this will provide your audience the opportunity to test drive and enjoy the cars.
- Create a theme that will complement the brand on the day of the event.
- Create a timeline that will allow you to complete your planning in record time.
Planning is important, no matter the size of your event. The focus must be on the brand and the attendees.
2. Build a budget for the event
One of the most stressful parts about planning an event is the financial affairs involved in putting it together. But worry not: Here are three tips that you can follow to help you stay within your budget and
still deliver an elegant event:
- Discuss the net budget and how much sponsors are willing to put on the table (if there are any). This will guide you in terms of how many people can attend the event.
- As you’re planning the event, consider your projected expenses and monitor them in order to ensure that they don’t dent your budget — it's better to under spend than to overspend.
- Consider your actual costs of the event.
There are a lot of financial affairs to go through when putting together an event, so it would be a good idea to have someone who is good at crunching numbers to assist you in order to avoid mispendings!
3. Invite media practitioners
It’s important to invite media practitioners to your event for coverage and exposure. It’s ideal to make sure that you invite them at least a month prior to the event. Sending out invites gives them enough time to RSVP and gather sufficient information about your event.
Here are a couple of tips that you can consider:
- Create a press list if you don’t have one already. Gather lists of names of newspapers, television and radio stations and journalist’s contacts. Alternatively, you can request someone who is in the business of sharing lists to provide you with one, which will shorten your time for searching.
- Be creative when designing your invitation and make sure it is eye-catching
- Write a press release informing your audiences and stakeholders about your event. Be sure to include an outline of the objectives and background of the event.
Events offer you an opportunity to interact with your audience on a personal level and get to meet the people behind the brand.