Making PR Pay Off

Think of public relations as a profit center

By Ed Greif and Jim Greif

This year's show was good, but you're determined to make next year's event a smash. You've added to the sales staff, expanded the budget for promotional mailings and arranged trade-outs with three important trade publications. And you're planning tosend three news releases next year instead of one. So your public relations requirementsare covered, right? Wrong.

To get the most from your public relations activities -- to make PR pay off -- you need to view public relations as a profit center. As with booth sales and conference development, the time and effort you expend on public relations is directly proportional to the results you will see.

Public relations attracts qualified show attendees and conference registrants. It bringsin new exhibitors and helps retain old ones. Educating exhibitors -- an important PRfunction motivates them to build their own audiences, and that builds overall attendance. Public relations is one of the most cost effective methods for building attendance and increasing booth sales. It is an important profit center, and it should be treated like one.

A solid public relations program requires a great deal of effort and creativity. Following are 10 basic PR areas that you can refine for your own use. Many will apply to your show. Some may not. Whichever you adopt, they must be handled professionally.

1. Pre-show activities with trade publications
Trade publications are one of the best ways to reach prospective visitors and exhibitors.Do not assume, however, that these magazines will automatically carry news about yourshow.

Use one of the many publication directories to develop a complete list of industrypublications and update it regularly. Ask exhibitors and previous attendees whichmagazines they read. Consider the various aspects of your show and conference, and listpublications with niche or peripheral interests. If your show has the potential for interesting exhibitors and visitors from other countries, establish separate lists of international publications.

Have your name placed on the circulation lists of these publications and read each ofthem carefully. Learn what types of articles they run, and the style of their news items.

Contact important publishers and editors and encourage them to publish show "previewissues" in connection with your exposition. In some cases, it's possible to arrange forpreview issues for a U.S. show in international publications.

Determine from editors who plan to publish preview issues the types of informationthey will need. Then send exhibitors the following information: the type of newsmaterials requested; whether photographs are useful; whether photographs should be incolor or black-and-white; editorial deadlines; the editors to whom publicity materials should be sent; the advertising contact people and their telephone numbers; and the closing dates for ads. Be careful not to push editors, but offer to provide whatever they need.

Call calendar editors to be sure your show is listed as early as possible.

Write, edit, rewrite and mail a series of news releases. Begin with an initialannouncement and continue up to show time. Maintain frequent contact with importanteditors from the time of the first release right up until opening day.

Issue specialized news releases to niche publications. Write about speakers, conferencetopics, special exhibits or important exhibitors of specific interest to the readers ofthese publications.

Be sure to send editors a copy of the full conference program in time for their editorialdeadlines. Send copies of proofs if necessary. This is particularly important for previewissues.

Shortly before the event, write letters of invitation to editors, reminding them ofnewsworthy aspects of the show and conference. Extend invitations to staff members,correspondents and freelance contributors. Explain where the press room will be, andprovide travel and hotel information. Enclose badges or explain that they'll be ready inthe press room.

2. Working with exhibitors
Motivated exhibitors can be a show manager's best friends. Even a small group ofexhibitors who actively promote, advertise and publicize their own exhibits can add anenormous boost to your attendance-building program. But you must actively educate andinform your exhibitors about the value of these efforts and explain the procedures. Don'tassume that exhibitors know how to promote their participation in your show.

Long before the show's opening, contact all exhibitors and determine the names of keymarketing personnel so that letters and bulletins about potential marketingopportunities can be addressed to the decisionmaking executive. You'll want the names of the marketing manager, sales manager, advertising director, ad agency, accountsupervisor at the agency, public relations director, public relations agency and itsaccount supervisor. With these names, you will be able to encourage exhibitors topromote their participation in a special way, and address the suggestion to the appropriate person. The best way to get all these names is to include the questions in the application form.

3. Encouraging exhibitor advertising
Many exhibitors will advertise their products in advance of a major show, but very fewtie those ads to their show participation. You need to send suggestions about advertisingmany months ahead of time, because the ad must be written, produced, approved andplaced several months before the show.

Provide camera-ready copies of the current show's logo. Provide suggested headlinesfor ads to spark the exhibitors' creativity. Suggest such methods as "strip-ins" toexisting ads.

Provide exhibitors with your own ad schedule, so that they can tie in their ads in thesame issues. If you plan to buy newspaper space, suggest to exhibitors that such space isanother appropriate place for a tie-in ad.

4. Spurring exhibitor promotion and publicity
Motivating exhibitors to undertake direct mail programs, contact customers andprospects personally, and distribute VIP tickets are important methods of increasingattendance. Many exhibitors will assume it's your job alone to attract buyers. Appeal totheir own self-interest. Explain that building their own audience can only improve theirsuccess.

Send them a detailed letter explaining the value of building their own audiences throughdirect mail to customers and prospects. If you provide lists of pre-registrants or lastyear's registrants, make the exhibitors aware of this availability. If such lists areprovided without charge, it will encourage use.

Outline the various methods of distributing VIP tickets. Make it clear how many will beavailable, whether the exhibitor's name will be imprinted on the ticket, if the ticketsare available free or if there is a charge. Then ask for orders. Wait a few weeks fororders to come in, then compile a list of exhibitors who haven't responded or whoseorders appear to be inadequate. Telephone the appropriate executives at those companies.

In addition to contacting prospects, exhibitors can create publicity for themselves andthe show. Press releases from individual exhibitors often are more interesting to editors than those from show management. Small companies may find that they can achieve more publicity in pre- and post-show reports than they can the rest of the year. Unfortunately, the vast majority of companies do nothing to publicize their participation, so it's up to you to lead them.

Send exhibitors a bulletin about the advisability of providing publicity materials inthe press room. Provide guidelines about how to prepare the materials. Explain that thepress room is intended to make their show participation more valuable to them. Describepress room procedures, and how to deliver materials to the press room.

Consult with exhibitors and their public relations advisors who wish to schedule pressconferences. Provide a room for exhibitor press conferences and explain how it will bescheduled. Assist with scheduling, advise about building an audience for the conference,locations, catering, etc.

Send exhibitors a list of pre-registered press, so they can direct their press releasesand invitations to those editors.

Answer questions from those inexperienced in show publicity about writing andformatting news releases, captioning photographs, preparing lists of editors and contacting editors.

5. Working with conference speakers
Speakers can be a valuable source of registrants if you encourage them to promote theirown sessions to their customers and prospects.

Prepare a letter to conference speakers and urge them to publicize their participation inthe conference. Suggest that they send news releases outlining the significance of theirpresentations to industry publications. Suggest that they send letters to their customers and prospects inviting their attendance at the sessions. Provide speakers with registration forms they can include with these letters.

Ask speakers to provide copies of their presentation texts for distribution to editors inthe press room.

When session titles indicate the potential for general news interest, telephone thespeakers to determine their willingness to be interviewed by newspaper, TV, radio orwire service reporters. Advise the speakers to discuss their subjects in nontechnicalterms. And try to arrange interviews before or during the conference, and press conferences immediately before or after the presentations.

6. On-site work with trade publications
The care and feeding of editors is important. Their reports on your show can influencepotential exhibitors and attendees. Try to facilitate their coverage in every way.

Provide desks, typewriters, telephones, computers, modems, paper, pencils, pens andtelephone message services for editors. Have a bulletin board available forannouncements and messages. Post a conference schedule, a map of the exhibition hall,lists of press conferences and invitations to exhibitor hospitality suites.

Press registration must be handled professionally. Editors expect to be in and outquickly. Their time is limited and they have a great deal to do. Screen all press registrants to make certain that "freeloaders" aren't given press credentials, as they take up exhibitors' time uselessly.

Editors always collect large amounts of product literature from exhibitors and needsomewhere to store it. Provide an area where the editors can leave these materials.Provide editors with copies of printed proceedings of the conference, if available.

The official show photographer should provide shots of the show's opening, crowdedconference sessions, crowded aisles and important individual speakers for the pressroom bulletin board on the morning of the second day. This requires expensive,overnight processing, but it provides editors with important photos for their post-showreports. Order blanks should be available and left with the press room staff.

The official photographer should also be available to provide editors with specific newsshots they request.

Editors like to get attendance figures each day. If the figures look good, they should beposted each morning. When these figures break records, it is a good idea to write a newsrelease.

Often, an editor who would like to cover your show cannot attend. In such cases, speak tothe editor before the show and determine what he or she wants and collect the relevantpress kits, news releases, conference texts and photos.

7. On-site work with the general media
Most show managers ignore this area entirely, but it can have important benefits. Forexample, if yours is an industrial show held in an industrial hub like Chicago, general press coverage can have a direct, significant impact on attendance. If yours is an association-sponsored show, general media coverage is an important element for the sponsoring association. Developing a sense of what will interest the general media may take time and experience, but the results are worth the effort.

Examine the texts for presentations that might be of interest to editors of business pages of daily newspapers or other sections, such as home-making, automotive, generalinterest, etc.

During set-up, search the floor to find exhibits that may have interest for TV cameracrews, or all-news radio stations, or editors of general newspapers wire services Then draft a "tip sheet" for reporters and photographers, TV and all-news radio. On the eve of the opening, hand deliver this tip sheet. Include captioned photographs to interest TV and photo desks. Also distribure the tip sheet via fax, and place it on one of the several PR wire services available to the general media.

On the opening day, make the tip sheet available to trade editors as well and call thegeneral media again to reiterate the show's highlights. Have the tip sheet on hand whenreporters and camera crews come to cover the show.

Look for newsworthy products or exhibits that will make good still photographs. Theseshots should be taken on the day before the opening, developed the same day anddistributed that evening. The caption should include the name of the subject and his orher affiliation with the show or exhibitor. It's a tough schedule, but it's wonderful to seethe photo in the newspaper on the opening morning of the show.

Arrange to have a spokesperson available to be interviewed by reporters, and have analternate in the event the spokesperson is not available. Remember that news crewsmust work fast. If possible, arrange for parking spaces for the TV trucks close to thedoor. When reporters or camera crews come, provide individual guides through theexhibits.

8. On-site work with exhibitors
When a show achieves a reputation as an "industry event," and draws coverage fromdozens of industry publications as well as the general media, participation in the pressroom becomes an added value for exhibitors.

Before the show opens, exhibitors will bring their press kits and news releases into thepress room. Arrange them on draped tables. Some exhibitors will bring in theirmaterials after the show has opened, even on the second or third day, so it's importantthat there's enough room for all the releases. Often it's a good idea to arrange these exhibitor materials in alphabetical order, so exhibitors can check periodically to see if their supplies have run out. Assign someone to oversee the tables to make certain thematerials are kept in good order.

A staff member should read all the exhibitor releases to spot trends and be able to direct editors to releases of particular interest to their readers.

Assist exhibitors who have scheduled a press conference by posting invitations in thepress room. Have someone monitor the rooms used for exhibitor press conferences toensure that exhibitors stay on schedule and that the room is cleaned and rearrangedbetween press conferences.

9. Post-show work with trade publications
Post-show follow-up is important. It affects post-show reviews that are published, andthose reviews can be a critical selling tool for next year's show.

On the last day of the show, interview exhibitors with a hand-held cassette recorder andask for their reactions to the show. Ask about total attendance, the quality of theattendees, how many orders or leads resulted. Get permission from the exhibitors you interview to quote them.

Write, edit and distribute to your entire list a wrap-up news release about the show.Include all the salient facts, as if you were a reporter covering the show. And don't forget to include the dates and place for next year's event. Include quotes from your interviews with exhibitors.

10. Exhibit sales-oriented activity
Attendance-building publicity in trade publications has a direct impact on potentialexhibitors, because they read the same publications that visitors do. Exhibitor educationwill build loyal exhibitors. In addition, there are some activities that are aimedprimarily at booth sales.

Exhibitors should be kept informed of developments that affect the show and conference.It's often valuable to send copies of pre-show news releases to all exhibitors.

A news release can be sent along with a business reply card to large lists of potentialexhibitors. A news release is often a persuasive sales tool and it can be prepared andmailed far more rapidly than a formal sales brochure. This technique is intended as asupplement to the sales brochure, not as a replacement.

When you are trying to find exhibitors in a niche area of the show, consider a specializednews release for a mailing to these prospects. The news release might mentionconference sessions on a particular topic and names of important exhibitors from thatniche market.

Whatever public relations strategies you undertake and whether you decide to tackle them in-house or through outsourcing, remember that advertising is not enough, direct mail is not enough, VIP tickets are not enough. Treat public relations as a profit center and plan your program carefully. The profit will far exceed the cost.

Sidebar: Public relations and associations

If an association co-sponsors your show or conference, or if you work for anassociation producing its own show or conference, take advantage of the opportunitiessuch a connection offers.

• Many shows arrange sponsorships and other joint arrangements, but fail to use theirfacilities to reach their members. Most associations send bulletins to their members andpublish magazines that can print news about your show. In addition, association chaptersand special-interest divisions should be contacted separately from the national office.
• Discuss with association officials whether they have newsworthy objectives they would like to publicize. Concentrate on topics that might interest a newspaper, TV or radio reporter.
• Encourage supporting associations to schedule and participate in conference sessionsthat consider key industry concerns.
• Obtain lists of local chapters and their officers and be sure they have show details,conference programs and VIP tickets for distribution to their members. Concentrate onchapters located in or near the show city. Write or telephone these chapter officers andencourage them to distribute VIP tickets, encourage member attendance, include noticesin mailings, etc. If possible, have a member chair a committee to promote the show andconference.
• Encourage supporting associations that may not be formal sponsors to schedulemeetings concurently with the show and offer them space to hold such meetings. Join in a mutual promotion program. Offer free VIP tickets and discounted conferenceregistrations for members.
• Ask association officials to write to their members urging attendance at the show orconference. Offer to write the letter, produce it and pay for the postage.