Maximizing Media

How press kits and pressrooms can help

By Rayna Skolnik

The media play a key role in the success of a show. Their pre-show coverage can help boost attendance, and may increase exhibitor participation, too. And their on-site reports help build the event's reputation and generate interest in the next show -- thus completing the circle.

Two tools that show management can use to keep that circle from breaking are press kits and pressrooms. Press kits that are carefully thought out, sharply targeted and properly timed not only improve your chances of getting pre-show publicity, but also can persuade the media that they themselves should attend. And a professionally run pressroom can help them do their job once they arrive.

Get their attention
If your show is well-known, your logo on the cover of a press kit might be sufficient to get an editor to open it. The National Sporting Goods Association uses the same logo-imprinted folder for press kits and advertising department media kits. "This gives us a more uniform look," explains Larry Weindruch, Senior Communications Manager for the NSGA in Mt. Prospect, IL.

Some events might need a stronger statement, however. One such show is Black Expo USA, a traveling exposition that brings together African American entrepreneurs and consumers in 14 cities. Black media are eager to publicize the expo. "But general market media are sometimes reluctant because they claim they're not familiar with the show, even though it's in its fifth year," says Carol Patterson, President of Correct Communications in Newark, NJ, which handles the show's publicity and special events.

The Black Expo press kit is designed to attract an editor's attention. The show name appears in gold block letters on a black background, making a strong statement on the white folder. Above that block is the bright red logo of the show's chief sponsor, Coca-Cola. One of the world's best-known logos, it's bound to add credibility to the event -- and get the recipient to look inside.

Facts up front
When the folder is opened, the first thing a reader should see is a letter of invitation with compelling reasons to attend, plus details on what to do in order to attend -- send a registration form? call in? just show up? There should also be a fact sheet with the show name, its focus, dates and hours, location and a contact name.

What else is included depends on how the press kit is targeted, and how recipients will use it. For example, NSGA produces separate kits for trade and consumer press covering its NSGA World Sports Expo. Both kits contain fact sheets about the show and the association, but everything else is tailored to the needs of each group.

"Every magazine in the industry uses the show as the basis for a special issue for editorial and advertising as well," says Weindruch. "We want their pre-show issue to be as meaty as possible, so we make sure they get enough material." This year, the kit included a release about licensed products -- which are hot plus information on sports Hall of Famers whose attendance had been confirmed. There was also a release on the keynote speaker, talk show host Larry King, and a seminar schedule. The main purpose of this kit was to provide information, not to persuade the press to attend: "The trade press has to be there, or they'll be buried by the competition," Weindruch notes.

It's a different story with the consumer press, however. "The consumer kit is totally about why they need to be at the show," Weindruch says. There is, for example, a "Story Angle Tip Sheet" with several story ideas. Another sheet explains how the show is divided into product areas. There's also a concise twopage overview of the show for those who need only a briefing.

"We don't get into the nitty gritty about things like licensed products with the consumer press," says Weindruch. "They want to know what products are hot and what the new categories are. We also give them information on popular sports activities and consumer purchases. Maybe one of those will make them say, 'Hey, that sounds like a great story I'd better go."' Among those who were persuaded that they'd "better go" to this year's show were "Good Morning America" and "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," which taped some of the celebrities who appeared.

Customized kits
For the International Lawn, Garden and Power Equipment Expo, Polly Moter prepares almost as many press kits as Baskin-Robbins has flavors. Her media lists include general industry, local and international press, plus target audiences such as rental trade magazines or commercial magazines serving end users. "I organize the press kits according to the readership of the magazines," says Moter, President of Moter Communications in Louisville, KY, which handles the show's publicity. "For example, for the commercial magazines, there might be a special release focusing on the commercial-oriented seminars."

Because the show is international, press kits are also prepared in French, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. "Translations are done by natives of those countries so that they are really accurate and usable," Moter points out.

Personalizing the kits still further, Moter sends an advance questionnaire asking editors what materials would help them prepare their preshow issue. Editors may request a floorplan, exhibitor lists, and either color slides or black-and-white photos of the exhibit areas, equipment, seminar speakers or featured entertainers. The questionnaire even asks if the editor needs a press kit earlier than the specified mail date.

A single kit, for both trade and consumer press, is sufficient for the North American International Auto Show, according to John Love, President of Event Management Corporation, a public relations and special events firm in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI. "We try to design the kit to be very comprehensive so that everything is in it for both groups," he says. "The general media are interested in trends, colors, styles or designs that are growing or declining in popularity. The automotive journalist will form his own opinions on those issues, and is more interested in facts, such as what vehicles are being introduced." Other topics covered: special events, attractions or promotions.

The complete kit could contain a dozen or more releases. "Ten or 12 local papers do special sections on the show and need everything I can give them," says Love. There is also a selection of color slides and blackand-white prints in all the kits except those sent to radio stations although a radio station occasionally requests a picture of a vehicle it wants to describe.

Patterson finds it effective to enclose reprints of articles about Black Expo. Seeing what kind of coverage the expo received in the past, she explains, can help persuade the media -- especially general market media -- to cover it now.

Timing is everything
To be of any value, pre-show press kits generally should reach an editor by the deadline for the preshow issue. That usually means mailing the kit two months before the issue date, thus three months before the show date. For example, Moter mails press kits in April in order to meet a deadline for a June issue publicizing a July show. But, as mentioned, she'll mail even earlier to fulfill an editor's request.

That general schedule doesn't apply to all shows. The NAIAS kit mails only one month before show date, says Love, because of the nature of the show: Exhibitors are making major announcements and don't want to reveal too much too soon. "But we've softened up the market with a series of informational newsletters beginning four months before the show," he notes, "and most editors save those newsletters."

Public shows run on tighter schedules than trade shows. Patterson sends press kits to daily publications and broadcast media only two weeks out. However, she sends kits a month in advance to weekly publications and to newspapers that do special show supplements.

Even if you send a comprehensive press kit before the show, there can be value in having another one in the press room. "Not every publication represented at the show does a pre-show issue," observes Motet "So they might toss the kit they receive before the show. But they do want to write about the show, so they need the information." An on-site kit also can contain updated schedules or details on seminars and special events.

Planning the pressroom
Any show manager who considers a pressroom merely a place for the press to collect press kits, rest their feet and scarf down free food instead of walking the show is missing a major opportunity. "A pressroom enhances the impression of the show in the minds of visitors, exhibitors and editors," says Jim Greif, Vice President of Banner & Greif Ltd., a New York City public relations firm that has specialized in expositions and conferences for 45 years. "If you just have a curtained area with news releases, and a secretary from the convention bureau, no one will take the news coming out of that show very seriously."

Greif advises having a professional staff at least large enough to answer editors' questions, and to supervise press registration, which he prefers to do on-site. "But even if the press pre-registers, I want a mechanism for them to come to the pressroom to pick up something. Otherwise, you're not sure who's there. Also, I want someone to talk to the editors, because this affects postshow reports."

Pressrooms can range from the basic, no-frills model to an elaborate area providing many amenities and personal services. But those amenities and services do yield a payoff "The media are here to cover a tremendous amount of activity in a short period of time," says Love. "Everything we can do to assist them is to their benefit and ours."

The NSGA enlists the aid of a public relations agency to staff its pressroom. The staff includes three people for the badge typewriters alone, and credentials are scrutinized before badges are issued. "We take our pressroom seriously," says Weindruch.

In most pressrooms, there is a display of exhibitor press kits, and editors cherry-pick the ones they want. But that's not the only way to handle this basic feature. At the Lawn & Garden show, for example, an extra effort is made to connect exhibitors with editors. Says Moter, "We provide mailboxes for key trade publications so that exhibitors can put their kits into the mailboxes of specific editors."

At the NAIAS, meanwhile, the staff of the Michelin Media Center, named for its sponsor, retrieves specific kits as requested by the media -- no small task, considering that there were 2,500 media attendees at the last show. If an editor wants a full set of press kits, the staff will mail it to his or her office. That's especially helpful for international media because the full set weighs 50 pounds, meaning that press kits alone could exceed the individual's luggage allowance.

Dedicated work areas
Editors and photographers usually gather their material right on the show floor. But the NSGA pressroom includes two meeting rooms, furnished with tables and chairs and enclosed with portable hardwalls, that can be reserved for private interviews or photo shoots. The rooms are booked through a member of the pressroom staff.

Holding all exhibitor news conferences in the pressroom has proven to be effective for the Lawn & Garden show. Says Motes, "If the news conferences were held on the show floor, they might overlap, and not all press could attend them all. This system benefits the exhibitors and the media."

Whether or not you provide workstations for the working press depends on the field and its deadlines. As Greif points out, "If there are no weeklies or dailies, a typewriter or word processor might not be necessary. But if editors are on tight deadlines, it's fairly important to have computers and faxes."

The NAIAS does offer typewriters, computers and fax machines. But it goes a step farther, providing private workstations for major news bureaus, like AP, which file many stories.

Not that everything is geared to the needs of giant news organizations. The smaller ones get special treatment, too. For example, some media send only one person, who is stretched to the limit trying to cover the entire show. To help those singular souls, the press conferences are videotaped, and a writer is hired to prepare a one-page summary of each press conference as well.

Greif suggests taking opening-day pictures, and making copies available to the press the next morning so they can get on-the-spot coverage. He acknowledges, however, that overnight processing can be expensive.

Because so many media send their own photographers to the NAIAS, its Media Center includes a photo desk that sells film, and supplies and provides overnight film processing. The final film pick-up is late enough to accommodate special post-press-conference photo shoots that can be arranged through the Media Center. There is also on-site video editing for those who want to prepare a story for a local newscast, and a cameraman can even be provided.

Any self-respecting pressroom provides refreshments, though they need not be extensive. Coffee, juice, muffins, dry snacks and soft drinks will do it. Some pressrooms also have sandwiches or fruit and cheese. At the Lawn & Garden show, exhibitors sometimes sponsor a more elaborate breakfast or lunch, says Moter. That's a win-win-win opportunity: visibility for the exhibitor, cost savings for show management, and happy media.