‘Press coverage can be useful to highlight particular topics of general interest, encourage people to attend and to give an extra incentive to sponsors.’

SELECTING THE APPROPRIATE MEDIA

Trade press

Specialist journals targeted at particular interest groups. These journals are often keen to include events which would appeal to their readers. They may also wish to send a representative along to write a report of the event in a later edition.

National press

Broadsheet and tabloid newspapers. The story needs to have strong general interest and be particularly topical. Many specialist supplements, have a regular ‘What’s On’ listing and even if you cannot obtain any editorial space, if the subject is relevant you should not have any problem getting it listed.

Local press

Evening, daily, weekly and free papers. These papers focus on stories of interest to the local community and can be targeted from three angles as in the examples below.

Locality of delegates

‘Local people are being encouraged to attend the West Cumbria Conservation Conference that is being held at the Diglis Sports Centre on 30th October. Many people relocate to West Cumbria because of the beautiful countryside, but to secure its beauty for future generations we are all being encouraged to think ahead and to support schemes set up by the Conservation Trust that will be discussed...’

Locality of the event

‘Bradshaw on Sea is delighted to be hosting the 2005 International Lacemaking Conference. The event, being run by the Bradshaw Lacemaking Circle, will attract delegates from across the world to hear speakers discussing the latest techniques and designs.’

Locality of speaker

‘Dingford’s Mayoress, Mrs Jean Smith, will be travelling to Cardiff on Saturday to address a conference aimed at reducing Local Government spending. Using Dingford as an example, Mrs Smith will discuss how smaller towns can flourish with creative spending.’

National radio

BBC and independent radio stations. As with national newspapers, the story needs to have strong appeal to catch the imagination of the radio producers/commissioning editors who will be inundated with press releases on a daily basis. By reading a copy of the Radio or TV Times it is easy to identify which programmes are devoted to particular issues – always send the press release to a particular show producer or editor, not just addressed to the radio station. A telephone call to the appropriate radio station is all that is needed to establish the programme producer’s contact details.

Local radio

Local BBC and independent radio stations. Local radio, as local newspapers, need a continuance of stories about local people/issues, so try to target them from all three angles shown for local papers.

WRITING THE PRESS RELEASE

Remember that you are not only requiring the attention of the eventual newspaper readers, but that of the journalist him/herself who has to be persuaded to use the press release as a basis for an article. Editors and radio producers receive many press releases on a daily basis, so yours must stand out from the crowd. To do that you need a ‘hook’ to catch their attention.

Creating the copy

• 1.Ideally one A4 page should be adequate.
• 2.Many people will not read further than the first paragraph, so you have to be able to get your message across succinctly before going on to fill in the details in later paragraphs.
• 3.Type on one side of the paper only, use double line spacing, ensure it is dated at the top and has ‘Ends’ at the foot of the copy.
• 4.Under the main body of text put notes for the editor, such as contact name and telephone number for further details, enclosures, etc. It may also be useful to note which, if any, of your speakers are ‘media friendly’, i.e. are comfortable, articulate and possibly experienced at talking to the media.
• 5.Include a quote from a spokesperson if appropriate.
• 6.Make the headline short and snappy, and avoid jargon and acronyms.
• 7.Include who, what, why and how.
• 8.Enclose photo(s) of speaker(s) and the conference brochure.

See Figure 18 for an example.

LOOKING AFTER THE JOURNALISTS

Always include details of how journalists can attend. Usually members of the press attend events free of charge, and in return publish articles on the conference. Ensure that they receive directions and instructions as to where to go on arrival. Remember that editorial space which journalists can provide would cost thousands of pounds if you had to pay for it in a national newspaper so it is a sound investment to put in the effort.

PROVIDING A PRESS ROOM

Depending on the profile of the event and if you are expecting high media interest, you may need to consider whether you will require a press room on-site for the duration of the conference. In here, you should provide any information that may be of interest to the media, including details of sponsors and exhibitors if appropriate. You should also provide:

• a phone
• fax machine
• modem point
• coffee/refreshments
• seating.

If your budget will not stretch to a press room (remember to include room hire, phone charges, fax hire and refreshments in your budget), you can at least provide your press delegates with a folder including items pertaining to the cause of the event, biographies of speakers, literature from event sponsors and contact details for more information.

POST-CONFERENCE PUBLICITY

If you are unable to generate outside interest before and during the event, write your own review or press release afterwards for circulation to appropriate media. To add interest you can include quotes from satisfied delegates, and good quality photos of the conference in progress. As well as creating possible post-conference publicity, it will also alert the journalists to attend on another occasion.