How to plan and organise a successful press event

If your business is launching a new product or service, or you have something important to announce to your target audience, a press event can be a fantastic way to gain exposure in both print and online media.

It also gives you an opportunity to develop relationships with journalists and influencers, something that might come in handy later on. 

We’ve put together some tips for running a successful press event so you can make the most of this opportunity: 

Define your objectives

The first step in running a successful press event is working out what your goals are. It’s best to have one key message to communicate to your audience, rather than making it a general brand event. For example, this might be a product launch, a move to be more sustainable or an event to raise awareness for a particular cause you are associated with.

Write down your mission statement at the early planning stages - this will allow you to keep focused, communicate your message and achieve your objectives.

Finalise your guest list

Once you’ve got your objectives, you need to work out who you want your message to reach. This involves identifying key publications in your industry and those relevant to your message, as well as local press.

We would recommend putting together a guest list which includes a range of influential media representatives. For example, this might include influencers, bloggers and vloggers as well as more traditional print media journalists. This means you’ll get representations both on and offline, with different styles of content reaching different audiences.

Announce the event in a memorable way

Journalists receive an average of 20 event invitations each week, so you’ll want to make sure your event doesn’t get lost among them. You can start by sending out a news release to key publications, introducing the idea and generating interest.

Then, it’s on to the invitation. Make sure to personalise the message, make it easy to read and offer a plus one to increase the chance of them attending. Send out your invitations first of all and then follow up with a phone call for that personal touch – this shows that you really do want them to attend the event.

Impress on the night

It’s all well and good securing all the key journalists you wanted to attend, but you need to make sure they actually enjoy the event and understand your key messages. They will be the ones to let the general public know all about your new product or brand decision, so you’ve got to make sure they get it right by focusing on the important information.

Create a media pack

It’s so much easier for journalists to create a high-quality piece of content if they have media assets already available to them.

Offer a digital media pack to those that attend the event - this showcases your professionalism as well as helping journalists to understand the details of your announcement. It also acts as another touch point with them after the event and means they have all the digital assets they need to write their stories afterwards. Include assets such as  high-quality photography and videography, quotes, statistics and key documents.

Stay in touch with journalists after the event

Following up with journalists is possibly the most important step in ensuring a successful press event. Even if the event went smoothly and you were happy with how your message was received, journalists are busy people and might need a nudge to ensure they stay in contact with you and give you an idea of when their content will be published.

Always start your follow-up message by thanking them for attending and reiterating how they played an important role in making it a successful night. Then, provide them with a post-event press release which has all the important details and information that they will need to write up their coverage, including an invitation to contact you if they need any further details.

Not only will staying in touch after the event increase your chances of high-quality and speedy coverage, it also allows you to maintain those all-important press relationships for future events.