ID3AS Blog
Event Marketing: Engaging with the Media
If you build it, they will come...right? You’ve spent the time and money, organizing and planning your event, but without any guests, even the most extravagant event will fail. How do you make the most out of your promotional efforts?
Engaging with the press by writing a media advisory could help your business earn the buzz and traction that it requires to make your next event a hit.
What is a media advisory? It’s an open invitation to the media to cover your event. Whether that be a fundraiser or grand opening or open to the public or private, any opportunity where the free press would be beneficial, a media advisory should be sent out.
What Should a Media Advisory Include?
A media advisory is a one-page document, that alerts reporters, journalists, newscasters, and other media outlets of your upcoming event. It’s the who, what, when, where, and why of your event, that actually entices the media to come out and cover it. Writing an effective media advisory can be a challenge and you’ll want to follow the expected, universal format while trying to grab the media’s attention. So how do you write a media advisory? Remember to include these elements;
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Your organization’s logo or letterhead.
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Contact name, phone number, and address of the event.
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“Media Advisory” with a catchy one-line heading or name of the event underneath. It’s also important to include the date of the event in the headline, so reporters know how far out they are from the event. They may just file it away in their calendar until the actual date.
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What: A one-paragraph description of your event and participants.
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Who: The full names of speakers or persons of interest to the media. If the media knows that a politician or VIP will be at an event, they will go to cover the event, but also take it as an opportunity to ask the politician questions that are related to other important news topics. This is a win for you, because your event is being covered, and could also be a win for the reporter who is getting more than one story.
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When: The date and time of the event.
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Where: The location of the event.
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Why: Explain why the event is taking place and cite any statistics if interesting and/or applicable.
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How: Include the verbiage “for additional information please contact full name, telephone number, and email address”.
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If there is a good opportunity for photos or videos at your event, include a note about it at the bottom of the advisory.
Check out this example of a media advisory from marketersmedia.
After you have written and proofed your media advisory, the next step is to distribute it to all relevant media channels. Media advisories should be sent between five and seven business days before the date of your event to ensure that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of a busy inbox or newsroom.
Pro Tip: After the media advisory is sent, call the newsroom of each media outlet, generally two days before the event, to ensure that they have received it. During this call, you can ask if the media has any questions and if they are planning to attend, and always include your contact information so that they can reach you with any questions. Following up with a phone call is the best way to get the media committed to attending or to change the minds of those who had decided to opt-out. Furthermore, building a personable relationship with the media by speaking to them on the phone vs. via email will set you apart from the hundreds of other people who are competing for their attention.
In order to gain the most attendance, it’s important that you format your media advisory to include all relevant information. Writing a well-formatted and concise media advisory can gain greater attendance and press coverage for your event.
Have questions? We can help! For more information about how D3 can benefit your business, please contact D3 at 410-213-2400, or email us at solutions@d3corp.com.