Zeus PR agency is a company that majors in success when hosting exclusive events. And with the pandemic’s gradual decline allowing for clients to re-open their doors, we have made it our priority to ensure that the businesses we support continue to generate an abundance of exposure.
In order to re-capture consumer attention following an uncertain year, we have supported our clients by hosting a number of events that have been well attended by relevant news and luxury lifestyle publications, local dignitaries, and VIP clients.
We are now delighted to share our top tips on how to make sure your event is the hottest ticket in town!
Spark the senses and allure your audience –
Our involvement in promoting client exposure follows a process that begins with pre-prompting to raise awareness of upcoming plans. Achieving pre-event exposure involves a course of tasks that will ensure every touchpoint reflects your brand and creates desire to attend – simultaneously maximizing press interest.
… Inviting the press
In order to secure media coverage, creating an eye-catching initial press release is imperative as it creates a first impression for journalists that may consider attending.
Press releases may also contain a formal invitation and inclusion of notable participants that will be attending. This provides a legitimate feel to the upcoming occasion. They also may contain a ‘photocall notice’ with details of notable moments that may be captured for their pages.
TIP: don’t just target the press – consider inviting local bloggers that will provide a wider audience and create a large social impact thanks to their relevant influence e.g., a local art and entertainment influencer would be perfect for your client’s exclusive art exhibition preview.
… Inviting key customers and dignitaries
A private invitation received by notable guests, key customers, and local dignitaries must excite the potential attendee so it lodges firmly in their mind as a ‘must-attend’ for their diary – however if time scales are involved, an e-invitation serves as a budget-friendly way to present your event. It may sound a little obvious, but there is little point in distributing a swish invite which involves a time-consuming and costly process of designing and printing when your event is running for a long weekend.
Build Anticipation –
Capturing the attention of your target audience is vital when hosting a successful event. Social media plays an immense role in building anticipation for upcoming occasions as engaging with your target audience is vital when aiming to increase attendance. Posting a formal invitation to your client’s public event via social media handles creates awareness and provides a concise source of information that can easily be dispersed amongst groups for further audience reach.
Creating a series of ‘build-up’ posts (teasers) aids in enticing the public and maintaining their interest so the target audience will essentially be counting down the dates in anticipation of the company’s event.
Preview events are often attended by a chosen few, including businesses and brands to generate key exposure and attention in the lead of the public event. Successful pre-empting engages a relevant audience and ensures client doors gain a significant footfall over the coming months and years.
Alternatively, another one of our clients chose to pre-prompt their event in a different manner – by showcasing the exclusive preview launch to the public only a night before the public event began. Revealing an event to the public one night before its commencement proves effective when the exhibition is running for an extended period – in this case, the event ran for a month.
The Perfect Preview Event –
Attention to detail is a vital element that plays in hosting a seamless preview event. High-status guests and attending reporters expect to be greeted with a certain ‘wow factor’ upon arrival to emphasize the importance of your exhibition and showcase the time which you have devoted to providing guests with a flawless presentation.
Hiring a catering company to provide aesthetically pleasing light snacks that look delicious and can be easily grazed upon shows a personal touch and creates a hospitable feel – don’t be afraid to guide guests to the catering space or help out in carrying platters as this breaks the ice and helps build a friendly reputation!
A manned stand providing a selection of alcoholic and soft drinks provides a social gathering spot and allows guests to remain refreshed – however, you may require extra bottles if your event falls on a Friday!
Adequate lighting and staging of your client’s showroom are vital elements for creating an accommodating space suitable for photography. This may require hiring event stagers to aid in the process of creating a clean, uncluttered space in order to professionally showcase clients’ products.
A notable guest speaker will spark press interest and provide an enticing reason for the press to attend your client’s event. If your event is debuting a specific collection or product, make sure the creator is there to provide guests with a face to the name. Inviting local dignitaries also maximizes press interest and provides a relevant reason to attend.
Post-event engagement –
Make sure you capture images that can be used on both social media and within post-event press releases and as part of any follow-up editorial that you have secured.
If budgets permit, you may want to consider booking a freelance press photographer, however, these days you can curate high-quality images from your iPhone. When images have been successfully staged, there is no reason why they can’t feature within national newspapers!
Success isn’t solely based on the event itself, as the actions that follow post-event create a lasting impact and ultimately boost the engagement with both key and potential customers.
Maintaining Momentum –
It’s all well and good to generate buzz but little point if you then drop off the cliff! Maintaining engagement with the target audience is vital for longer-running events, and regular updates via social media platforms act as an essential way to document progress in order to hold lasting interest. Throughout the duration of an event, we ensure that regular posts flow through our client’s social media feeds and continue to push for press coverage in both local and national publications, providing the public with a range of glossy images and informative captions that will entice footfall.
As you may have targeted your preview evening to a select few, once the event is open to the public it is vital that as many potential customers have eyes on your social media content and secured coverage as possible. Causing a lasting effect is imperative and that is why we stress the importance of capturing vibrant, clear shots of the evening to make it look interesting!
To support keeping you front of mind you need to regulate your media schedule with editorial placement in key digital and print titles as well as an engaging social plan.
Find the information above helpful and want to find out more about how to get the most out of your media coverage? Contact us at 01260 271429 or email anthea.fosti@zeuspr.co.uk for more information!