If your agency handles a tourism or economic development account, there is nothing finer than promoting good news or positive statistics to the media-at-large through a press conference. Just about everyone sees a press conference on a daily basis. If you’re a sports fan, it might be Bill Belichick’s surly and curt answers about the New England Patriot’s latest rout. If you’re a political junkie, you get by on the daily updates from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. The part you see sure looks smooth, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t. It takes careful planning to script a smooth-running press conference. When you get a prime opportunity to promote tourism or economic development for your clients, you won’t want to miss out on these six critical steps that should be on your checklist before the cameras roll:
- Pre-Press Conference Planning Meeting: Does the positive tourism or economic development news rise to the level of scheduling a press conference? Be sure. If so, begin a brainstorming session on how to present the good news. What are the key message points? Who will deliver remarks and in what order will they be delivered? Who will handle the stage, banners and sound system requirements? What gets decided at the end of this meeting will be the beginning of your “Run of Show” document. Your judgment is critical at this stage because you don’t want to snub a key player or leave out a dire necessity in the planning process.
- Making a List So You Can Check it Twice: It might seem overboard to some folks, but having a press conference checklist is tantamount to the overall success of the event. Your checklist should include every aspect of the press conference and which party is responsible for each and every duty. Think this isn’t an important step? Imagine how you’ll feel when you arrive at the press conference to see that nobody thought to take care of a sound system. Feel free to dash out to your local hardware store to buy a bullhorn.
- Media Advisory – The Big Tease: You will need to craft an advisory to send to your targeted media audience. For tourism and economic development clients, this includes travel and business writers, as well as television stations. The media advisory typically follows a pre-set formula—just answer the Who, What, Where, When and Why (or the five W’s). Craft the language in the media advisory to pique the media’s interest, but do so in a way that doesn’t give away your big announcement. Low key language that hints at something larger is the solution. You want media members to receive the advisory and call you to ask what is going on. Chances are they’ll have to show up in person to find out. Voila! Success! With this fact in mind, make certain you have personnel manning the phones at the number you have delivered on the media advisory. And have them check voice mails by the hour. Ignoring the inquiring media at this stage could set you up for the kind of payback you don’t want to experience on the day of your press conference.
- Who’s Minding the Social Media Sites?: If your company has a prolific social media presence and are used to sending out daily Facebook updates and tweets, this is not the time to go silent and into a “Bunker Mentality”. Simply tailor your messages to coincide with the content of the media advisory. A great strategy for social media is to engage your fan base at this stage. Encourage postings and participation from your audience through the language you use in your updates. You can have a lot of fun with posts in the tourism and economic development category if your updates affect the local population.
- The Press Release: This should be the easy part—you get to say or admit everything, but it must be timed to release at the moment your press conference begins and not a minute sooner. Write professionally and you will come off looking as such. Make sure that you get approval from all parties represented at the press conference—especially as it relates to direct quotes from participants. Gather input from everyone involved because all of their opinions matter. Keep in mind that where credit is due for positive news, it can be a balancing act to make sure that nobody feels slighted about their involvement or contribution. If it’s tourism or economic development, there should be plenty of personnel ready to accept a portion of the credit.
- Expect the Unexpected: Do you have several speakers lined up to announce at your press conference? Expect at least one of them to be stuck in traffic while sitting in the back seat of the taxi just as the press conference commences. Plan for this contingency by projecting a cool and collected demeanor onsite and your participants will follow your lead. Move the speaking personnel around to accommodate this challenge or have another of the participants cover the missing person’s remarks. Be sure to offer time after the press conference for one-on-one interviews and be certain that all speakers have similar talking points.
When good news comes calling to your tourism or economic development team, pulling off a well-planned press conference is much harder than it looks. But if you follow the six aforementioned guidelines, then you have the right plan to execute success. Have these steps worked for you? Have an example of success or even a horror story? Share it with us!
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