Managing the media center for a major event requires special skills. Take the world's largest consumer boat show for example. How do you effectively and successfully handle more than 1,000 requests for media credentials and coordinate hundreds of press conferences and media interviews in six days? Preparation and flexibility are two key components. The annual Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail hosts more than 150,000 visitors over a six-day period every February. With more than 2,300 exhibitors, the event covers 2.3 million square feet of exhibit space at three locations.

On-The-Job Training
Events like the Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail can be overwhelming to the uninitiated PR staffer. Because of the long hours and sheer size of the boat show, the media center is staffed with five to seven PR practitioners who work 16-hour days to coordinate press conferences, interviews and live broadcasts as well as to manage the activities of the show's two media centers. This offers junior staffers the opportunity to be involved with an exciting event and gain valuable experience in media relations and event planning.

Managing A Successful Media Center
Paying attention to details and careful planning can make any media event a success. Media coordinators for the Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail begin preparing for the event eight months in advance. They recommend following these tips for managing a successful media center:

• Establish meaningful relationships with the media.
  As with any successful media relations strategy, you must identify your key media targets and learn as much as you can about the journalists and each publication's editorial focus. Read each reporter's most recent stories to help you identify the appropriate story elements the reporter needs to complete his or her story. Beginning six months prior to the event, gather exhibitor information - new product launches, media kits, photos - and develop a variety of story ideas for a range of reporters and media outlets.
  
  For example, entertainment and lifestyle reporters from around the world come to the Miami show to see the latest, most expensive and most unique boating products or to report on the show's special events, which have included celebrity guest appearances. Business reporters look for financial facts that convey the state of the boating industry or the show's economic impact on the South Florida region. Boating reporters want information about exhibitors and new products. No matter what story angle you develop, be sure to always supplement story ideas with an at-a-glance fact sheet about the event. The more information you can provide a journalist, the better.
  
  
• Simplify your process for handling media credentials.
  For an event the size of the Miami show, the credential process begins months in advance. Distribute media kits with credential request forms to journalists who work with long lead times at least four months prior to the event. One month prior to the show, send media kits to journalists with shorter lead times, including local and national broadcast journalists as well as to reporters with local newspapers.
  
  Make use of the Internet and post a credential request form within the media center of your trade show's Web site. By issuing the majority of credentials prior to the event, media coordinators spend less time managing long lines of reporters on-site, especially on the first day, and they are provided more time to develop relationships with reporters and coordinate on-site interviews and show coverage.
  
  Inevitably, there will be some journalists who register on-site. To avoid long lines and frustration, have floaters work the room, mingle with journalists and provide information and material while they wait in line. You've heard the phrase, time flies when you're having fun. That's the idea here.
  
  In addition, it's important that journalists who request credentials on-site add their contact information to a sign-in sheet in the media center. The names and addresses of these reporters should be added to your database of media representatives to receive credentials in the mail prior to your next annual event.
  
• Have backup plans.
  Meticulous planning can help avoid crises. Journalists' deadlines can change at a moment's notice, and media coordinators should have more than one client spokesperson available at any given time, including a bilingual spokesperson. It's important that media coordinators be prepared to handle last-minute media requests and participate as spokespeople in on-the-spot interviews as required.
  
  Occasionally, a VIP or celebrity will attend your trade show unannounced. Your event coordinators must swing into action and organize interview requests, press conferences and, often, additional security as needed. Your media coordinators must also provide reporters covering the VIP visit or celebrity press conference with key messages and quick facts about your event to ensure that coverage of the I celebrity news does not overshadow your event.
  At the 2002 Miami International Boat Show, Nick Carter of The Backstreet Boys held an impromptu press conference to announce the launch of his off-shore racing team. The show's media coordinators acted quickly to alert local media of the event and manage the rush of broadcast crews and print journalists who arrived at the convention center to cover the 30-minute event. Most importantly, the show's team of media coordinators provided reporters with an at-a-glance fact sheet about the show. As a result, every national and international article, wire report and broadcast segment about Carter's press conference included reference to, and details about, the Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail.
  
• Be Accomodating
  Journalists are most responsive when their needs are met. The media center should be designed to ensure complete media comfort, including easy access to the show floor, a quiet area to coordinate interviews and, if your event covers multiple locations, specially designated media shuttles that run throughout the day.
  
  Be sure to stock your media center with media kits about your show and its exhibitors. Include an over-sized bulletin board that provides an at-a-glance overview of daily events and activities, including news conferences and product demos, as well as special announcements from the show organizers. Make sure you have sufficient phone lines, computers and fax machines available to journalists who need to work quickly to meet their deadlines. Also, keep a surplus of supplies for reporters on hand, including notebooks, pens and paper clips, as well a complimentary show tickets that reporters can pass along to their families and friends.
  
  With a strong team, preparation and flexibility, any trade show can be a successful media event. Remember to think positively and be prepared for the unexpected.