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Strategies to Support Your Company’s Business Goals
Promotions and special events can effectively support a company’s sales initiatives and help marketers and public relations executives to accomplish specific business goals. In this issue of Connections, we'll provide you with proven tips to help ensure that your next event generates positive “media buzz.” In addition, we’ll show you how several local companies and organizations have done so.
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Tips to Develop Promotions and Special Events that Generate Positive Media Buzz
The most effective promotions and special events typically reach broader audiences than event attendees. With many companies competing for media attention, one of the greatest challenges is securing media coverage. Consider the following actions to maximize the PR value of your company’s events:
- Identify a timely hook to spark the media’s interest in attending the event.
- Distribute news releases and/or media advisories several weeks before an event as well as a few days before the event.
- Develop e-mail alerts and materials that your company’s executives can distribute among your current and prospective customers and business contacts.
- Send handwritten notes and/or creative packages to invite journalists.
- Incorporate activities that will produce good photo opportunities. This is particularly important to television media because they rely on visual elements. Also, most newspapers are hungry for strong visuals. Depending on its quality, a photograph you submit might make it to the front page.
- Provide journalists with press passes and/or name tags so they can be properly identified at your event.
- Provide media kits that include your company’s recent news releases in chronological order, a company fact sheet, FAQs, executive bios and other materials for journalists.
- If your company’s budget permits, hire a photographer. Your public relations counselors can distribute photographs to the media and secure additional coverage after the event.
- Provide journalists who attend the event with updates of your company’s news on a regular basis.
- Secure interviews with journalists who didn’t attend the event to provide them with a briefing of the event.
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Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Holds “Race for the Cure”
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is one of many causes that Thorp & Company supports. Thorp & Company became involved with the foundation when a long-standing client, Kathryn Becker, was diagnosed with breast cancer. After she recovered from the bout with cancer, Becker chose to generously share her hard-won wisdom by becoming president of the foundation’s Miami/Ft. Lauderdale affliate. Melissa Gracey, vice president of Thorp & Company, joined the board as a volunteer and provided the organization with marketing and public relations counsel.
This year, the organization selected Thorp & Company to handle media relations to help organizers attract more participants to the South Florida Race for the Cure. Thorp & Company secured pre- and post-race coverage in numerous print and broadcast media outlets, including The Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, WPLG-Channel 10 and Univision.
This year, more than 8,000 people participated in the Race for the Cure, and more than $450,000 was raised. Approximately 75 percent of the net proceeds will be utilized for local breast cancer projects and initiatives, and 25 percent will go to the Komen Foundation for research projects nationwide. Last year, there were 6,512 participants, and $480,000 was raised at the event.
Becker, director of marketing communications for ADP TotalSource, was recently quoted in an article in The Business Journal as saying: "We selected Thorp & Company not only because of its proven track record but, more significantly, because of the fact that its team embraces our cause and has demonstrated a stellar commitment to our group. Thorp & Company has been very generous in donating some of its time to support our cause, and we are very appreciative of the firm's efforts."
Click here for more information about the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation: www.komen.org
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The Miami International Boat Show Grows to Become One of the World’s Largest Consumer Marine Exhibitions
The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), the Chicago-based trade association that represents the recreational boating industry, turned to Thorp & Company to increase awareness and generate excitement for the Miami International Boat Show.
To distinguish the Miami show from other boating exhibitions, Thorp & Company packaged story ideas that positioned the February event as the national kick-off to the boating season and the barometer of industry sales for the remainder of the year. Thorp & Company worked with the show’s exhibitors to identify story angles and help them reach prospective boat buyers via the media. As a result, we secured positive news stories about the marine products featured at the show in national business media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, on CNN and on CNBC.
By focusing on new and unique boats and promoting the fun and excitement the boating lifestyle and the show offer, Thorp & Company successfully repositioned the Miami show as a not-to-be-missed global event. The firm’s staff expanded media coverage to include exciting network-news broadcasts and feature articles in boating and lifestyle magazines as well as in the outdoor, sports, business and lifestyle sections of U.S. daily newspapers. Furthermore, a one-hour broadcast about the “World’s Greatest Boat Show” on The Travel Channel garnered record ratings for the cable channel.
Thorp & Company also developed a special section of The Miami Herald devoted solely to the boat show. The 40-page pullout section, which includes advertising by show exhibitors and editorial copy written by Thorp & Company staff, has evolved since its inception and today features dozens of new boats and marine products.
After several years of effectively managing exhibitor and media relations on behalf of the Miami International Boat Show, Thorp & Company has helped the event exceed its initial goals and reach its current status as “one of the world’s largest consumer marine exhibitions.”
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Bombardier Learjet’s FlexJet Division Sponsors Golf Tournament and Lecture Series to Develop Relationships with Prospective Clients
When aircraft sales were spiraling downward, Bombardier, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of business jets, regional aircraft, rail transportation equipment and motorized recreational products, turned to Thorp & Company for help. The goal: to reach the ultra-affluent through a unique package of special events and one-on-one marketing.
Within the first three months of the program’s implementation, Thorp & Company executives helped make the test market ¾ the Southeast U.S. ¾ one of the company’s most successful sales regions.
Thorp & Company utilized a combination of direct mail, personal introductions, gifts, golf tournament and lecture series to reach the target market. Thorp & Company's program was a major shift ¾ and a successful one ¾ from Bombardier's traditional sales strategies.
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Headliners
Thorp & Company recently received news coverage about its work for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in The Business Journal. To read the article, click on the following link: Komen Foundation
As part of its public relations program for Camus, Thorp & Company secured an article in The Miami Herald that included a photograph of the Camus cognac bottles. To read a portion of the article, click on the following link: Camus
As part of its public relations program for Inktel Direct, a national provider of outsourced direct-marketing services, Thorp & Company recently secured an article in The Miami Herald about a visit by Miami Lakes government officials to Inktel’s office. The article included photographs of Inktel’s executives.
To read a portion of The Miami Herald article, click on the following link: Inktel
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