Have you all ever wondered what
drives an event to real success? The fire burning behind its real public
attraction is the secret behind, and it’s us, PR practitioners, who make things
real by our power. We bring up sparks of planning an event through public
relations and bring to life their awareness by underlying their authenticity
and bringing value to their real purpose.
I’ve had the chance to work on two events
till now and have learned a lot about our role in corporate events and how
important it was, up to bringing to life an event and all its planning. During
the two events, I’ve been given the role of taking captions for each picture
taken for the people press coverage. I learned that even this, has to be taken
in a proper way and order of things so that the work goes quicker during the
media liaison but also so for the captions to be acceptable by the different
media outlets. The three most important things to be taken for a caption is the
complete name of the person, his or her job title and the company he or she is
working for. These three details are the most pertinent ones that help the
reader identify the pictures but also know a bit more about the organization and
the event.
Another important thing to do as a PR
role during the event is the distribution of the media kit which I learned is
usually done at the end of the event but we have most of all to ensure that it
is done before the journalist goes. You all have learnt to prepare that during
your PR courses but the real life experience is totally different. I learnt
that a media kit has really to be creative and attractive to attract the
journalists present so that they want to write about your event or publish your
press releases. During one of the events, the media kit documents was put in a
creative folder with the logo and name of the company on it but what was interesting
was that for the second event, they put the documents in a creative bag specially
prepared for the occasion and they put a candle in it to make it more amazing
and attractive. I could not be involved in the preparation of the media kit
because I was not at work on the days they set it but I learned that the
documents to be put in include a backgrounder, a fact sheet of the company or organization
and a press release. You might also include a CD at times or any gift that will
represent your company and stimulate a journalist. But our job does not end
here; we still have to do the liaison with the press after the event and the
follow up to ensure that all press releases have been distributed to all
targeted media outlets and that the event has got enough coverage - this will be
done through the news monitoring and will help to do the press book to close
the event’s file.
There are times also when you are not only in
charge of doing the public relations side of an event but also organize the
event if your company is a PR and events firm like the one I am working for. I
will be having the chance to work on one in the next weeks and I believe this
is another challenge from another perspective that might not only stimulate our
PR role but also enhance it from a new dimension.
I hope you are all enjoying your days
and that you are all building up on that on a positive flow.
Beatrice Etiennette
Charles Telfair, Mauritius Campus
15633006
