The Importance of Events PR in Today’s Landscape
Events PR is a notoriously fast paced business, and new technologies have only pushed it to move even faster. It’s no secret that almost the entire trade has migrated online. Gone are the days of long lunches with journalists. We sometimes spend entire days in email, phone and Twitter conversation instead. With constant and instantaneous methods of communication at our disposal, it’s reasonable to wonder if there’s any need for in person communication at all. Press events however, continue to be of unwavering importance in the industry.
Recently we hosted a press showcase for our client WatchShop.com, the UK’s leading online watch retailer. It reminded us just how important it is to have face-to-face time with media – even more so in today’s online landscape!
PR is People
Humans are social creatures – we like interaction and relationships. Events PR are a great opportunity to break the bounce back email cycle, and give PRs and journos the chance to get to know the person at the other end of their inbox. Ultimately PR is people, and the most effective way to communicate is face to face.
Crafting the product experience
It’s not just tone and personality that’s difficult to communicate via email. When working with product, how can you adequately describe how that necklace will sit or how the watch feels on the wrist? We took the time to craft the product experience for guests. From table displays to one-on-one tours, the details really made a difference.
We enlisted the help of a specialist jewellery stylist to merchandise the AW ’17 jewellery collections. There were sweets galore for our Links of London Bead jewellery, and whimsical frames of Karl Lagerfeld with his beloved cat Choupette, for the brand’s Choupette jewellery collection.
Telling a brand story
While the purpose of the WatchShop.com event was to showcase key pieces from the coming season, it helped demonstrate how events PR also provides a captive audience for a brand story. The press showcase was our chance to share WatchShop.com exclusives with attendees. We got to explain just why the company stood out against its competitors. In addition, journalists and bloggers, who don’t always get the chance to interact with product, had a great time trying on their favourite pieces, all the while sharing it with their followers on social media.
It’s clear that good PR follows good events PR. The insights we gained from journalists at the event itself will shape our media relations all the way through to Christmas. Events help to foster healthy journo/event PR relations, and the final result is usually great client coverage, and an even stronger media contact base for us!
Written by Jasmine Prasad and Alysha Wrightson, Cherish PR