By: Noha Rahhal
As an event organizer or science exhibition curator, there are chances that you may shy away from working on a media plan for your upcoming science exhibition. Usually, professionals decide to focus only on what they do best—in your case, that would be event planning and execution—whereas stepping out of your comfort zone and breaking into the glossy, yet tricky, media world can be a daunting task. However, it does not have to be this way. Through a systemic approach made up of simple steps that you or your team can follow, you can guarantee a boost in the media coverage of your event.
Where to Start
Before delving into the endless tips and tricks of making it into the media scene to get the coverage you believe your event should get, you will first have to stop, think for a moment, and ask yourself the obvious question: “Why do I want to get media coverage for this upcoming science exhibition/event?” You will probably think of a wide array of answers that will mostly seem plausible and valid, unless you tell yourself: “Just because every other event gets some media scoop,” or even “That is how it should be done, right?”
Realizing your “Why” will make your job easier and will lead to fruitful results. The last thing you will want is to invest resources in a plan without clear and measurable goals. For example, you may want to attract more audience to the science engagement activity by creating awareness among the targeted audience, to boost your ticket sales, especially if the event is not free, or you would like to attract more sponsors or scientific partners to enhance the credibility of the event and source more funds. (You can read more about how to sponsor your science exhibition here.)
Now that you have become clear about the reasons that motivate you to take the media plan quite seriously, you will need to define the target audience of the potential media campaign. It goes without saying that each of the abovementioned objectives will entail a different target segment. A case in point is if you are on the lookout for a scientific partner, such as an academic institution where scholars can participate with research papers or be part of panel discussions, you will need to focus your efforts on getting media coverage from specialized publications such as periodicals and scientific magazines. On the other hand, if you plan a science exhibition/event targeting young adults, you will need to invest in social media marketing and influencers to reach them. Naturally, the type of content, language, and messages you want to convey will differ according to both scenarios.
Planning Is Everything
Now that you have a general idea why you would work on attracting the media, what kind of activities you may want to get involved in, and who the perfect recipients of your efforts will be, it is time to start methodic planning:
This is when you start creating awareness about the science engagement activity you are organizing, in order to create interest that will hopefully translate into the desired action (more ticket sales, growing interest from the audience, sponsorship agreements, etc.). Such a stage is considered the most important as it builds up the momentum leading to the event. It can be in the form of sending social media influencers instagrammable invitations that they can share and tag your events’ accounts, pitching to local media info about the event and stirring their interest, or working on a bullet-proof and creative content calendar for digital channels that will not just spread the word about the event, but will boost your brand’s followership.
As you will be busy with the execution of the event itself, you will have to delegate your colleague(s), team member(s), and/or other outsourced staffers to help with documenting and covering what is happening live.
This naturally covers the publishing of any relevant materials that document what actually happened during the exhibition/event. If there are photos, videos, press releases, or social media posts that need to go out, they will have to be live, and up and running as soon as possible to catch the hype of the event.
Execution without Strategy is Aimless
A plan without execution is idle. That is why getting your hands dirty with the implementation will just create the desired momentum and will give you indicators about the areas of strength and where you might need to do some tweaks.
Assuming that you are working on a straight-to-the-point media plan with traditional news outlets, such as magazines or TV broadcasts, and you are aiming to target journalists to publish pieces about the vent, the first thing you may need to do is create a media brief (known as “media advisory” with comprehensive information about the event in question. You will include the event’s name, its objectives, why it is considered an important event, who will be attending, etc.
You can also create a media list of journalists, bloggers, influencers, and broadcasters who might be interested in covering the event. Such a list can be created either via a basic Google search or even by asking around colleagues or other media personalities.
Once you have all of this information ready, you can directly contact the media lists via email, phone, or WhatsApp messages. Remember to be brief, use catchy language and follow up. Journalists usually get tons of pitches that they have to filter out, so they may take some time to respond, if ever. Thus, you will need to do another round of phone calls to check about their feedback. Courteously invite them to the event, share whatever data they may need, be cooperative, and check if they need any further support from your end.
For social media coverage, your job can be quite easy. However, you will need to focus your attention on certain channels that fit the needs and interests of your audience, to avoid getting distracted. According to the budget at hand, you can decide upon the frequency and type of content to be published. Luckily, social media does not cost fortunes as the case with traditional media, so try to use that to your benefit. Investing in producing catchy designs and creative short videos accompanied by witty content will equip you for a killer campaign. Do not forget to schedule the posts and interact with the audience’s reactions.
If you are thinking about documenting the science engagement activity for future use, you will have to get ready about how you aim to achieve that. Will you need professional pictures? You will then need to hire a photographer. Will you conduct interviews with any VIP visitors, collect testimonials from attendees, or just film what has been happening? If yes, you will definitely use the help of media production teams that you will have to book in advance and brief them about what exactly you expect from them.
That is usually the fun stage where you can just direct your teams so that they can do what you ask of them. Photographers now can take their shots; videographers can work on getting the best angles that will later be edited to create memorable videos. Community managers can post live on Social Media accounts; public relations can welcome the press and help them get the information needed for post-event coverage. Your role is all about briefing those staff members, directing them, and offering guidance when and if needed.
Congratulations! You have come a long way, and now that your event is finished, do not forget to go the extra mile to publish some post-event coverage pieces of the outlets of your choice. Not only will you honor your teams and their efforts by giving them a public tribute, but the post-event coverage can create bigger interest in your organization and your upcoming exhibitions/events. Now is a good chance to publish those event photos, and videos, make a vote for thanks, and mention some memorable quotes.
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