"Press here:" a look at effective vs. ineffective media relations during a convention or trade show.

A large meeting, convention or trade show will invariably entail a fair share of media relations activities on the part of participating companies. Indeed, creating a formidable and compelling public relations buzz prior to, during and following a major convention or trade show may well mean the difference between being perceived as a faceless participant or a serious player.

In addition to merely generating additional awareness of your company, skilled public relations surrounding a convention or trade show can prove an invaluable revenue-producing resource which defines the unique attributes of your company or product and strategically elevates you above your competition.

The art of quality public relations, however, is frequently misunderstood or underappreciated, resulting in either a misuse of publicity or countless missed opportunities to get your message across to the media and within your industry.

The most common misuse of public relations as a corporate marketing tool is not understanding the difference between PR hype and real news. Indeed, because so many companies, and PR people themselves, have jumped on the hyperbole bandwagon since the advent of media relations as a form of business, publicity is still regarded with as much disdain and suspicion as used car sales by many, especially the reporters who are the obvious targets of all public relations account executives.

Yes, there are countless publicists working in a wide array of industries who keep the stereotypes alive by hounding the press, hyping even their least worthy clients as the next best thing to oxygen, and bombarding newspaper reporters, radio hosts and television producers with laughably exaggerated press releases which are so inflated with hyperbolic language as to qualify as works of outright science fiction. Yet public relations, when handled properly, need not and should not be considered as a form of slick salesmanship.

In today's competitive business world, with more and more companies vying for attention and striving to define their special place in the corporate landscape, the wisest course of acting is to find a public relations firm or individual who is as opposed to false PR hype as those on the receiving end of such hype. More specifically, and especially if your company is regularly involved with conventions or trade shows during which your need to stand out in the crowd is greater than ever, it is very much in your interest to find PR executives who not only understand your individual corporate needs, but who have a strategic orientation to their thinking. Who can bring a high degree of creativity to the public relations equation and who - perhaps most of all - understand PR from a reporter's point of view.

To elaborate on these points further:

Understanding Your Company's Specific Needs: PR people - like anyone else is business - are anxious to secure new accounts whenever possible. The most credible and reliable of these people, though, will only take on accounts which they have a solid feel for and which they believe they can service to everyone's satisfaction.

When selecting a PR entity, therefore, it is incumbent upon you to make certain that the firm under consideration really and truly comprehends your company (including its products, its corporate philosophies and its personnel) and your industry, and isn't simply repeating your words back to you in an effort to land your account. And even if you sense that this firm has the requisite familiarity with what you are and what you do, go out of your way to make it very clear to your PR team why your company is different from the competition and what your long-range media and public image-enhancement objectives are.

In this way, those handling publicity on your behalf will know how to best position you to the media (both in written form and verbally, the latter being of special importance during conventions/trade shows when public relations executives are called upon to interact very directly with the press) and will be thinking of your long-term needs as opposed to just next week's press release.

Taking a Strategic Approach to PR: One of the best "tests" of whether you are working with high quality PR executives is to see whether they offer unsolicited strategic advice on a regular basis and are willing to disagree with you to provide their own insights in a given situation. If, for example, you are attending a trade show and insist that your PR firm issue an endless stream of relatively minor press announcements to the same small group of attending reporters, you can learn a great deal about that firm by virtue of their reaction to your request.

While the "anything to keep my paying client happy" contingent will go off and do as told, the experienced PR firm will politely tell you that, strategically-thinking, a never-ending assault upon the press is ill-advised and definitely not in your interest. Instead, this firm will suggest, the correct approach would be to select your media outreaches carefully and judiciously - to sacrifice quantity for quality by only approaching reporters when the news in question actually merits their attention. In this way, you will know that you have a public relations firm which isn't afraid to offer seasoned counsel to its clients, and which is thinking in strategic terms of your best short and long-range needs.

During the course of any on-going PR campaign, strategic thinking will be of incomparable importance in many distinct ways, helping you and your firm determine longer-term goals, when to be aggressive and when to temporarily lay back vis a vis the media, what types of stories to generate and what types of reporters to pursue, and of course - the best means of conveying to the press and to the world what makes your company unlike any other of its kind.

Creative Thinking: Quality public relations executives, and there are certainly many of them, will also be well versed creatively, offering regular promotional, PR and marketing suggestions to clients which can yield positive press coverage and new revenue opportunities. When a convention or trade show is forthcoming, then, you should expect your PR firm to volunteer a number of prospective creative ideas which can increase your visibility during the event.

These ideas can run the gamut from such simple notions as handing out bumper stickers to holding a special promotional contest to staging a prominent press conference to inviting select media to dinner. While not every such idea will prove viable, you will at least be able to rest assured that your PR firm is doing its best to think above and beyond the mundane or obvious. After all, writing and distributing press announcements can be accomplished by virtually any reasonably qualified PR person, but mounting a creatively-inspired, attention-getting program of media activities (whether during a convention or not) is public relations on an entirely higher level; a level you most decidedly deserve.

Thinking Like a Reporter: Imagine being a writer for an industry trade publication and being sent to a convention or trade show during which you will be sought out and corralled by PR people much like a movie star is by fans, and you start to understand why publicists can often be seen as the enemy instead of as a source of news information. With this in mind, your company's PR firm should have the ability to see things from a reporter's perspective. Many of the better PR executives, in fact, were former reporters themselves.

In this regard, they understand when and when NOT to approach the press (remembering, again, that less can be more in many media instances), how to convey news without falling into the hype-trap, and - of course - what is truly newsworthy and what is in reality little more than fluff disguised as breaking news. By treating the press with this kind of respect - respect which shows a real understanding of what a reporter is looking for - your public relations firm will not only be effectively delivering your message during a convention or trade show, but will have developed a rapport with importance members of the press whom they can easily contact for months and years after.

Assuming, and hoping, you have the right public relations people as part of your corporate team, they will be able to answer some very important questions for you and themselves prior to a trade show or convention. These questions include: What publications, media outlets and reporters will be covering the gather;? Will there be a central press room or place to distribute media material;? Will the convention/trade show planners be issuing any daily newsletters or updates;? What kinds of stories are reporters most likely to be interested in?

Other helpful PR strategies both prior to and during a convention or trade show include meeting with reporters in advance of the "craziness" to introduce your company, develop a good rapport and determine the subjects they are most interested in covering; offering a by-line piece under the name of your company president to one of the key participating trade or consumer publications; arranging for one-on-one interviews during the event and away from the crowds; and preparing press material which is concise and to the point (also, don't spend a fortune on "dazzling" press kits, since serious reporters only care about the news value of what's inside, not how fancy the material or artwork is on the outside).

Effective public relations can provide your company with exciting new business and promotional opportunities during a convention or trade show. Choose your PR firm wisely, and you will share with them a mutually rewarding association that will last long after that convention or trade show is over.