HOW TO GENERATE PUBLICITY FOR YOUR NATIONAL SKILLS WEEK EVENT

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1 HOW TO GENERATE PUBLICITY FOR YOUR NATIONAL SKILLS WEEK EVENT INTRODUCTION This guide has been developed to help you to promote your National Skills Week event. It provides a range of ideas, even taking up one of these ideas will help to attract a more people to your event and help make it a success! STEP 1: FINALISING YOUR EVENT Prior to working out your publicity plan, you need to have all of the details of your event finalised. If you have not completed these details please refer to the How to run a National Skills Week event document for support. STEP 2: ALLOCATING A MEDIA OFFICER When allocating your media officer you need to ensure a few things. A media officer needs to be a good spokesperson and be comfortable talking to journalists. He/she will also need to be available in the weeks before, during and after your event and will need to be enthusiastic and willing to try a range of promotional concepts. The media officer may expect to undertake the following tasks: Designing and distributing posters and flyers; Arranging listings in community papers and radio programs; Talking to the media; Be available to take phone calls (mobile phone number) and respond to s in a timely fashion. Keeping a record of all activities conducted, and journalists they have contacted; Thanking the media for their coverage; Monitoring media, before, during and after your event.

2 STEP 3: RESEARCHING YOUR AUDIENCE Having decided on an event, you should already know who your target audience is. In order to market your event effectively, you need to know the habits and interests of your audience. Some questions to help in establishing this may include: What media are they most likely to use? Would they be more likely to read a specific newspaper or listen to a radio station? Where do they congregate? Do they work in a specific place or visit a venue after hours? What typically interests this age group? STEP 4: WORKING OUT YOUR MARKETING PLAN Once you know your audience, and you have determined the ways to reach them you can begin your marketing plan. A range of different promotional ideas are included in the next few pages for you to consider as part of your marketing plan. You may choose to do one promotional activity or try them all your marketing plan can be as simple or detailed as you like! If you are short on time, it would be worthwhile prioritising your activities. STEP 5: DRAFTING YOUR EVENT INFORMATION It is vital that you write up a few short paragraphs about your event that can become the basis for your publicity. Try to keep the sentences short and to the point, without difficult words or jargon. Remember, people need to be able to understand what your event will be about and it should appeal to your target audience. Make the first line interesting so that it captures the reader s attention. Once you have your basic text you can adapt this for use in posters, media releases, community announcements, mail outs, invitations and on the National Skills Week website. STEP 6: MAKE IT HAPPEN! Now you know your marketing plan, it s a matter of getting out there and making your event come alive. There are templates available to help you promote your event. Go to to obtain a range of promotional material.

3 PROMOTIONAL IDEAS The following section will provide you with some ideas to consider for promoting your National Skills Week event. Remember to choose concepts that best suit your target audience and the resources you have available. National Skills Week website The first step to promote your event is to register it on the National Skills Week website. The registration process is quick, easy and free of charge. After being approved your event will be listed in the events & activities listing and anyone visiting the website is able to see it. Please make sure that you include as much information as possible to get people attending your event. Make sure to register your event as soon as possible as traffic to the website increases with every day closer to the week. Visit to list your event. Invitations If you know exactly who you like to invite to your event and have contact details available it is a good idea to send (personal) invitations to your target audience (i.e. schools, colleagues, students, RTOs, TAFEs, industry, parents, etc.). You could send those invitations via (mail outs), Facebook, Twitter or through the mail. Flyers A well-designed flyer that is visually exciting can easily capture that audience s attention. Flyers can be distributed through: Mail-outs Hand-outs Displays in communal places such as libraries, shops, schools, TAFEs, RTOs Business cards You will be able to use the National Skills Week flyer to promote your event. This can be downloaded on the Media Kit page.

4 Posters and banners Posters and banners should be displayed at your event. Also leading up to your event they can used as advertising. You might want to consider approaching business, organisations etc. for sponsoring banners and/or posters when designing yours. The National Skills Week poster is available and free to download on the National Skills Week website. Social media A great way to target younger audiences is through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If your event is aimed at this group, it might be worth promoting your event on these networking sites Local Media If your target audience is the general public or a large group, local media may be a useful promotional tool. Newspapers, websites, radio and local television stations may be interested in running a story on your event or taking photos and attending on the day. Here are some steps for dealing with the media. There are also examples of each recommendation provided with the event kit. 1. Prepare a media list Make a list of media that is available in your local area. For example: Local papers Free community papers Local AM and FM radio stations Local television stations Websites about your local area Identify the right contact through researching the website of your media outlet. You want to find the best contact for editorial. If you are not able to find any information on the website, call the business and ask for the address to submit a press release. Another way to obtain contact details for local media is by reading the newspapers and paying attention to who is

5 writing the relevant stories. Always check what the deadline for the next edition will be and plan sending your press release accordingly consider the event date. 2. Draft a Media Release The media release serves as the journalist s introduction to the story and it needs to stand out from other news items. Journalists are more likely to consider a story idea if they first receive a media release with all the relevant details and contact tied to the story. Present to them a clear outline of what your story is about. Follow up with a phone call to talk to them personally. Through the media release you will have a greater chance of getting your story published. Many newspapers require specific details, submitted in a specific format for consideration. Below you will find examples of content you can integrate into a media release and the structure of which to do so. Take a look through the media release example in the media kit to get more of an idea about how to draft your own media release. Here are a few other points to consider: Use the National Skills Week media release template supplied. Put the date at the top of the release or write embargoed until... if it is a pop-up event. The title and first paragraph are very important. They need to be concise, brief and capture the reader s attention. The first paragraph should answer the questions: who, what, where, when, why and how. Try to keep paragraphs to one or two sentences and keep the release a one-pager. It should only contain basic facts about your event/story. Refer initially to people by title, first name, surname and designation. After the first time, refer to them only by their title and surname. Avoid technical terms, jargon, exaggeration and flowery language. Make sure you include your contact details (mobile number + ). Including a quote from someone closely involved in the project is always a good idea Include any relevant images make sure they are interesting and high quality. Once you have completed your media release, attach it in an and send it to the journalists you have listed on your media list. It is a good idea to establish a good relationship with your local media to allow you to continue free editorial content when you need it, reducing advertising costs and reaching community efficiently and effectively. 3. Photo Opportunities Arranging a photo opportunity is a good way to ensure coverage, both prior to and after your event.

6 If you choose to arrange your own photo opportunity, you will need to make sure that the photo is visually interesting and relates to your event. Also, make sure that you have permission of prominent people in the photographs. 4. Dealing with the media If you have issued a media alert or lined up a photo opportunity there are a few things that you need to do to ensure success. Before the media arrive: Ensure the set up is complete and all of the people involved are ready to go Be the first person at the media meeting point to meet and greet the journalists Prepare any material you want to leave with the media i.e. media packs, flyers, etc. During the photo opportunity/event: Be prepared to talk to the media and give them some quotes Thank the media for their time If the media are attending your event, ensure they have all the information they need Being interviewed: Consider that you might be interviewed at the event and gather some information to be prepared beforehand. What is the main message you want to get across? Keep in mind who your audience is Speak slowly and clearly, keep it simple and avoid jargon Be relaxed and treat the interview as a conversation Be positive and enthusiastic You can explain how your event is part of National Skills Week Don t forget to mention the time, venue and details of your event