One of the most effective and essential tools for announcing important news is the press conference. Utilizing its full potential requires a well-planned strategy that signifies success for the brand.
It’s important to understand that the press conference is not the only way to communicate news to journalists, so it should not be overused and should be reserved for high-impact announcements.
This format exposes a matter of public importance, whether intellectual, political, business-related, technological, sports-related, or of any other nature. It allows for clearing doubts and provides a more exhaustive and interpretative explanation from the spokesperson.
To achieve a successful event, it’s crucial to consider a checklist with basic steps:
- Press Kit: Prepare an informational package with the press release of the event, company information, product or service fact sheet, statistics, images, and contact information. It’s advisable to provide it in printed format for journalists to review upon arrival at the event and also provide a digital copy to facilitate writing the article and handling supporting photographs.
- Program Structure: To maintain control over the event, it’s essential to have a program or schedule. Include in hierarchical order the appearance, full names, positions, and presentation titles of each spokesperson; the question and answer session; and also any acknowledgments.
- Audiovisual Recording: Ensure to bring a photographic camera, a video camera, and an audio recorder to the press conference so that you can have an audiovisual record of the entire event in case a media outlet requests a photo, video, or audio of your spokesperson’s participation.
- Registration Format: It’s important to have a form that includes the complete data of the journalists who confirmed their attendance. For those who did not confirm their presence, it’s always necessary to have a blank form so that they can provide their contact information and the media outlet they belong to before entering the conference room. This will help keep better attendance records and have a more complete media database for the next event.
- Be Punctual: Punctuality is a sign of respect. There’s nothing more pleasant than starting on time and sticking to the scheduled time for the presentation, both for the spokesperson and the journalists. Remember that journalists have schedules to follow, and just as we appreciate punctual attendance, it’s also ideal to demonstrate that we manage a well-structured program.
- Press Questions: It’s recommended that at the end of the press conference, interested journalists be given a maximum of three to five minutes to ask their questions to maintain order in the questioning.
Information Sending: After the press conference, don’t forget to send the press release and multimedia material with all the necessary documentation from the spokesperson’s presentation to the media outlets that did not attend and to the attendees who request it. - Promotional Material: A gift is always appreciated, and it also becomes the best way to thank the journalist for covering your event. Consider giving away some useful item at the end of your event that makes your guest’s work easier; it can contain a subtle brand mention.
A press conference has different moments that must be treated with great attention for effective communication of the topic. Maintaining order for the spokesperson’s and the press’s work is essential for achieving success.