Is your organization planning an event? Here are tips to help make it successful:

1. Know Your Market. Design a demographic profile of your target audience; age, income, gender, geographic target, etc.
2. Prepare a Market/Media Match. Which newspapers, newsletters, radio or television stations relate to your target market and in what ways?
3. Prepare a Marketing Budget. Can you afford to advertise? Can you afford not to? How much free P.R. can you achieve?
4. Prepare a Market/Media/Money Match. By this point, you will have a very comprehensive marketing research document from which you can design a targeted campaign.
5. Prepare a simple news releases. One of the most effective methods of cultivating public relations, media exposure and certainly the most cost effective as well. A campaign missing this component is considerably less valuable.
6. Make the organizer, the keynote speaker and/or the main attraction available to speak to the media. The unique nature of any event implies that there are people and topics of interest for the media for event listings, interviews, special reports, etc.
7. Invite media to attend as your guest. This is particularly important for after-event marketing or even for next-event marketing if you are well enough organized to present the information.
8. Develop a "What's On" listing. Many, many media sources have free community or "What's Happening" listings. Keep a current list, preferably in fax broadcast format.
9. Consider Direct Mail Marketing. Lists, mail drops, inserts, etc., can be very effective.
10. Make effective use of 21st Century Technology Techniques. Utilize fax broadcasting, website advertising, Internet advertising and telemarketing to aid in additional marketing, follow-up, registration, or confirmation.

Sabine Steinbrecher is the President of Vorg Inc. Vorg is Canada's largest financial speakers bureau, an event management and marketing firm dedicated to the financial services industry. Sabine can be reached at (416) 703-VORG or 1-800-694-VORG.

Related resources:
Sources Calendar (An event calendar of journalists)
Media Names & Numbers (media lists)