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If you are just starting your career in Public Relations or want to move to another PR position, knowing the top truths about events that your colleagues or HR managers won't tell you will be helpful. We have collected them in this material — now you'll be armed with information and can hold any event with peace of mind.
The event will not pay off.
Do you want to make money on the event? Unfortunately, it is unlikely. PR events are designed to raise brand awareness and loyalty, not to make money. Therefore, if your potential (or current) manager talks about how the company will make money at the event, it's worth remembering that this is more of a fairy tale than a real thing.
Are there any rewards after the event? First, the loyalty of existing customers — they may increase their average bill or make more purchases. Second, new customers will come to you after the event because they want to touch the products and the emotions they give. Third, these indicators are tracked based on the behavior of corporate clients for whom quality and level of service are essential. Fourth, earn not directly but through the long chains of purchase decision-making in the minds of your potential customers.
Celebrities will opt out at the last minute
Celebrities may agree to attend an event at first and then decline. They may decide not to attend — this is a likely scenario. They may demand money for their attendance or refuse to publicize their presence on their social networks at the event. Brace yourself — you'll need all your strength.
Always have a backup guest list handy. Figure out how to escape a situation where celebrities don't come to you. Use whatever marketing mechanics are available to you. Make up for the absence of a star who should have been there by any other means (above all, audience engagement options).
Everyone will try to get on the guest list
Your friends will want to attend the event, which has nothing to do with them. And their acquaintances will want to get in too. Journalists from publications as far away from the interests of your target audience as possible will also like to attend. Carefully monitor the guest list to ensure no one with obscure names slips through. Also, watch the guests at the event: someone wishing to attend your event may get past security unnoticed or by using someone else's name on the guest list.
To keep your guest list from getting bloated to a considerable scale, do some analytics: Who among your potential guests has a high concentration of target audience in their social media accounts? Who buys a lot of products from you each new season? Who would be useful to you on your guest list?
Problems will outnumber happy thoughts
Problems will arise everywhere: at the entrance, in the venue, in the beverage area, in the photo area, and so on. You must have composure, stoicism, and a few employees to cope with them. It's impossible to tackle everything single-handedly, being distracted by different tasks. Trust our experience.
Make the best of it: think of solutions to potential problems in advance, brainstorm, get a comment from your manager, and measure whether your answers are realistic and could get used on the spot. Of course, this won't get you out of trouble, but it will prepare you to think quickly in problem-solving categories at the event.
It will take three to four months to prepare for the event and two hours to run it.
And after the event itself, you will have to close estimates, sign documents, dismantle everything you have used for the event, and not go crazy with the amount of bureaucracy. What's more, you won't be able to measure the "output" — it's about the image and recognition of the company, not about precise figures, remember? In this case, losing motivation for working with events is very easy. You simply do not see your result.
So that your first event doesn't end up being a flop, come to us on Lectera's course in order to take an in-depth look at the work of a PR manager. We will explain how and what they do in the modern corporate world in a few hours.
