Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Promoting Speakers To The Media

Posted by Anonymous on 1/28/2013 at 8:14 PM ET 250 Points
Hello guys,

Our team is working on promoting a three-part event with three speakers.

One of the things that may seem simple, but can cause a glitch is the availability of said speakers when pitching them to the media (or rather suggesting a schedule of sorts to the speaker herself to maintain flexibility while taking advantage of any media opportunities that come up), especially the ones out of town. Does anyone have any advice/feedback? It is a very simple thing, I know, but wondering if anyone has any advice.

For example, recommending specific blocks of time when working with the speaker (might advice the speaker to be available mornings if targeting Good Morning Texas, for example). Easy to miss stuff like that.


Hopefully, that made sense.

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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Moriarty on 1/29/2013 at 4:00 AM Accepted
    I really think you are trying to control something that is open to the wiles of fate. Whatever you do, glitches happen - or as is usual with glitches, don't. You can plan for any number of them, and the one you dismissed as being too unlikely raises its little head to trip you, sending your plans scattering across the marble floor.

    Or a circumstance you hadn't even imagined.

    Sure, make a rough plan - only expect the speaker for the evening slot to have a sore throat so the guy who does the morning slot fills in for him as any gentleman would. Your plan needs to be as flexible as the circumstances determine. Making it any tighter than that and you are into the realms of chance.

    So take as few chances as possible, and prepare for the worst. When it doesn't happen, everybody will say how good your planning was. Your problem is that the management want a statement that contradicts every sentence of the above advice (such as it isn't). They need Linus' security blanket of knowing that you have everything under control.

    They want implementable statements for every possible circumstance - only they want it by Monday morning and below $45 cost. Naturally you will have supplied $300 of work in order to come in under this bar.

    My advice? Dream up a basic plan and wing it from there. Do enough to satisfy your high-ups that you have your finger on the pulse (= a proposal written in 1/2 hour and covering general points). Realize that by 9am on the first morning, your plan will be in the waste paper basket and you will be dealing with the reality of the circumstances as they arise.



  • Posted on 1/29/2013 at 1:47 PM Author
    Very well-said and exactly right!
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