Whether your company is attending a small niche conference or a large-scale trade show, securing media coverage and building relationships with key industry reporters can provide significant ROI and help enhance your company’s visibility and credibility. PR agencies that serve B2B companies play a crucial role in this process by leveraging our expertise and connections to ensure our clients gain maximum exposure.
In this blog post, we’ll explore why media briefings are so important, how attending trade shows can help strengthen brand awareness and recognition, the role of PR agencies at trade shows and events and some of the key trade shows across various vertical markets.
Top 5 Reasons Why Media Briefings Are Important
Engaging with the media at industry events significantly bolsters brand awareness and name recognition. When a company’s leadership meets with key media personnel face-to-face, it adds a personal touch to the interaction, making the brand more memorable. These interactions can lead to:
- Enhanced Visibility: Briefings provide a platform for companies to showcase their latest products, innovations, and strategies to a broader audience. This not only attracts potential clients but also makes the company a go-to source for industry insights and trends.
- Direct Engagement: Face-to-face interactions with journalists and industry influencers help build solid and lasting relationships.
- Increased Media Coverage: Personalized interactions often result in more in-depth and favorable coverage. Journalists appreciate the opportunity to engage directly with company leaders, gaining insights they can incorporate into their stories.
- Higher Engagement Rates: Articles and features stemming from these briefings tend to receive higher engagement as they are perceived as more authentic and credible. Readers are more likely to trust content that includes direct quotes and insights from industry leaders.
- Improved Industry Standing: Coverage by reputable media outlets lends credibility to the business, enhancing its reputation and positioning the company as a leader in its industry.
The Role of PR Agencies at Trade Shows and Events
The Feed Media Team
Obtaining the Media List
The first step in securing media briefings is obtaining the list of pre-registered reporters for the event. When your agency team knows which journalists will attend, they can begin planning targeted outreach on your behalf.
Developing and Managing Outreach
Once the media list is in hand, Feed Media develops a tailored outreach strategy. This involves crafting personalized pitches that highlight the unique aspects of the company’s offerings and how they align with each journalist’s interests. The goal is to secure media briefings for key executives from your company who can share their knowledge and positively represent the brand.
Coordinating Preparation, Logistics and Staffing
Preparing for and coordinating the logistics of media briefings can be complex, especially at large events. Feed Media provides executives with briefing documents before the meetings to ensure that executives are well-prepared. These will include background information about the reporter and recent articles, as well as expected questions and key message points to include in your answers.
We can also provide media training on an as-needed basis for executives who may not yet feel comfortable in an interview setting. From there, Feed also handles scheduling, ensuring that briefings work for both the executives and reporters, sets a meeting place and can be engaged to staff the briefings and provide on-site support.
Handling Post-Event Follow-Up
Our work doesn’t end once the event is over. Following up with journalists is crucial to ensure coverage. This includes attending to any follow-ups, such as providing information or materials that the reporter may need post-interview and monitoring media outlets for published articles or mentions. Timely and professional follow-up helps maintain the momentum generated at the event, builds strong relationships and maximizes the impact of the media coverage.
Case Study: Effective Media Briefings at RE+
Feed Media recently represented a tech company at RE+. We began our efforts by obtaining the list of media who would be in attendance and identifying top-tier tech journalists and influencers. From there, we began crafting compelling pitches, highlighting the company’s latest innovation – a groundbreaking smart home device.
During the event, we coordinated the logistics, scheduled briefings with key executives and ensured all necessary equipment was in place. We staffed the briefings, managed the flow of journalists and provided support as needed. After the event, we followed up diligently, providing additional information and ensuring the journalists had everything they needed for their stories.
The result for our client was extensive media coverage in top-tier tech publications, increased brand visibility, and enhanced credibility. Our client’s leadership also benefited from the opportunity to build relationships with influential media figures, paving the way for future coverage.
