Typically, brands come to us at unturned to increase awareness and improve reputation. This can be done in a range of ways using traditional PR by sending press releases, pitches and products to cherry picked journalists or by creating memorable moments by hosting events that give them something worth talking about! With the world of communications and PR changing every day with the constant development of AI, power of social media, and constant exposure to millions of brands, it is harder than ever to stand out amongst a crowd. We believe that the best way of gaining earned media coverage is by bringing a brand's story to life in person, in the correct venue, with the right people and not underestimating the importance of attention to detail. What may seem like an outdated approach is constantly evolving and therefore the way we tailor an event to the brand and curate the guest list also needs to be altered. What works for one brand might not work for another, so each situation has to be adapted differently in order to tell the client's story as it needs to be told. Take our recent Christmas in July event in collaboration with our client WOLF as an example. We hosted a long lead Christmas event in July, to get ahead of the curve to secure festive coverage across consumer and national media. On behalf of WOLF, a luxury jewellery box & watch storage brand who has been a pioneer in this sector for over 190 years, with a 5 th generational CEO. WOLF recently became stockists at Harrods, a great hook for the media. This event consisted of inviting shopping, e-commerce, interior, luxury and fashion media and creators to attend a Christmas preview at the Harrods store, offering expert conversations with the WOLF team, refreshments and a gift to go home with. The above points are essential when hosting a consumer PR event. You have to offer the attendees an experience that is worth leaving the desk for, be it in the form of some yummy food in a gorgeous location (Harrods Café was perfect!) or being able to take home a special product that you wouldn’t usually receive. Additionally, small attention to details makes all the difference to your RSVP list. We allowed for inevitable dropouts by inviting 50% more than the target number of attendees. Planned the event around a journalist’s busy day. This event was a drop-in session from 10am-7pm, allowing the media to attend for the hour of the day that was best for them (usually in the evening). Refreshments were available for attendees. We booked a few tables at the Harrods Café to offer media/creators a drink and nibble, as well as a place to interview the team at WOLF. Product requests were taken on the day, but we planned to send these products after the event, rather than handing them out on the day and potentially running out of a popular colour/product. We offered ALL attendees the chance to bring a plus 1 of their choosing. The results From the above, we managed to host a range of journalists and influencers including Glamour, Mayfair Times, Woman & Home and Daily Mail. Christmas coverage was also secured in Country Life, Country & Townhouse and The Daily Telegraph just to name a few. What are the main reasons for hosting an event? Striking a conversation PR events are hosted by brands to build a conversation around their brand and therefore said brand needs to have something new to say or give their opinion on. In this example above, WOLF, were offering press a secret preview of their Christmas collection which is the perfect hook for shopping editors looking for new products to include in their gift guides that are curated months before the festive period. Building strong relationships with media One of our main aims as PR professionals is to build strong relationships with the media. PR is fundamentally about people, bringing together journalists and influencers to talk about a brand in front of an audience, be it the readers or followers. Events offer an easy way to prioritise these connections. Placing the three main parties in one room – the brand, PRs and journalists/influencers – offering the chance to ask questions, learn from experts, and deepen their knowledge. Friendships built at these events often continue past this day, giving the PR the opportunity to invite a handful of journalists/creators they connected well with to future events, following up on discussion about coverage via email and so on. Bringing the brand to life It can be really hard to show just how amazing a product is via a press release. We share images and videos, but nothing beats experiencing these in real life. Events provide the opportunity to see, touch, and experience a brand firsthand. For example, WOLF’s beautifully hand-crafted jewellery boxes need to be seen in real life to notice the attention to detail and magic of the Ballet Music Jewellery Boxes that play songs from the chosen ballets (The Sleeping Beauty Box plays the Sleeping Beauty Waltz and Cinderella Box plays Sugar Plum Fairy). Creating earned media coverage Perhaps the most important and main reason for the traditional PR events is to help secure earned media coverage. Offering journalists/creators a unique experience to capture content including videos and images or ideas for editorial features means the event goes well beyond that specific day, offering coverage for months to come. At unturned, we understand that the industry is changing with the implementation of AI, rise in social media and influencers, and changes in the journalism sector. Rather than steering away from the differences, we have and will continue to adapt our strategies to continually create amazing results for our clients and rewrite a brand's story.  Want to make your brand stand out amongst the crowd? Get in touch with us!

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