ReelAbilities ATL Film Festival

“Hi,” my friend said. “Do you have any extra time? I could really use some PR help promoting our upcoming film festival, ReelAbilities ATL. The only problem is that the film festival is in three weeks!”

Well, believe it or not, we met the challenge. A small but dedicated staff and a real commitment to get the message out lead to a successful launch.

Although I would never advocate waiting so late to promote an event, it happens. So, here’s my suggestion on how to proceed:

Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm

• Bring new voices to the table.
• Explore new ways to engage partners.
• Identify possible ways to distribute the message and outlets to approach.
• Look for the story within the story. 

Make sure that the event website is functioning properly.

• Ask someone who doesn’t know how it is supposed to function to navigate the site.
• Is it easy to navigate?
•  Do all the links work?
•  Are the messages clear?
•  Do the links make it easy to buy tickets to the film festival and/or make a donation?
•  Is it easy to find contact information?

Launch a Facebook page.

• Send messages to all your personal friends to “Like” the page.
• Invite your organizational partners to Like and share the site.
• Keep the posts fresh with photos from films, updated press releases, new volunteer opportunities, etc.

Use a news distribution service with social media capabilities.

• Send a link of your html press release to all your partners and ask that they in turn distribute to their media contacts.
•  Be sure to send a link, not a PDF copy of the release.
• Make sure that your news distribution has the capability to add Social Media Links such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to your release.
• Confirm that the service enhances your release by Tweeting and/or blogging about your festival.

Send personalized email to your media contacts

• Paste the release to the body of the email.
• Send a link to PDF and JPEG files housed on your website instead of sending attachments.
• Make personal phone calls to media contacts.

Monitor Your Progress

• Set up a Google Search. I used ReelAbilities ATL + news.
• Be sure and share the results with your leadership and team.
• Track mentions about the film festival in your social media sites

It is never too late to promote your events. If you would like a copy of my film festival PR template, please contact me at deborah@creative-si.com.

Cheers! Now enjoy the film festival.

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Your special event is planned. Now, the critical question is - how do you  increase your attendance?

Everyone points to the benefits of social media to drive your attendance. Social media is a vehicleyou use to enact your strategy. You can increase the value of your special event by integrating social media into your marketing strategy.

But, before you develop your strategy, ask yourself these questions developed by Stacey Ruth, a marketing consultant with Atlanta-based Actio Marketing :

1. Are your attendees active in any of the social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube or blogs/forums)?
2. Do you have an awareness problem, and are you trying to reach large number of attendees quickly (and perhaps inexpensively)?
3. Do you have someone on your team with enough time on their hands to populate a social media site effectively? (That means building content that can be pushed out every day in most cases.)
4. Do you have knowledge (or access to someone with knowledge) of best practices for the social media platform you want to apply? Social media is not an “if you build it, they will come” scenario. There is a definite approach to each social network that is uniquely effective — and any number of approaches that are equally ineffective!
5. Would you like to build an extended life to your event and create a community around it? 

If you answered yes to more than one of the above questions, social media including Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter, is worth integrating into your event marketing strategy. However, don’t overlook the value of tried-and-true ‘social media’ platforms including Word Of Mouth marketing or WOMM.

Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM), is an unpaid form of oral or written promotion—in which satisfied “customers” or your organization’s ambassadors tell other people how much they like your nonprofit and invite them to participate in your event. Word-of-mouth is one of the most credible forms of advertising because people who don’t stand to gain personally by promoting something put their reputations on the line every time they make a recommendation, according to Entrepreneur.

Bottom line – know your audiences before you invest the time and energy as part of your event marketing strategy. Use your social media strategy as a way to involve your board and volunteers.

Any questions about specific social media vehicles to use for your event? Be sure and contact me at deborah@creative-si.com.

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I’ve written a lot about sponsorships. Sponsorships are about building effective partnerships that enhance both an organization’s mission and the sponsoring company’s business goals. They are fundamental to your organization’s survival.

Special events are the main key to acquiring corporate sponsorships. And, they lead to other sponsorship opportunities beyond events, such as long-term strategic alliances, and cause-related marketing.

Marketers learned that programs that combine loyalty with value equal profits. Your relationships with your clients, volunteers and community provide that loyalty and help ensure the audience that your corporate partners want. While many marketing verticals are flat, sponsorships continue to grow and provide positive results.

Pat Kahnert, PBK & Associates Inc., is a Marketing Public Relations Effectiveness Consultant. He is committed to ‘Helping Business Leaders and Their Teams Build Better Communities’. Pat’s excellent checklist for designing sponsorships with confidence is a great tool when venturing into sponsorships:

Objectives -

1. I know how to help sponsors connect with community through our event.
2. I focus on desired outcomes and event audience needs and benefits.
3. I ask key influencers to help me reach the right business contacts.
4. I have done extensive research to determine preferences of sponsors.
5. I have a personal contact plan in place for getting to know a prospect.
6. I will focus first on friend raising and then embark on fund raising.
7. I have allowed ample time for establishing a strong strategic”fit” with a sponsor.
8. I understand my prospect’s business goals and primary audiences.
9. All sponsorship partners are clear about objectives, roles and expectations.
10. The contract has been signed with plenty of time to deliver on all promises made.

Implementation -

1. We have developed a customer-centric sponsorship policy with our sponsor’s input.
2. We have developed an integrated project map process to fulfill all obligations.
3. My sponsor has agreed to serve on our event organizing committee.
4. We have organized advisory councils (volunteers, sponsor employees, community)
5. We have secured media sponsors to help raise profile and promotion.
6. Sponsor logo recognition was approved and applied to our sponsors’ satisfaction.
7. We follow a clearly defined risk management policy, with back-ups to everything.
8. We proactively look for ways to leverage sponsor’s name and association.
9. We stress professionalism, and give sponsors regular updates against plan.
10. We facilitate personal introductions of sponsors to others involved.

Measurement -

1. We measured what matters most to sponsors and their key stakeholders.
2. We explained to our event audience what our sponsor’s role meant to their enjoyment.
3. We often asked sponsors if they were pleased with value received so far.
4. We thanked the sponsor publicly and one-to-one for making a difference for our event.
5. We produced a summary of benefits (media, audience, logo recognition, value-added)
6. We optimized promotional investment and publicity effort, keeping within budget.
7. We appreciated the value of our sponsor’s total contribution (money, time and more).
8. We shared feedback from audience, volunteers, employees and customers.
9. We celebrated success and recognized important personal and team contributions.
10. Our sponsor is delighted with results generated and will return next year.

If you have any questions, please contact me at deborah@creative-si.com. I’ll gladly share my Timeline for Sponsorship Efforts with you.

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2010 DeKalb Public Safety Champion Awards

“Who is your Pubic Safety Champion?”

The DeKalb Police Alliance was trying to find a way to increase awareness and funding through their upcoming special event. They knew they needed that something special to tell their story and brand their event.

The 2010 DeKalb Public Safety Champion Awards filled the bill! The awards competition became the story, increasing interest in the organization and the upcoming Police Officers Ball. And, it became the linchpin that pulled together all the elements of the event.

The awards honored men and women in public safety and the community who went above and beyond the call of duty to keep everyone safe. An eye-catching nomination form highlighting the Champion Award statuette was key to all promotional activities, including presentations, press releases, social media initiatives and articles. An on-line nomination form gained the most nominations. All people and organizations nominated were recognized as Champion Honorees; the winners were recognized and saluted at the event.

Here are some hints on how you can create an awards program to better tell your story:

1. Brainstorm – Invite board members and stakeholders to the table. Explore what type of awards program works best with your mission. With the police alliance it made sense to honor people committed to public safety. Look in your arena for best fits.
2. Make sure you have buy-in from your board– This is key to your success.
3. Check the Calendar – make sure no other organization is having a similar awards program around the same time as yours.
4. Be creative and consistent with your messaging and graphic design – Be sure that you take full advantage of the program’s potential by weaving powerful messages and graphics throughout your event.
5. Find an awards sponsor – Write your proposal to show the awards program benefits to sponsors.
6. Publicize, publicize, publicize – Create a dynamic program using traditional and social media. Benchmark your successes and analyze responses to see what segment of your market you’re missing.
7. Use the event wrap-up to position next year’s award program. Start building anticipation. Invite this year’s winners to reach out into their communities to nominate.

Your awards program will unearth many meaningful stories and help ensure your success. If you want guidelines for event management and sponsorships, please contact me directly – deborah@creative-si.com.

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Erica Nicole dedicates song to police officers

No one doubts how important it is to have a celebrity at their nonprofit event. Celebrities add immeasurably to nonprofit special events. They add excitement, attract media attention, increase ticket sales, and help secure sponsors.

Imagine how exciting it was to have Erica Nicole  volunteer her time and incredible talent at the Police Officers Ball.

So, how can you make this happen for your nonprofit event?

As simple as it sounds, the best way to identify that special someone is to ask friends and family. I promise that everyone knows someone and/or knows someone who knows someone with that special talent.

Start with your board. I promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Okay, so now you have a list of names. What next? How do you motivate that someone special to join your cause and participate in your special event?

Rita Tateel, founder of the Celebrity Source offers five ‘secret’ tips for recruiting celebrities:

1. Put yourself in a star’s shoes and ask, “What’s in it for me?” – Before you ask a celebrity to participate in a special event, ask yourself this question as though you were that celebrity: “What’s in it for me; why should I do this?”

2. Make a list of everything the celebrity might want to know. – Once a celebrity has agreed to participate, make a list of absolutely everything he or she might want to know and do — every question this personality might have — from arrival to departure. Then list all of your answers. The best way to help make celebrities (and their representatives) feel secure is to demonstrate that you have considered every little detail and have anticipated their every question.

3. Respect their time. – Time is a celebrity’s most valuable commodity; don’t waste it. The bigger the celebrity, the less time he or she has. There are so many people wanting a piece of the celebrity’s time, celebrities have to ensure that the time they do have to make an appearance is time well spent.

4. Keep briefings brief. – When a celebrity briefing session is necessary, determine whether it must be in person or if it can be handled by phone or e-mail. Of course, we all would rather meet celebrities in person. But, remember my Tip No. 3 — that time is their most valuable commodity.

5. Don’t make any promises you can’t keep, and keep all of the promises you make. – This business is so much about relationships. The quickest way to ruin a relationship with a celebrity or his or her representative is to not come through with something that was promised.

Adding talent to your nonprofit event takes a lot of planning. Every detail is important. But, the benefits far outweigh all of the work!

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Creative Thinking

What a dynamic session! I had the privilege of teaching another event management course for the Georgia Center for Nonprofit’s Nonprofit University.

I always encourage people to start the planning phase of all marketing communications initiatives with a brainstorming session. It is very useful when planning a new or updating an established special event.

Brainstorming creates a freewheeling environment in which everyone is encouraged to participate. There are no “wrong” or “bad” ideas.

Make sure participants have fun brainstorming. Encourage them to come up with as many ideas as possible, from the solidly practical to whimsical. Welcome creativity!

Here are some suggestions for holding a great brainstorming session. These are from Notes For Nonprofits :

1. Set a Goal – This helps keep everyone on track
2. Be Strategic – Invite people with diverging opinions. Be sure and create a mix of  big picture thinkers.
3. Post an Agenda – Brainstorming doesn’t necessarily mean a free for all. Creating an outline will keep you on task and help you focus on specific sections.
4. Start the session off with leading questions.
5. Encourage everyone to speak.
6. Determine data collection. I like to provide a flip chart so everyone can see all the responses.
7. Set a time limit. I suggest you break the session into 1/2 hour segments. If not, the session tends to become dry.

Brainstorming to add to your next special event? Once the goal is set, hold your brainstorming session. Betsy Wiersma and Karl Strolberg suggest using four open-ended questions to add WOW to your event:

• What will surprise our guests?
• What will they talk about after the event?
• What will leave a lasting impression?
• What will be extra special or unique?

Have you had any successes brainstorming? I would love to hear from you!

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Calvin Alexander Ramsey – Photo credit AJC

The Negro Motorist Green-Book, 1940. The New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

The Green Book Flier for Yale Concert Reading

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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