Public Relations

Special Events

These run the gamut from receptions to elegant dinners to stunts.  Special events can be designed to reach a specific narrow target audience, such as individuals interested in college savings plans to major events like a strawberry festival designed to promote tourism and regional agriculture.  Stunts, such as building the world’s largest ice cream sundae during National Ice Cream month captures the attention of an audience in the immediate area, but also attracts the attention of mass media such as TV news and major newspapers, which provide broad reach.  The Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile is a classic example, providing a recognizable icon that travels the country garnering attention wherever it visits.  As with all PR programs, special event planners must work hard to ensure the program planned conveys the correct message and image to the target audience.

Speaking Engagements

Speaking before industry conventions, trade association meetings, and other groups provides an opportunity for company experts to demonstrate their expertise to potential clients/customers.  Generally these opportunities are not explicitly for company or product promotion; rather they are a chance to talk on a topic of interest to potential customers and serve to highlight the speaker’s expertise in a field.  Often the only mention of the company or its products is in the speaker biography.  Nevertheless, the right speaking engagement puts the company in front of a good target audience and offers networking opportunities for generating customer leads.