|
A press tour for journalists from the local, national and even international media can be a very powerful tool to gain support and visibility for projects and programs. A successful press tour will help you to build stronger relationships with the media and give you time to better explain who you are and what your organization is really about.
One of the main purposes of press tours is to present successes or achievements in detail and/or to reveal the weaknesses and problems of projects and programs. They can visually prove your point. Organizing a press tour gives journalists access to your company or organization’s executives and partners. They are designed to get your organization in front of selected, influential members of the press for face-to-face conversations that can increase the chances of positioning your organization for coverage in the media. Press tours can be organized as visits to several locations and activities and several different media can be involved.
|
Remember to think strategically and prepare vigorously. Relationships formed through a successful press tour will not only result in potential article coverage for your company, but will set the stage for future press attention |
How to organize a press tour:
Before
|
|
|
As soon as you decide to initiate a press tour, make a list of all the media outlets that you want to target. |
|
|
Plan who will be included in the event and what activities you want to highlight. Make sure to include those directly impacted by your work or those directly implementing your programs. |
|
|
Choose a focus or main story for the tour as well as other related stories that can be human interest stories or stories of overcoming challenges during your work. |
|
|
Identify which journalists are most appropriate for the event based on what they have written before or what kind of organization they work for. |
|
|
Finalize an agenda, transportation and refreshments for the visit. |
|
|
|
|
Send invitations directly to the selected journalists and their editors. Request the names to be confirmed if accreditation is necessary. |
|
|
Come up with a plan and criteria for accreditation if necessary. These are the usual procedures when high level dignitaries such as an ambassador or national politician are included in the event. |
|
|
Follow up with the journalists by telephone to confirm their participation and make sure to note who is bringing cameramen or photographers as well. |
|
|
Prepare information, background information, statistical information, booklets, brochures and other materials as appropriate. |
|
|
Reconfirm the agenda with all the partners included and all transportation details. |
|
|
Insure that you have enough translators for the appropriate languages. You will need one translator for every three journalists who speak one language. |
During
|
|
|
During transport to the site of the tour, give background materials to the group and be prepared to answer questions about what you will be showing them during the visit. |
|
|
Have one of your partners or colleagues meet the group at each site in order to greet them and explain what they are seeing. |
|
|
Record the reactions of the target audience and the environment with a camera or video recorder (if available). |
|
|
Let the journalists and partners or beneficiaries talk freely to each other. This way they will learn why the various activities, products or projects are important and useful, what they mean for the community, how they deal with it, why it is significant. |
|
|
Towards the end of the tour, give the journalists an additional information kit with exact names of locations, individuals and groups, any statistics you have on your theme or projects, brochures, photos etc., for the journalists to take home with them. |
|
|
Upon your return to your office, don’t forget to call and follow up with journalists to see if there are any remaining questions. |
|
|
TIPS: |
|
|
| |
|
|
Remember that top journalists are often very busy, and have very unpredictable schedules, so when inviting them for a press tour try to be short and clear about the schedule of the tour and enthusiastic about their participation. |
|
|
In order to get these reporters out into the field, it is very likely that you will need to provide some appropriate incentive, for instance, a product demonstration, high level dignitaries, discussion of upcoming plans or a hard news story. |
|
|
Be ready to have an answer to the question: “Why should I meet with your company/organization now?” |
|
|
Keep in mind that a small group is better. Don’t have more than 25 people including cameramen and photographers. |
|
|
When constructing the agenda limit visits to ministers and political leaders to not more than one third of the visit. |
|
|
Be careful with the time and leave extra time in order to get from one meeting to the next. |
|
|
The best spokespeople for your work are the beneficiaries of your project. The story of their lives, their problems, their concerns and their appreciation of your work will make it into feature stories. |
|
|
Take time to brief your partners or beneficiaries in advance of a press tour. They may not have the experience with media that your organization does, so make sure they know what to expect, what the message is, what are some of the possible questions there may be, etc. |
|
|
Be sure journalists have all of the prepared materials with them during the tour and take them after the tour. |
|
|
Be honest about everything and don’t be afraid to expose problems or challenges you have had. Simply explain them and then talk about what is being done to overcome them. |
|
|
|
Media Kit
Checklist |
|
|
| |
|
|
Press release or statement with contact name and phone number |
|
|
Fact sheets on the issue(s) |
|
|
Quotes, comments, and endorsements with proper citations from politicians and other important supporters |
|
|
Press clippings about the issue |
|
|
Charts, graphs, photographs, or other visuals such as posters, fliers, product samples etc. |
|
|
Short biographies of key speakers |
|
|
One-page description of your group/ organization or project |
|
|
List of all participating coalition groups and contacts |
|
|
