Attract Media Coverage

As soon as your event details are in place - date, time, venue/location, and volunteer team, contact your local media outlets including your community newspaper, local television and radio stations. Here are a few ideas to get you started...

• Write a media advisory: One of the most simple and effective ways to let the media know about your event is to write a media advisory and e-mail it to the right contact. A template and tips for writing a media advisory are available on braceletofhope.ca. A media advisory answers all the initial questions the media may have about your event; it outlines the ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’ of the event. The goal of an advisory is to get media outlets out to your event, so it should be distributed to the media about a week before the event is schedule to take place.
• Make a few calls: Follow-up with your local media after you’ve sent out the media advisory. Introduce yourself, very briefly explain the event you’re hosting and when it’s taking place, mention that you’ve sent them a media advisory with all the details and ask if this is something they are able to attend or send a photographer out to shoot.
• Write a media release: Supplying your local media with a prepared one-page account of your event, including a quote from a notable spokesperson who will be in attendance at the event, should be another step in your efforts to secure media coverage. A well written press release is concise and answers, ‘the who, what, where, when, why and how’ of your event, in understandable language. The goal of a media release is to provide all the important information about your event to the media so they can write an article or report on your event, with few additional details (usually, obtained through an interview). The media release needs to be prepared in advance and should be issued during your event or immediately following your event. In your release you may also want to add that event photos will be available to media upon request.