Putting together the pieces for the Toodyay Race Day

Hi everyone,

It’s less than a week out from the Toodyay Picnic Race Day, the major project I have been working on whilst completing my placement at Platform Communications, I thought I would take the opportunity to reflect on some of the key tasks I have performed and the success we have had to date.

My role was primarily focused on gaining sponsorship for the race day. This involved sending out sponsorship proposals, follow up phone calls and ultimately, positioning the race day as a great event to sponsor by supporting the town of Toodyay.

To check out all of the fantastic sponsorship we have secured visit the Toodyay Race Club website here.  

Ellie, another intern and my partner-in-crime at Platform was responsible for building relationships with media contacts and gaining coverage and exposure in various local and State wide publications and radio stations. Whenever Ellie needed help with all things media I was by her side, eager to see everything she had been working on and learning.

Along with our supervisor, Ellie and myself spent most of our days working on tasks associated with the Toodyay Race Day as well as all of the other things that would pop up around the office.

Some key success points to note:

• Tim Gossage, Channel Ten Sports Presenter is the event emcee, and Mia Davies, Minister for Water, Forestry and Deputy Leader of the National Party was secured as the official event patron.
•  A media partnership with The Sunday Times/Perth Now has been secured providing advertising space valued in excess of $32,000 and promotion of an online competition run by Perth Now.
• Media partnerships with Radio West and 6PR have been secured with some fantastic coverage.
• Sponsorship of prizes for the competition was secured including a limousine transfer to and from the race course sponsored by Chandon Limousines, an overnight accommodation voucher, beauty voucher, hair voucher and hats/fascinators.
•  Sponsorship of race names as well as a live band sponsor and Fashions of the Field sponsor was secured.
• The Racing and Wagering Institute of WA have come on board as a sponsor, through the TAB to be granted exclusive naming rights of the event and Toodyay Cup as well as promotion to TAB’s mailing lists.
• Editorial published in the Avon Valley Advocate, Avon Gazette, Hills Gazette, Joondalup Times, Midland Times, Kalamunda Reporter and Wanneroo Times.
• Promotion/coverage of the event on 6PR and Radio West stations.

To see the ‘latest stories’ about the race club, including the competition hosted by The Sunday Times/Perth Now click here. 

It has been such a rewarding experience to be involved in the development and implementation of a ‘PR Plan’ with outcomes that have been successful in accordance with the objectives that were defined at the beginning of the project.

From defining our objectives to brainstorming our tactics and implementing these, I have been involved in every step along the way. Along with everyone at Platform I am really looking forward to the event and seeing how all of our work will contribute to the success of the day and showcase the town of Toodyay.