I remember
in Public Relation Techniques one of our assignments was to create an event management
plan overview for Perth Zoo. This was one of my favourite assignments that I had
completed throughout the Public Relations course! I have always had a passion
for creating different ideas for various events, and now I can test my
creativity skills with Event and Conference Co.
The upcoming
milestone is the “Tourism Industry Exchange & Awards” event where most of
the deliverables are complete. I was given a day to brainstorm social media and
public relation ideas for the event! This is a free industry event which is hosted
by the City of Perth allowing those in the tourism industry segment to share insight
knowledge, network with like-minded professionals, exchange information and
experience the newest products. It aims to target key stakeholders such as Tourism operators, Hotel
Concierges and Front of House staff, Hotel Management, Professional Conference
Organisers, Event Organisers, Inbound Tour Operators, Visitor Centre Staff,
Local Government Staff, Restaurants, Bars, Retailers, Executive Assistants, and
anyone who regularly speaks to tourists.
I felt a little under pressure with time constraints, but I
said to myself this is where I need to shine and test my creativity skills!! Out
of the many ideas I created Rebecca and Anna decided to incorporate and modify
two of my ideas into the event. It was called the “Social Media Game” and the purpose of this game was to boost each exhibitor’s
social media pages throughout the day, whilst guests are able to go into the
draw to win some amazing prizes!!!! It is very similar to how a raffle works,
but just a tad more fun!!
This
is how to play!
All guests receive a book when they enter the event which
contains a number of tokens individually numbered, one red and one green.
1. Guests go to
participating stands and enter the green token into the jar.
2. For a ‘bonus’ entry into
the prize draw, the guests ask the exhibitor for their sign, take a photo with
their sign and upload the image to their social media (Facebook, Instagram or
twitter).
3. Guests must use the
hashtag #perthtourism when uploading the exhibitor’s image.
4. Guests show the exhibitor their upload and enter the red
token into the jar
5. At the end of the event our team will search for
#perthtourism and decide on four lucky winners!!
Another idea I thought would be a fun way for guests to
interact is to have an Instagram cut out frame. This opens up an opportunity
for guests to tag themselves at the event and upload a fun photo of with their
friends. I know that any engagement I
attend I would always feel the need tag myself in on Facebook, does anyone else
do that?? On the Instagram cut out frame
are the hashtags #perthcityaus and #pertharena as these are Event and
Conference Co’s two major sponsors for this event. We also decided to include
additional signs with fun tourism taglines for guests to hold up when wishing to
take selfies!
This idea was also another PR tactic to boost social media
posts throughout the day for Event and Conference Co, City of Perth, Perth
Arena and all the exhibitors.
Additional PR tactics and marketing strategies that
were incorporated into this event organised by Rebecca and Anna are as follows;
- Interactive website through online blogs
- Weekly newsletter sent to registered members and targeted clients
- Media release, fact sheets targeted to print media outlets such as; The West, The Australian, The Sunday Times
- Media placement also targeted to online channels such as; City of Perth, Town of Perth, What’s on When, The West, Total Travel, Perth Now, WA Today, Perth Tourism WA
- E-book which includes all the exhibitors that are participating in the event posted on Event & Conference Co website, whilst Exhibitors are also asked to share
- Networking with like-minded industry leaders who are willing to include a write up of the event in their newsletters and blogs on their website Corporate sponsorship such as City of Perth, Perth Arena
- Distribution of flyers through mail drop offs in specific suburbs such as Subiaco, Perth City, Mount Lawley
- Social media posts regularly through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
- Type of venue (Perth Arena) which is a tourist attraction
- A walking tour of Perth Arena
- Guest speakers such as CEO of Sandalford Winery, Grant Brinklow, CEO of Busselton Jetty, Lisa Shreeve and City of Armadale Tourism Coordinator Economic developer, Suzy Parravicini
Today I learnt meaningful insights on how PR tactics and marketing
strategies are applied to a real event! I was also able to put my creativity
skills to the test, but I guess I have to see how successful they will be when
it comes to the day of the event!!
Follow me on INSTAGRAM @siobhansmith to gain more of an insight of my work experience placement!
Stay tuned for next time guys!!!
Thank you
~ Siobhan Smith ~
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