JUNE 2010 |
www.opp.org.uk WORDS | Sarah Drane Launch: do it in style
Have you got a new development that you would like to tell the world about? Have you ever thought about launching with a press visit … shipping in writers and photographers to help spread the word. Property PR expert Sarah Drane (right,) director of www.
purplecakefactory.com, gives some hard-earned tips about the highs and lows of taking on the press. Find out what to do, and what not to do.
A
fringe benefi t of being a property PR or journalist is, when the dinner party
conversation falters, we can always
interject with a ‘disastrous press trip’ anecdote. You know, the one when everyone got food poisoning or that time we found ourselves centre stage in
a military coup – oh how we laughed! Whether it’s a lack of understanding, communication, common sense, or all three, press trips can go horribly wrong.
A happy journo equals healthy column inches so, with the help of six of the UK and Ireland’s fi nest property hacks, here are six tips for press trip pleasure.
MEDIA & MARKETING Press launches Developer profi le
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1. Timings.
Try to give your potential guests plenty of notice. Journalists have a lot of demands on their time and normally work to tight deadlines. A month in advance would appear to be the preferred notice to give a journalist when inviting to a press
Cheryl Markosky: Sunday Telegraph
trip, especially if childcare has to be arranged. And, for the length of the trip itself, three days should work. As Cheryl Markosky (Country Life, Sunday Telegraph) says, “Long enough so you can catch your breath occasionally and get a
feeling of the place, but not so long that you feel guilty”. The reality is that the more days a freelancer is away from their desk, the less they are earning. So whilst long-haul in a short time sounds arduous, it makes financial sense.
2. Group size.
You need to find a happy medium here. The general consensus is that small, carefully selected groups work best rather than one-to-ones. The group approach appeals to the majority of journalists because they like to meet up at events and -
Zoe Dare Hall: Sunday Times
when together - they feel that they are more likely to have some fun. And, when the going gets tough, they say, you can lean on your comrades to help you get through the over-intense developer Q&A. Although, as Zoe Dare Hall (Sunday
Times, Mail on Sunday) points out, “One-to-ones obviously mean you get the story to yourself and you have greater freedom in dictating the itinerary.” It is not always the case that journalists like to work and hunt in packs.
3. Economy or fi rst.
In the words of Gordon Miller (the FT and Daily Telegraph:) “developers shouldn’t use the economic downturn as an excuse to cheapskate”. Whilst nobody is insistent on front row airline seats and five star hotels anymore (al-
Diarmaid Condon: Irish Examiner
though they wouldn’t say ‘no’ either) if the developer is economizing on cheap hotels it makes you question the developer’s credentials and wonder what corners are being cut on their project. Diarmaid Condon of the Irish Examiner (left) adds, “If
you can’t afford a four or five star hotel then don’t run the trip ... it’ll reflect badly on your company”. Food is a different matter though. Liz Rowlinson (Daily Mail) prefers “cheap, local restaurants where you can soak up some genuine colour.”
MEDIA
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