ing association, which carries on its sleeve its vested interests in
the success of the event.
Internal Public Relations
For a trade association or professional society, the marketer should
first seek resources internal to the organization itself. Where to
look? Stakeholders. The board of directors, staff, committees, chap-
ter leaders, past presidents, exhibitors, all of those who have an
intrinsic interest in the success of the project. These are the peo-
ple who are, at the least, somewhat interested and, at best, eager
to assist in promoting the event.
The marketing executive may consider these tools for internal
public relations for use by stakeholders:
- Focus groups to determine candidly the attitudes of others
and identify the most reliable resources to represent the
cause. - Fact sheets, background articles, and press kit materials to
make the stakeholders comfortable with past history and fu-
ture plans. - Scripts for speeches to be delivered to members, chapter au-
diences, and allied or related associations. - Personal approaches, phone calls, and visits by association
leaders to other “movers and shakers” in the industry to
spread the word. - Videos to be distributed to chapters and related societies,
for viewing and discussions at chapter and leadership
meetings. - Advertisements for association publications with reader-
ships pertinent to the campaign. - Press releases to trade publications.
- “Advertorials” prepared for industry magazines and newspa-
pers. Many such publications welcome editorial coverage of
an event or production, which, in fact, may be a thinly veiled
promotion of the value of the event and the sponsoring asso-
ciation. These are often run on a “space-available” basis.
External Public Relations (Creating an Awareness)
External public relations reaches beyond the association family
and attempts to identify those who may not be intimately aware
of the event but have supportive potential. They may become
Promotion Methods for Association Events 117