problematical. The Public Relations Society of America estimates
that the value of editorial coverage is three times greater than the
cost of a purchased advertisement of equal size and space.
In his book, Guerrilla Marketing,Jay Conrad Levinson makes a
compelling argument as to the value of public relations, because
he was able to absolutely track it. He was purchasing advertising
to sell a self-published book. Each $1,000 ad generated some $3,000
in book sales. A reporter from his hometown newspaper read the
book and found it fascinating. He called Levinson to ask if he
could interview him and bring along a photographer. After the in-
terview and subsequent news article (which did not directly so-
licit sales of the book), more than $10,000 in sales resulted almost
immediately. Levinson wrote “... and the marketing didn’t cost
me one penny.”
Figure 1-3 illustrates classic public relations devices.5. POSITIONING
Event marketing relies on the proper positioning of the product.
No event can be effectively sold until a marketing plan is devel-
oped. The marketing plan will likely be the predicate that deter-18 Chapter 1 Introduction to Event Marketing
Tools of the Trade in Event Public Relations
■Media releases (news oriented)
■Publicity releases (promotionally oriented)
■Media kits (including photographs, biographies, press releases,
brochures, organizational fact sheets, schedules, speakers’ back-
grounds and topics, mission statements, ancillary activities)
■Phone, fax, and e-mail information for contacts
■Radio and TV spots/releases
■Copies of speeches
■Videotapes
■Audiotapes
■Invitations/tickets to eventFigure 1-3
These tried-and-true public relations vehicles are designed to
develop the message and deliver it to as many audiences as
possible.