2018 Inforum – Tarana Burke Capstone Event
With Inforum’s 2019 Capstone event, featuring NFL’s Sarah Thomas, right around the corner, we thought now was the perfect time to revisit our work on last year’s event. Being able to meet Tarana Burke, founder of the Me Too movement, was the highlight of our team’s year.
Check out how we crushed it:
Task
Inforum selected 8THIRTYFOUR Integrated Communications to handle the public relations campaign surrounding their 2018 Capstone Event in Grand Rapids. The event serves as a year-end celebration to highlight the past year’s great work. This was a special event, as the keynote speaker was Tarana Burke, activist and founder of the Me Too movement. We started work on the campaign in May 2018, and the event was on November 29, 2018.
Goal
The goal for this public relations campaign was to garner local and regional media coverage that highlighted the upcoming event, with specific thought around the announcement timeline. Ultimately, we wanted the event to sell out (which it did).
Process
A public relations campaign of this caliber that covers a sensitive topic requires strategic research and exceptional project management. Our process for success in this campaign included:
- In-person meetings to identify goals and understand organizational messaging
- Extensive research to identify applicable media targets in the local, regional, and national markets
- Creation of multiple press lists
- Ongoing media pitching and follow up
- Creation of event press release, media alert, and digital media kit
- Creation of event/organization media talking points
- Coordination of all media interviews, both for Inforum staff and Tarana Burke
- On-site event media coordination and assistance
- Real-time monitoring of earned media coverage and ongoing campaign reporting
Results
Our team secured 20 pieces of earned media during the seven-month campaign, with outlets that have a combined total of monthly digital impressions surpassing 137,075,000. This does not include TV segment viewership. The event sold out in October 2018, more than a month ahead of the event date. Other highlights for the campaign included:
- National placement for Inforum with Forbes
- 5 local placements surrounding the initial event announcement
- All 3 major local TV stations were on site to cover the event
We sure do love our job and our clients. Need help promoting a new initiative, upcoming event, company news? Give us a call. We got you.
