Say “I Do” to Public Relations: The Intersection of PR and Event Management

Written by Josephine Cioffero

Events are a common PR tactic when implementing a campaign. They’re fun, newsworthy and great exposure for an organization and their work. Thanks to my very informal research in conversation with other PR students at UF, I’ve discovered the popularity of the event management minor in addition to our J-school coursework, myself included. This past February, I had the privilege of accompanying my event management professor, Rayven Crisafulli from the College of Health and Human Performance, to Dahlonega, Georgia as a volunteer coordinator for a wedding she had planned. I watched not only my event management teachings translate into action, but my PR teachings as well. Here are the top five overlaps I noticed as I applied both of my learnings to reality!

Your Wedding’s “Save the Date” is your Press Release.

Press releases offer the media an inside scoop into your client’s newest products, achievements or executives. Similarly, a wedding’s “Save the Date” informs potential guests of such a joyous occasion, using the card’s design to set guests’ expectations and excitement, followed by formal invitations. While the goal of a press release is to garner media coverage and the goal of a “Save the Date” is to maximize attendance, both serve as publicity for your client and are early steps toward reaching your client’s goals. 

The RPIE process applies to events, too.

Research, planning, implementation and evaluation: the four steps that produce effective campaigns also produce successful events. Event research involves looking at historical data of past events to estimate future attendance and comparing the pricing and services of key vendors, all while keeping in line with the social and financial goals of the event. Planning involves event design, such as color scheme and florals, and budget creation. Implementation is the set-up, day-of coordination and break down of an event while navigating any issues that may arise during the process. Finally, evaluation allows you to assess whether your event provided an enjoyable experience for attendees and met its financial goals to help inform and improve the execution of future events. Even key performance indicators, or KPIs, which are used in PR evaluation to quantify performance of campaign goals such as social media impressions or TV air time, can translate to measuring the success of events when you track the number of social media posts by your attendees during your event or the percentage of attendees who register for the following year’s event onsite of the current one.

Proactive management is key.

As much as you can hope for perfection during a campaign or event, problems and conflict are an inevitable part of working with other humans. The best PR practitioners and event managers are those who learn to expect the unexpected, using a well-researched strategy to quickly and effectively address issues during a campaign or event instead of reacting to problems just as they occur. What if an interviewer asks a leading question that presents your client in a negative light? What if your outdoor wedding ceremony is threatened by lightning and rain? Having plans A, B and even C can reduce uncertainty in decision-making and demonstrate quality customer service that proves your dedication to a client and their needs.

Everything comes with a budget. Everything.

Everyone knows weddings are expensive, but so is PR. The misconception that PR is free because it generates earned media and doesn’t require paid advertising can be extremely common outside of the industry. PR still requires payment of an employee’s salary, a client retainer fee and administrative costs. Even pro-bono or non-profit PR work and events require resources such as employee time to produce any meaningful work. For example, my role as an unpaid volunteer still required an accommodations budget, including the mileage for my transportation to and from Georgia and the cost of meals. With accurate quotes from vendors, smart budgets can simply be thought of as a list of priorities that allows you the flexibility to upgrade your event or increase a client’s communication with its publics to reach greater engagement or campaign goals.

Two-way communication allows client-public relationships to thrive.

As an event planner, you serve as a middle ground for communication between your client and their publics, like the event’s attendees, guest speakers and vendors, similar to  how a PR practitioner may communicate on behalf of an organization to its publics. Both positions serve as a first point of contact for the consumer, with two-way communication allowing for feedback from consumers to better enhance one’s experience at an event or with a brand. When a brand considers and implements said feedback into future actions, it showcases its dedication to providing quality customer service and leaves consumers satisfied with their experiences. The customer service mindset is a hallmark of event management and planning, that when effectively applied to public relations, can lead to mutually beneficial relationships between a brand and its audience.

Are you considering adding an event management minor now? If so, I don’t blame you. The minor is only 15 credits, starting with the course HFT2750 Event Management. PR and events work hand in hand, making this a great opportunity to diversify your education, discover a different industry or simply try something new!