Press Events, Presentations...Who Are We Impressing?
Press Events, Presentations...Who Are We Impressing?
With some notable exceptions, almost everything else is a blur, a bore, a waste of time/money/effort.
Take our favorites since they ruin the December holidays by beginning shortly after the year -- CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and Macworld.
As the industries have evolved from technical to entertainment, many companies have done away with press conferences and moved to press events and press parties. Whether they are single or multi company events they do provide some benefit to the press. The events do allow the press to get an overview of what’s new, especially when it is a sponsored event and they can walk rented table after rented table.
They also serve PR people because the events allow them to gather a lot of business cards and maybe even say hello to members of the media they won’t call or work with for the rest of the year.
What they don’t do is anything to build an image for the company or help establish management as experts in their field. In fact, management seldom participate in these sponsored events.
If it is a company sponsored press event the onstage gala is usually followed by several managers moving to the podium and reading the announcement information from text filled powerpoint presentations. Timing is everything because most of the events – stage show, presentations, refreshments and booth tour – need to be kept to one hour.
The third option for a press conference is to book one of the many press conference rooms show management makes available for registered firms on a first-come, first-served basis. The 30-minute time slot means you have to get in, set up the demonstration, have one – three speakers make their ppt data dump presentations and leave a few minutes for Q&A.
If so many PR teams put so much time and effort into these activities can they be that wrong?
Unfortunately yes!
Focus On The Audience
A good salesperson would prepare by learning what his/her audience wants to learn and not what the salesperson wants to present. The individual would be well rehearsed, to the point of almost being over rehearsed. He or she would make eye contact with his/her audience at the outset and maintain that contact throughout the presentation.
Then the salesperson would follow up after the meeting to make certain that the prospect had all the information and material they needed.
Getting the people who run your company and make major decisions to understand that they need presentation and media training is always a challenge. This is especially true if the executive built the company from the ground up.
But speech/presentation and media training should be mandatory for every member of the organization – including PR people – who must be called upon to effectively present the organization’s message(s) before small/large audiences as well as in be interviewed by the press in both favorable and adversarial situations.
Because of their level of success and expertise, entrepreneurs and executives of both large and small organizations should receive extensive training to speak before groups of all sizes. Whether the audience is professional contemporaries, the press or people in other industries, they're interested in hearing the firm’s story, management’s ideas and the vision/plans they have for the company’s products and programs.
At both CES and Macworld, we took the opportunity to analyze the keynote and press presentations of many of the firms.
The executives who gave memorable presentations tailored their messages to the audience and their personalities. They looked and sounded almost effortless and enthusiastic. They were efficient and effective.
If they used slides, content was either minimal or they seldom referred to the information on the presentation. It was obvious that they had spent hours in training and rehearsal in preparation for their presentation. During the Q&A these executives were also able to field almost every question in a comprehensive, relaxed and confident manner.
It was equally easy to determine which executives were relying on pure guts, ego and a sales presentation modified for the occasion.
Proven Performers
Take some of the industry’s most visible examples:
- Bill Gates (Microsoft) – Gates has honed his geek presentation to an art. Even when he surrounds himself with celebrities as he is doing increasingly he makes the audience believe he is comfortable with his guests but awkward with them at the same time because his is a technical persona.
- Sir Howard Springer (Sony) – Springer makes the audience believe that he is a thoughtful, caring individual who is not only a good businessperson but also one with feelings for his audience and his subject.
- Paul Otellini (Intel) – Otellini comes across as a thinking, quiet executive who is awkward in the limelight but is fulfilling the chief spokesman role he has taken on when he took on the global chip leader.
- John Chambers (Cisco) – Here is a man who has overcome dyslexia and has superb stage presence of a man who knows his information. He obviously spends hours studying and preparing for major presentations so lesser presentations come very easily. He has the facts and figures of his industry and company memorized so that he hardly ever glances at notes or presentation material that is on the screen for the audience.
- Larry Ellison (Oracle) – Ellison is a man who can be loved/hated, reviled/respected all at the same time. He carries hints of his tough-as-nails Brooklyn background that is now wrapped in the fine robes of a confident Samurai. He is confident, knowledgeable and self-assured. His presence and poise on the stage lets you know that he is 100% assured of himself, that he deserves to be there and what he has to say is important.
- Steve Jobs (Apple) – We swear that every time we observe a keynote at Macworld or one of Jobs’ major announcements, the Mac faithful followers honestly believe that he is the Second Coming. He continues to have a passion about his company’s technologies and products that is infectious. His presentation on stage is charismatic and mesmerizing. Who else could ask the audience if they wanted to see one of the company’s latest ads and have people give him a standing ovation? For all of his net worth and his years in the industry, he still shows people that he has fun with “his” technology and that he wants to spread it for all to enjoy. Obviously, none of this comes without hours and days of painstaking preparation and rehearsal.
We often wonder why PR people and executives don’t spend more time watching, listening to and analyzing others’ presentation efforts and look closely at what the winners and the losers do right and wrong. We can learn so much by paying attention to good – and bad – presentations. Copying them is a sure path to disaster but reviewing their eye contact, mannerisms, stage presence and audience connection can help you understand what your management team needs to do to improve their messages.
Results Oriented Show Meetings
The next important step is not just to maximize the number of 1:1 editorial meetings but also make certain the right results come from those meetings. That means helping management crystallize the two or three key messages that need to be presented at the show. If you have more messages than that then you are going to waste your time, the press’ time and the unique opportunity the show provides.
Once this is developed and agreed upon by all concerned, you need to ensure managers (spokespersons and others manning the booth) as well as your PR team have refined and reviewed their fundamental media relations skills.
We believe every PR person should take a formal press relations training course as well as periodic refresher courses. In 20 years in the industry we’ve undergone training six times.
Each time you take a training session, we honed and improved our media relations skills. Bad habits creep in that need to be corrected/modified. You become too self-assured and comfortable in your work.
You can never be too prepared when a big problem/challenge arises!
Trade show PR is relatively easy because it is seldom adversarial.
The media is at the show to get news…you to get news coverage. The first step is to get the meetings and deliver your message(s).
Simple enough. But not a slam dunk.
Especially as we mentioned above, if you can’t agree upon and articulate a central theme and 2-3 key points for each new announcement, all tied to the central theme.
Start by clearly stating your key point/message. Spell out the 2-3 key points and then give the supportive information to those points. End the product announcement by summarizing the key points.
If you have prepared a PowerPoint presentation on the announcement, give it to the editor/reporter to use in taking notes. Be well enough versed in the product, the market position, the applications and the competition that you don’t have to refer to the presentation.
Elevator Pitch
Your executive and you are going to have 10-15 minutes 1:1 time with the editor/reporter. Make the most of that time for your company and the media outlet. Make your discussion strong and memorable. Keep in mind, you are not the only company clamoring for media mindshare at the show.
When the show press meeting is finished, too many PR people feel they are done.
Actually, you’ve just begun. Make notes immediately after the editor/reporter leaves for your client summary report, the commitments that have been made and the follow up that is required.
Immediately after the show (or perhaps that evening in your room), send a thank you note to the editor/reporter and summarize the meeting. Spell out the items and information you need to provide him/her and note that you will have a member of your staff follow-up while you are still at the show or that you will do it immediately after you return to the office.
Then…follow up…follow up…follow up.
Year-Round Job
It seems rather obvious but we often hear a common complaint from people we know in the media is that they won’t hear from the majority of PR people until the next show.
If they are so important to you to produce body count for the show for management, they should be important enough to you throughout the year to work with on other story ideas.
There are PR people who believe their only job is to knock out news releases and handle PR events. It may impress management but it doesn’t make you that important or memorable to the press.
########
Press Events PresentationsWho Are We Impressing - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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There are two great periods for tradeshow PR activities...when it begins, when it is over.
With some notable exceptions, almost everything else is a blur, a bore, a waste of time/money/effort.
Take our favorites since they ruin the December holidays by beginning shortly after the year -- CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and Macworld.
As the industries have evolved from technical to entertainment, many companies have done away with press conferences and moved to press events and press parties. Whether they are single or multi company events they do provide some benefit to the press. The events do allow the press to get an overview of what’s new, especially when it is a sponsored event and they can walk rented table after rented table.
They also serve PR people because the events allow them to gather a lot of business cards and maybe even say hello to members of the media they won’t call or work with for the rest of the year.
What they don’t do is anything to build an image for the company or help establish management as experts in their field. In fact, management seldom participate in these sponsored events.
If it is a company sponsored press event the onstage gala is usually followed by several managers moving to the podium and reading the announcement information from text filled powerpoint presentations. Timing is everything because most of the events – stage show, presentations, refreshments and booth tour – need to be kept to one hour.
The third option for a press conference is to book one of the many press conference rooms show management makes available for registered firms on a first-come, first-served basis. The 30-minute time slot means you have to get in, set up the demonstration, have one – three speakers make their ppt data dump presentations and leave a few minutes for Q&A.
If so many PR teams put so much time and effort into these activities can they be that wrong?
Unfortunately yes!
Focus On The Audience
A good salesperson would prepare by learning what his/her audience wants to learn and not what the salesperson wants to present. The individual would be well rehearsed, to the point of almost being over rehearsed. He or she would make eye contact with his/her audience at the outset and maintain that contact throughout the presentation.
Then the salesperson would follow up after the meeting to make certain that the prospect had all the information and material they needed.
Getting the people who run your company and make major decisions to understand that they need presentation and media training is always a challenge. This is especially true if the executive built the company from the ground up.
But speech/presentation and media training should be mandatory for every member of the organization – including PR people – who must be called upon to effectively present the organization’s message(s) before small/large audiences as well as in be interviewed by the press in both favorable and adversarial situations.
Because of their level of success and expertise, entrepreneurs and executives of both large and small organizations should receive extensive training to speak before groups of all sizes. Whether the audience is professional contemporaries, the press or people in other industries, they're interested in hearing the firm’s story, management’s ideas and the vision/plans they have for the company’s products and programs.
At both CES and Macworld, we took the opportunity to analyze the keynote and press presentations of many of the firms.
The executives who gave memorable presentations tailored their messages to the audience and their personalities. They looked and sounded almost effortless and enthusiastic. They were efficient and effective.
If they used slides, content was either minimal or they seldom referred to the information on the presentation. It was obvious that they had spent hours in training and rehearsal in preparation for their presentation. During the Q&A these executives were also able to field almost every question in a comprehensive, relaxed and confident manner.
It was equally easy to determine which executives were relying on pure guts, ego and a sales presentation modified for the occasion.
Proven Performers
Take some of the industry’s most visible examples:
- Bill Gates (Microsoft) – Gates has honed his geek presentation to an art. Even when he surrounds himself with celebrities as he is doing increasingly he makes the audience believe he is comfortable with his guests but awkward with them at the same time because his is a technical persona.
- Sir Howard Springer (Sony) – Springer makes the audience believe that he is a thoughtful, caring individual who is not only a good businessperson but also one with feelings for his audience and his subject.
- Paul Otellini (Intel) – Otellini comes across as a thinking, quiet executive who is awkward in the limelight but is fulfilling the chief spokesman role he has taken on when he took on the global chip leader.
- John Chambers (Cisco) – Here is a man who has overcome dyslexia and has superb stage presence of a man who knows his information. He obviously spends hours studying and preparing for major presentations so lesser presentations come very easily. He has the facts and figures of his industry and company memorized so that he hardly ever glances at notes or presentation material that is on the screen for the audience.
- Larry Ellison (Oracle) – Ellison is a man who can be loved/hated, reviled/respected all at the same time. He carries hints of his tough-as-nails Brooklyn background that is now wrapped in the fine robes of a confident Samurai. He is confident, knowledgeable and self-assured. His presence and poise on the stage lets you know that he is 100% assured of himself, that he deserves to be there and what he has to say is important.
- Steve Jobs (Apple) – We swear that every time we observe a keynote at Macworld or one of Jobs’ major announcements, the Mac faithful followers honestly believe that he is the Second Coming. He continues to have a passion about his company’s technologies and products that is infectious. His presentation on stage is charismatic and mesmerizing. Who else could ask the audience if they wanted to see one of the company’s latest ads and have people give him a standing ovation? For all of his net worth and his years in the industry, he still shows people that he has fun with “his” technology and that he wants to spread it for all to enjoy. Obviously, none of this comes without hours and days of painstaking preparation and rehearsal.
We often wonder why PR people and executives don’t spend more time watching, listening to and analyzing others’ presentation efforts and look closely at what the winners and the losers do right and wrong. We can learn so much by paying attention to good – and bad – presentations. Copying them is a sure path to disaster but reviewing their eye contact, mannerisms, stage presence and audience connection can help you understand what your management team needs to do to improve their messages.
Results Oriented Show Meetings
The next important step is not just to maximize the number of 1:1 editorial meetings but also make certain the right results come from those meetings. That means helping management crystallize the two or three key messages that need to be presented at the show. If you have more messages than that then you are going to waste your time, the press’ time and the unique opportunity the show provides.
Once this is developed and agreed upon by all concerned, you need to ensure managers (spokespersons and others manning the booth) as well as your PR team have refined and reviewed their fundamental media relations skills.
We believe every PR person should take a formal press relations training course as well as periodic refresher courses. In 20 years in the industry we’ve undergone training six times.
Each time you take a training session, we honed and improved our media relations skills. Bad habits creep in that need to be corrected/modified. You become too self-assured and comfortable in your work.
You can never be too prepared when a big problem/challenge arises!
Trade show PR is relatively easy because it is seldom adversarial.
The media is at the show to get news…you to get news coverage. The first step is to get the meetings and deliver your message(s).
Simple enough. But not a slam dunk.
Especially as we mentioned above, if you can’t agree upon and articulate a central theme and 2-3 key points for each new announcement, all tied to the central theme.
Start by clearly stating your key point/message. Spell out the 2-3 key points and then give the supportive information to those points. End the product announcement by summarizing the key points.
If you have prepared a PowerPoint presentation on the announcement, give it to the editor/reporter to use in taking notes. Be well enough versed in the product, the market position, the applications and the competition that you don’t have to refer to the presentation.
Elevator Pitch
Your executive and you are going to have 10-15 minutes 1:1 time with the editor/reporter. Make the most of that time for your company and the media outlet. Make your discussion strong and memorable. Keep in mind, you are not the only company clamoring for media mindshare at the show.
When the show press meeting is finished, too many PR people feel they are done.
Actually, you’ve just begun. Make notes immediately after the editor/reporter leaves for your client summary report, the commitments that have been made and the follow up that is required.
Immediately after the show (or perhaps that evening in your room), send a thank you note to the editor/reporter and summarize the meeting. Spell out the items and information you need to provide him/her and note that you will have a member of your staff follow-up while you are still at the show or that you will do it immediately after you return to the office.
Then…follow up…follow up…follow up.
Year-Round Job
It seems rather obvious but we often hear a common complaint from people we know in the media is that they won’t hear from the majority of PR people until the next show.
If they are so important to you to produce body count for the show for management, they should be important enough to you throughout the year to work with on other story ideas.
There are PR people who believe their only job is to knock out news releases and handle PR events. It may impress management but it doesn’t make you that important or memorable to the press.
########
Press Events PresentationsWho Are We Impressing - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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