The Dynamic Duo: Events and PR
Published on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 at 11:13 p.m.
By Braden Barksdale.
Events and public relations can go hand in hand. Many companies are using both industries to increase their engagement. So how do these two intertwine? How are companies mixing events and PR?
Enhancing the brand awareness
One of the most important factors of event management and PR is bringing awareness to the brand. Getting the company’s name in the limelight can be accomplished in multiple ways. For instance, Cameron Faulkner, owner of Something New Wed, has used social media and word of mouth to increase her company’s brand awareness.
Faulkner started planning her own wedding and quickly realized how much she enjoyed wedding planning. Since starting her own company in April 2024, its business has grown from a couple of inquiries weekly to 15 inquires per week. Faulkner’s work has been featured in Alabama Weddings and Inside Edition.
Modern Luxury Media is another company that is using owned media to grow its business. Modern Luxury uses its media to showcase events and sponsorships. Mary Catherine Dulaney, a marketing and events manager in Atlanta, Georgia, plans the events and covers them on social media.
The clients come to Dulaney wanting to connect with Modern Luxury’s customers by hosting an in-store experience, custom-brand experience or an intimate gathering. She makes sure each brand builds strong connections with its audience through personal invitations, live social media coverage, post-event coverage and in-house media.
Meritage Events is a full-service live events firm focused on the corporate world. This business was established in 2005 and has seen the events industry through several changes, the biggest being the introduction of social media. In 2010, Instagram was released, and Tacy Infante, the co-owner and vice president of Meritage Events, recognizes significant changes in the industry.
“Our clients are getting younger,” she explained. “Not everyone goes to Google for information anymore. They go to social media. On social media, we want to be more personable than our website. We want to showcase our most recent events. People should be able to tell who we are from our social media. We do not use much traditional PR, so social media and earned media is our advertisement.”
Recently, Infante has been featured in Texas Meetings and Events and is a Hall of Fame recipient of the International Live Events Association (ILEA) Austin chapter in 2023. Infante combines new technological advances with older traditional approaches to reach new clients. She explained that using search engine optimization to increase online rankings and brand awareness is part of her marketing initiatives as well as building old-school relationships with hoteliers and vendors.
Infante also uses destination marketing organizations (DMOs) as partnerships and collateral to increase brand awareness. Utilizing partnerships can increase a company’s brand credibility, unlock new clients and boost engagement. Infante uses DMO sites like Visit Dallas and Visit Austin in her social media strategy.
Fostering relationships
Building lasting relationships is a necessity in the PR industry.
Meritage Events relies on trust, experience and comfortability to get a customer to return.
Infante said, “Clients come back to us because they know we have the experience to get the job done, and we make them feel comfortable. We pride ourselves in a balance between fun and business. At the close of our events, we are hugging and laughing. At the end of the day, we aren’t saving lives, we are planning events. When we do a great job, the customer trusts us and wants to use our services again.”
Payten Timm is the event coordinator for donor relations in the University Advancement department at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). Timm explained a large part of her job is planning events for donors and alumni and continuing to foster those relationships. These donors donate large sums of money to the school, and it is important for them to see the fruit of their giving.
“Face-to-face is very special because we get to see the donor who has a lot of money and cares about the university meet the student who may not understand the value of the scholarship. The student and donor can make a connection that could lead to something,” Timm noted.
She also mentioned how important it is to keep the donors happy. Her department is constantly attending dinners and coffee chats to make sure those relationships are maintained. Sending gifts, flowers or cards allows the department to deliver a personal touch.
Helping others out is another way Dulaney is building relationships at Modern Luxury. She advises to learn what others’ needs are and invest in that need. Sometimes just being willing to lend a helping hand is more important than money.
Modern Luxury maintains solid relationships with its vendors. Each vendor provides its service and in return gets promoted in Modern Luxury’s owned media. This is a great example of a mutually beneficial relationship.
Storytelling
Storytelling is a valuable tool in the event and PR industries.
“Why are we hosting this event? Why are we sending this invite?” Timm said she asks herself these questions every day while she is planning events. Knowing the why behind an event can encourage more creativity and make the difference in a successful event or the opposite. The why behind this specific SHSU event where students met their scholarship donor was, “Investing in yourselves and others can make a difference.”
For Dulaney, storytelling in her job involves who is coming to the event and why. Modern Luxury’s events range from fancy galas to intimate dinners, but almost every client is seeking brand activation. The purpose of these events is to highlight the brand.
Answering the question of the why of an event looks different for Faulkner. Since she is involved in wedding planning, her job is to tell the story of the couple getting married. She explained that brides want to connect with you because of who you are and what you offer them. Sharing about yourself provides a sense of vulnerability that brides can really connect with. Her platforms mirror her likes and her personality, which is why brides choose her to plan the wedding.
“My slogan is ‘Real couples. Real stories.’ For me personally, it is important that I connect with the bride and know their story; to me, that goes further than any marketing or advertising can do. It’s important to be personable and show that every couple has a story by not posting generic feed,” Faulkner explained.
Meritage Events adds another level to storytelling: visuals. Infante said her company prides itself on presentation and pitches. Her team shows the client what it would be like to walk through the event as an attendee. They use mood boards, color palettes and event visuals to help shape what the client is looking for during an event. Infante strives to answer the question, “What will you walk away with?”
The combination of events and PR is a strategic approach that enhances brand awareness and fosters genuine connections. By focusing on relationship-building and storytelling, companies can create impactful experiences that resonate with their audiences and drive engagement. As the landscape evolves, the collaboration between these two industries will continue to shape how brands communicate and connect in meaningful ways.
