Keep News and Promotions Separate When Developing Media Sponsorships
Written by PR Etc., Inc.
Published by Rockford Register Star
Monday, December 26, 2005

One way to garner more attention and visibility for your event is to team up with a specific media organization – local, regional or national – and trade out a sponsorship for a promotional package. Depending on the geographical range of the event (e.g. is it a national or local event?), at times you can consider having more than one media organization become a sponsor.

But remember, the promotional side of most media organizations is completely separate from the news department. So, if you are seeking a media sponsorship, be sure you are working with the appropriate people in the organization and be specific about targeting the news and promotions departments separately – for different needs. In some cases, the two departments will work together, but don’t count on this to happen and instead interact with these departments separately to ensure your success.

If you are seeking the development of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) from broadcast media or a trade out for advertising in the print media, work with an organization’s promotions or marketing departments.

For preview or day-of coverage for your event, work directly with the news department and be aware they are under no obligation – even though they might be a sponsor – to cover the activity. Also, you should realize that if one media organization is the promoted sponsor of an event, it might dissuade other media to cover your event from a news standpoint.