10 Things That Public Relations Should Prepare At The Press Conference

Press conferences are held when you want to announce new information to the world, such as new products, services, and brand announcements. If you actually go to the position of holding the event, you may not know what to start with. Various preparations are required to hold one press conference.

In this article, it will introduce 10 items that a spokesperson should prepare and points to be aware of when holding a press conference.

What are the 10 public relations preparations to prepare at the press conference?

When you hold a press conference in-house, a spokesperson often acts as a partition to make the meeting a success. There are 10 items that a spokesperson must prepare. All of these are important preparatory tasks that are indispensable, so please consider them as checklists and clear them one by one.

1. Creating a progress management sheet

First, when it is decided to hold a press conference, you will create a progress management sheet that summarizes the preparatory work required by the day. It's also a good idea to use a project management tool here. The Gantt chart used for project management and process management can also be used as a reference.

It is useful to be able to grasp the entire contents of the TODO task, task status (not started, completed, etc.), deadline for preparations, person in charge of each task, etc. by looking at the sheet.

2. Core content planning

Next, you will design the content to decide what kind of press conference will be the main point.

What do you want to convey through the press conference, how much you want to be exposed to the media, and what points do you want the media to take up in the content of the announcement? While organizing the points such as, etc., you will elaborate what kind of press conference is best to hold in order to achieve the purpose and goal.

Here, it would be nice to have a process in which teams come up with various ideas and decision makers make decisions.

3. Confirmation of date and time / venue

Since you will hold a press conference, you would like to invite as many media companies as possible to participate in the publication of more articles. Therefore, the recommended date and time for the press conference is " Weekday afternoon, " which is said to be relatively easy for media personnel to move around .

Next, when choosing a venue, it would be nice to be able to choose from the standpoint of a reporter. In particular, the points such as "easy-to-visit location", "equipped with necessary equipment", and "matching the image of the content to be announced" will be important.

Hotel banquet halls, conference rooms for rent, and event spaces are generally used as venues for press conferences, but there are no special rules. If you consider the atmosphere of the venue as one of the productions, choosing a place that matches the image of the product or service will have an impact, and it will be easier to convey the brand as an image of the photo when it becomes an article.

4. Time schedule of the day

At the press conference, it is necessary to accurately convey and disseminate the contents of new products and services based on a proper time schedule. Let's decide what kind of time schedule will proceed on the day. In addition, media personnel are sewn between busy schedules, so be sure to keep the time schedule even as the day progresses.

The time schedule is not just the content part of the press conference. It is necessary to formulate a detailed schedule from the entry time of employees involved in the operation to the withdrawal time of the venue.

5. Arrangement of venue decoration / equipment and souvenirs

It is also essential to check and arrange the venue decoration, microphones, projectors, Wi-Fi and other equipment and supplies required for the press conference. If there is even one omission of confirmation, the day may be rushed, such as preparing an alternative, so be sure to check the details of what you need and how many, and make a backup plan .

Make sure to arrange more news materials, novelties, souvenirs, etc. than you expected, so that you don't run out of the day.

6. Creation of press release invitations and press releases for the media

You would like to send a letter of invitation to the media people who want me to come on the day. Be sure to set up a reply page in the invitation to ask if you are participating. It is very important not to end up sending it. For example, you can have them submitted by fax or contacted by email. In addition, by adding a word, "If it is convenient for you on the day even if you have not applied," you can encourage the visit of media people who do not know the schedule until just before.

The press release here refers to the one distributed on the day . Prepare a press release regarding the products and services to be announced at the press conference. The content may be the same as the one sent on your company's official website or press release distribution service.

7. Creating a list of media to participate in

You will send a letter of invitation and list of the media that responded as you plan to participate. At this time, it is convenient to make a note of the presence or absence of TV cameras / cameras, the number of people planning to participate, and emergency contact information.

8. Creation and direction of presentation materials

You will work with designers, business managers, representatives, etc. to create and direct the presentation materials used in the actual production so that the message and image you want to convey will not be distorted.

When creating materials, there is a mismatch between the length of the presentation and the number of slides, is it not a sentence rather than a keyword, is the color, layout, and font unified? Please note this. 

9. Creating a progress script

The facilitator is often pressured to think of organizing the entire event and managing the time. A progress script is important for smooth progress even under such pressure . Let's create from the opening greeting to the program progress and closing greeting according to the flow of the press conference.

If the progress slide matches the script content and you can grasp the flow of the entire meeting, you can respond even if any trouble occurs on the day.

10. Creating FAQ (Assumed Questions and Answers)

Since press conferences usually have a question and answer time, it is recommended to identify possible questions in advance and create an FAQ as a collection of expected questions and answers in advance. You will be able to answer sudden questions smoothly. Also, if you get stuck on a question, it will affect the credibility of the company, so it is safer to take measures against what you can imagine.

3 points that public relations should pay attention to at the press conference

Finally, this article would like to introduce three points that you have to keep in mind as a spokesperson at the press conference.

Point 1. Media that did not contact us in advance, on the day of the event will participate

Even if it is a press conference that requires participation, it is possible that media that did not contact you in advance on the day of the event will participate. Therefore, collect your business cards at the reception on the day so that you can know which media was participating .

Also, if you have presentation materials, press releases, samples, and souvenirs, prepare extra so that you will not run out on the way.

Point 2. Time schedule must have plenty of time

It may take an unexpected amount of time, such as when there are many questions and answers or when there is an unexpected equipment problem. If you have a time schedule that is too tight, you may end up with a press conference that is not very satisfying even for the media. Therefore, when creating a time schedule, make sure to create it with plenty of time.

If you are renting a venue, it is a good idea to save a little more time, taking into account the time until withdrawal.

Point 3. After the press conference, you have to respond to individual questions and answers

Even if you have time for questions and answers as a whole, you have to prepare a system so that you can respond to questions and answers individually after the interview. Just because the press conference is over, don't let your guard down.

A common case is that at the end of the press conference, each media person rushes to the speakers and asks and answers each additional question and answer in turn. So be prepared to follow up at any time until it's over and all the media is back, and in some cases be able to answer your questions instead.

Conclusion

In this article, it introduced 10 items that a spokesperson must prepare and points to be aware of when holding a press conference.

Preparing for a press conference is not an easy task. However, there is a possibility that the media coverage will increase the number of inquiries and the number of PVs, which will be a big hit.

When you hold a press conference, make sure to prepare carefully and make it a place where you can provide information that the media wants to convey.