How to Nail an Awareness Day-Themed Campaign

Awareness days can be an amazing way of promoting your client or their work. By jumping on the back of an awareness day, week or month you can successfully push your client’s name into regional or even national press. However, campaigns are hit or miss by nature, so here are some recommendations to make sure you nail that awareness day campaign.

First, it is important to choose a well-known awareness day.

An obscure day like April 25th ‘Denim Day’ is not really a celebrated day, as much as Jean manufacturers may wish it to be. Informing the press that your clothing client has unveiled a Denim jacket in support of Denim Day is probably not going to get coverage. Let’s face it, Denim has enough fans, go home and look at your selection of jeans; and on your way home look at the number of people wearing jeans. You’ll notice that everyone is aware of Denim.

 Make sure the chosen day is relevant to your client; and make sure your offering is newsworthy.

If the link is tenuous, and there are weak ties between what your client is doing and the day, then it is unlikely to work. Journalists need to clearly, obviously see the connection between what the awareness day is trying to do and what your client is doing.

We organised a very successful event for our clients Everyone Active and MoreYoga for Mental Health Awareness Week. We put on ‘Ascent and Asana’ a free Climbing and Yoga event at Westway Sports and Fitness Centre. Attendees were treated to the two mindful activities, and a talk by Bonita Norris the youngest British woman to climb Everest. She spoke about the importance of mindful activities and how both Climbing and Yoga have been excellent for her mental health.

 

Not only was the awareness day, or week in this case, relevant and suitable for the event, but it was also newsworthy with an excellent guest speaker and free entry.

Do more than just link the awareness day and your client – go bigger.

To gain press success, go deeper than just: ‘here’s a release about my food client on ‘healthy eating day’. Instead do a talk or seminar with an expert, invite journalists or the public to it to understand a bit more. Put on an event to celebrate the day and the healthy credentials of your client. The bigger you make it, the more success you will have. Inevitably cost becomes a factor, so do them big and infrequently to maximise your chance of success.

Journalists are much more likely to remember your client if you have put on a nice event for them, rather than just send them a press release with an uninspiring subject line. This also helps massively in the future when re-contacting them.

Regional vs National Awareness

An idea might be perfect for regional coverage, but if you pitch it to nationals you may not have any success. If your client is a small collection of gyms in the south-east, you may put on a free partner workout for Valentines. This is very unlikely to get coverage in the Times or Telegraph, but the Eastbourne Herald may well love the story. If your aim is to increase awareness and memberships for those gyms, then Regional coverage in the surrounding area is exactly what you want.

If those gyms are dotted around the UK, then this is more likely to increase your chances of National coverage. However the main focus should still be on the local, surrounding newspapers and online publications.

We have organised many successful events and campaigns for our clients for a variety of awareness days. If you would like our help, please contact us: mailto:info@actionpr.co.uk

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