Three Ways to Maximize PR at CES 2016

By Serena Ehrlich, Director of Social and Evolving Media, Business WireCES 2016 is just around the corner. Are you ready?Every year thousands of companies exhibit at  CES.  And every year, exhibitors spend thousands of dollars to showcase their latest products, ultimately competing with each other for eyeballs and coverage. So how can you, with your budget, create a PR program, in under 30 days that can cut through the clutter and get your company and products the visibility you need?  Here are three easy shortcuts to consider:

1. Maximize your time during trade show prep.
2. Craft a better news release.
3. Distribute multiple releases to peak interest, drive coverage and extend your work after the show has wrapped.

Maximizing Your TimeOne of the smartest ways to use your time at trade shows is to set up meetings with relevant reporters attending the show. Building this media list can be time consuming. First, you have to review the CES pre-registration media list, then review each reporter entry to ensure their beat aligns with your product or service – this process can take days or even weeks to do.  Save time by using EventTrak.EventTrak is a comprehensive trade show media database that includes online author and blogger lists (including the reporter’s contact information), full coverage for the previous year’s event, a detailed post-event recap report, and the ability to search, browse and export data for easy media list creation. To use this to set up media appointments, simply search to see who wrote about your industry/product line, and look to see if they are on this year’s pre-registration list.  If so, reach out and ask for a meeting.  If not, they may be covering the show remotely so add them to your news release media list to ensure maximum visibility of your news.After you have pulled the EventTrak report and compared it with the pre-registered media list, start making appointments with your top media targets in advance of the event; as their schedules fill up quickly. In making an appointment, don’t waste the reporter’s time. Make sure you know who you are talking to, what you are asking for and that your news is relevant to their beat and audience. Invite the media, industry analysts and bloggers to your press conference or reception.Writing Your CES News ReleaseTrade show news releases are a bit tricky. There are tens of thousands of coverage articles written about CES exhibitors each year; there is no reason your company shouldn’t be included.  But you need to provide a better news release for this to happen. Trades show reporters are on very tight deadlines, so the more information you can provide in your initial release, the more likely you are to secure coverage.  Here are the elements to a successful trade show news release:

1. Craft a strong headline that tells your story.
2. Write a first sentence as a continuation of your headline to increase interest in opening your news release.
3. Capture interest quickly by telling your whole story in your first paragraph focusing on how how your news impacts consumers.
4. Include a strong quote outlining the rationale of your product launch.
5. Ensure coverage by including multimedia – photos, videos, infographics and interactive content. Every article published today includes imagery. Reporters do not have time to track this down, make it easy by providing multimedia that tells your story visually. Launching several products at this time? Consider interactive content such as Picture and News Capsules to tell your story. Capsules receive 4-10 minutes of engagement, an amazing feat at a trade show!
6. Adding in your booth number and contact information so reporters can easily find you and your company. 

Getting Your News Out There When distributing news during a trade show, you can maximize media attention and buzz by distributing multiple news releases.  For example:

• One month out: Announce you are exhibiting by issuing an advisory (who, what, when, where, why) or tease out your positioning with a preview release highlighting your show agenda.
• The week before or during the show: Issue your official product launch announcements.
• After the show: Showcase your successes or provide a post-show wrap up release after the show.

We are just a month away now from CES. Will this be your best show ever, or will you be working late nights and overtime to get noticed? Follow the above tips and make this CES your best show yet. Want even more tips? Download our free guide to trade show publicity at https://go.businesswire.com/Tradeshow-Publicity-Guide.Want to know about Business Wire and CES? Business Wire’s Trade Show News delivery networks help you expand your public relations and marketing efforts to reach global media, analysts, investors, industry trades, bloggers, buyers and consumer audiences to maximize your event ROI. To get started contact the Business Wire Global Event Services Team at +1 310.820.9473or email us today at tradeshow@businesswire.com.