The face of marketing has seen rapid change in an evolving web environment. PR Newswire Association LLC is a news and information distribution company that provides a variety of products and services focused on reaching critical audiences, which for the Meeting and Tradeshow industry is very often through web outlets. With offices in fourteen different countries and partnerships with countless others PR Newswire has built a network of beneficial alliances with major companies, organizations and associations. PR Newswire is truly a global enterprise that provides electronic distribution, targeting, measurement, translation and broadcast services by way of advanced communication technology.
Susan McPherson, vice president of global trade show services for PR Newswire explains: “PR Newswire is involved in many different industries, but we’ve been involved in the Tradeshow industry for the last 17 years because, traditionally, when a company goes to a Tradeshow they have news to announce.” PR Newswire’s role in the Tradeshow industry and their value to associations, events and exhibitors has grown significantly in the last few years with the advent of video distribution.” Multimedia services offered by PR Newswire include Webcasting, Multimedia News Release, Video News Releases and Satellite Media Tours.
PR Newswire’s multimedia marketing tools and services drive publicity around and within Tradeshows. One of these tools is the Multimedia News Release, which is a news release package that offers collaborative content including: 3-5 minutes of video, related links, photos and written content. “I have been really going from the bottom up to take this to Tradeshows,” says McPherson. “We can provide the means to make videos for every single booth at an event, create the videos and upload them to the master website at the show and then also distribute them. It’s fantastic exposure for the exhibitors as well as the actual Tradeshow. Another option is to white-label the content and allow the Tradeshow to sell it directly.”
PR Newswire employs experienced professionals in every field of production, which they send to events worldwide in order to create and distribute hundreds of press releases a week. “It’s more now for marketing than for public relations,” says McPherson, “because with the advent of the internet and the incredible channel of information it has become it’s less about reaching the media. In niche industries such as food ingredients or pharmaceutical ingredients, with the niche media coverage, those exhibitors and Tradeshow managers know that they don’t need a wire service to reach the media. Our value proposition to exhibitors is that we get all that news information and video on the search engines so that consumers, customers, potential buyers and attendees in every industry can receive their information.”
PR Newswire’s service advantage is that rather than just posting video, they actually distribute the information. Also included within the spectrum of PR Newswire services are targeting, evaluation and measurement. “You’ve got to get people seeing the video,” explains McPherson, and that isn’t going to happen without targeted distribution such as that offered by PR Newswire. “There is tons of video being produced but people don’t know how to get it out and what to do with it. It’s a huge opportunity in this industry to facilitate the delivery of quality information.” PR Newswire’s price-packages are offered in a variety of options to accommodate shows small and large in order to allow the greatest benefit possible to each event and exhibitor. “It’s a phenomenal benefit for a company to go out and have a several minute video piece done within twenty-four hours and then have it distributed. You can’t get that on the market.”
Although targeted marketing is an undeniable method by which to improve and enhance an event, Tradeshow managers are sometimes reluctant to adopt new technology. McPherson recognizes this challenge: “Many event managers will only pursue opportunities that sponsors will cover. They don’t want to spend their own capital investment.” However, if a show can receive money back from use of a technology tool and enhance the event then the opportunity is most definitely worth the cost. PR Newswire works hard to accommodate the business processes of its clients, and promotes a mutual understanding of a positive return on investment. By that commitment, PR Newswire has established itself in the Tradeshow market with a great product and solution at a time when multimedia content is finally becoming key for the industry.
PR Newswire has a reputable and growing portfolio of events for which they have successfully created and distributed to specific audiences content featuring major announcements and key event moments. The key to success in those relationships has been proper marketing within an event. “If we are going to work with a show, the only way its going to be successful for them is if they are properly marketing our offer to their exhibitors,” says McPherson. “If you undertake this, you’ve got to be 100% committed. It’s the only way everyone is going to benefit, including the exhibitors.”
For Tradeshow managers who seek valuable publicity in order to grow their show and strive to provide exhibitors with tools to maximize the benefit of participation in their event, PR Newswire is a proven resource that is well worth the investment.