PR Pitch 2 | Page 98

92 Process Process Weaknesses Competitor events LOCATION Stylist magazine recently hosted a promotional event that unveiled the behind the scenes of a magazine production. The magazine team set a challenge, sponsored by Fiat, to produce a magazine issue within 24 hours. All content from editorials and interviews to cooking recipes had to be produced within that time frame. The event took place on November 8th 2013 at Regent’s Place in London. Concept The project pitch was highly appealing at first sight. The event held a promise to divulge the reality behind the making of a magazine, a representation often over-glamorized within the media and film fictions. Located in Regent’s place near Euston Square, The 24 hour challenge location was isolated from popular and populated areas of London. A small amount of external visitors were present onsite (5*), which caused a thread to the well promotion of the event that hoped for a high level of social media interactions. Location is a top priority in the organization of such event and should be carefully chosen in regards with the targeted audience and genre of spectacle aimed to be delivered. Stylist pop up office At Regent’s square STRENGHTS Strong promotion 93 Stylist large readership ensured a certain promotion of the event within a wide audience. Promotion started a month before the event with the unravelling of the concept objective within the magazine pages. Each issue leading to the date notified a reminder for the event. The week preceding the event, a full-page reminder was published to ensure the audience to save the date. On the stylist’s 24-hour challenge day, rain poured all afternoon long in central London. The event’s installation had no area assigned for the public to shelter. The onsite audience had no choice but to stand in the rain or leave. Weather conditions should be highly considered in the preparation of outdoors events, as it can highly influence on its success. Public interactions While the Stylist’s team had planned hourly activities for guests, the run of it was severely delayed by unorganized sponsors. As a consequence, visitors felt neglected and therefore became frustrated with the magazine. Many had high expectations from the event, which were not met by the magazine. Post Promotion Stylist made sure to continue the event promotion after the end of the challenge. The magazine set up a pop-up online page dedicated to the challenge backstage. The web content includes video broadcast of the making of the issue as well as editors’ impressions on the challen ge. The challenge issue was released two weeks after the event and all the inside content related to the challenge ethos, offering a informative conclusion on the event outcomes. Weather conditions Stylist pop up office At Regent’s square Stylist should have considered the audience experience in more depth rather than the magazine’s one. This example proves that public should be kept entertained well throughout the run of such event, as any gaps in the spectacle will most likely encourage them to leave. ‘ “It’s not at all what I expected, I feel left out” ’ Anna, visitor.