Pacific Dialogue 2001

33 Ferry Court North

Stratford, CT 06615, USA

This guide contains many important details about public relations activities at the show. To help you better target those journalists who will pre-register for the show, we have asked them to specify areas of interest and their affiliations’ URLs. We hope this information will be useful.

Your public relations team is always ready to help you in making this show a very successful event.

After setting your objectives, decide which media you should target. Review computer, trade and business publications to learn who covers your company's beat. You may want to purchase an editorial directory or editorial contact management software to develop a comprehensive list of reporters.

Your list of reporters should be continually updated. Establish a good working relationship with them, and ensure they receive your press releases, are familiar with your organization's top management, and promptly honor their requests for more information or interviews. Find out how each reporter prefers to be contacted (phone, fax, e-mail or postal mail).

As we post the show's pre-registered press lists to you, determine the press you should target. Many reporters will register on site, so we will not have these names prior to the show. It is usually inappropriate to send your news to the entire press list.

Most reporters have specific beats. Please be sure to research the reporters and publications on the list we send you. We have included the media's URLs to make it easier for you to find out information, and have asked journalists to include their specific beats, which should help you target them more effectively.

We recommend you inform other reporters on your targeted media list about the show and invite them to attend.

Press Releases — If you will have a significant news announcement or are demonstrating a new product, inform the media about it with a press release before the show. (Let us know so we can help publicize it as well). This allows reporters to plan on attending your press conference or product demonstration, and they may even cover your news in show previews.

Media Advisory — A brief, one-page "who, what, where, when, and why" about your show activities, is an effective last-minute reminder to the press.

Press Conferences - See below for detailed information.

Follow-up Press Release — After you've announced your key product, service or industry news, we encourage you to send out a press release during the show. Representatives of Business Wire will be on site to assist with wire service distribution.

Press Interviews or One-on-Ones — To meet with specific members of the press for informal one-on-one meetings, you can use the speaker/press room.

After the Show — Follow-up with the media you met by sending requested information or a simple thank you. Also, send information to the media whom you did not meet.

IMPORTANT: Contact the Media before the Show

A typical press kit contains press releases, a company profile, executive bios, product photos, a business card, and even a diskette. Often, the typical press kit contains too much information.

With 100+ exhibitors at the show, a journalist would have to hire a caddie to cart around the entire contents of every press kit. Reporters need to find the "hard" news quickly and easily. It is imperative your press kits be concise and include the most important information on top.

The foundation of a press kit is a well-written press release, which should include the following:

The most important information should be in the first paragraph.

Ask the following:

Make sure that your press kit folder has your company name on the front. Place a sticker on the kit with your booth number.

How many press kits for the show and where to ship them?

Too many press releases are pure advertising. Stick to the basics, remembering the purpose of the press release is to present "news," not to advertise. Journalists are not going to believe that your product is "going to revolutionize the field."

Keep press releases to no more than one page in length. Journalists are always pressed for time. You must get their attention quickly, or risk not getting any at all. They want facts, not a short story. E-mail releases are a growing trend, keep them short. Keep your press releases in a simple format, don’t send them as attachments (what you can read on your machine will be computer code on someone else’s, especially when they are on deadline).

Do not send large GIF files that will take forever to download. (Always be aware of the size of the file you send. Some systems won't accept it, some won't accept more than one attached file at a time. You can ask me what it felt like to shut down the email system of Mecklermedia by sending out the press list for Fall Internet World '97. The CIO at the time wanted to strangle me, fortunately senior management thought it was funny).

When you are announcing a new product for the first time, include a white paper detailing the product. This serves as a reference guide so journalists can understand how it works.

Always provide a name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on all your press materials. This will make it easier for journalists to get in contact with you.

Include a bulleted fact sheet, especially, if you are announcing the release of a new product:

The worst situation is a press conference without any press. Even if you've called, faxed and e-mailed all pertinent information to your targeted media, there is so much to see at the show that journalists will not have the time to attend each and every conference.

Remember the following in deciding whether or not to hold a press conference:

If, after reviewing the above criteria, you decide to hold a press conference, remember:

Areas will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot guarantee exclusivity. Press conferences will be scheduled in overlapping times. Two companies who want to hold press conferences first on Wednesday morning may be scheduled "against" each other.

Time slots are 45 minutes in length.

No conferences will be scheduled during the keynote addresses Tuesday (9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.), Wednesday (9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.) and Thursday (9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a. m.).

We provide a schedule and overview of press conferences to the media, so when reserving the room, please include a brief description as to the nature of the announcement.

Press conferences should be used to break news.

Please note: There are a limited number of press conference areas available on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot guarantee area availability for the time and date you request, and we reserve the right to change your press conference area (if that happens, and it might, we will make sure the word gets out about the shift).

Although we make every effort to inform journalists about your press conference, it is your responsibility to ensure attendance.

We provide press conference areas free of charge to exhibitors.

Each press conference area will be set with the front half of the room school room style, and rear half in theater style (capacity varies with each room from 40 to 125 seats). Along the rear walls will be tables for press kit distribution and catering. We will also provide a table immediately outside the room for press registration.

Additional tables are available (i.e., for demonstrations) on request. For assistance in room set-up and specific furniture requests, contact the Show Decorator in advance of the show. Order forms are in the Exhibitor Service Manual.

The PressRoom and its facilities are provided exclusively for the working press. This area is used by journalists to review materials and write and file reports from the show. To provide comfortable working conditions with a minimum of distractions, exhibitors and other attendees are not permitted in this area.

Located in the Press Center is the Press Library. It is the resource for working journalists to obtain exhibitors' press kits. They are arranged alphabetically by company name.

The Library is limited to working press only.

Exhibitors may rent an entire facility outside the Exhibit Hall, either with us or in another building or hotel to serve as a "nerve center" for media relations, as a working press room, to hold press interviews, or to stage product demos.

Message boards for the exclusive use of exhibiting companies will be available inside the Press Center.

These boards can be used to post information (no larger than 8 1/2" x 11") regarding press conferences, special events and for leaving messages for journalists.

The list of pre-registered press for show will be posted on a bi-weekly basis beginning Friday, December 31st. The final list will be sent on Thursday, May 12th.

Immediately prior to the opening of the show, a series of "Tip Sheets" will be sent to all pre-registered press containing a complete listing of press conferences, keynote addresses, special events, and highlights of new products and services being introduced at the show.

The deadline for this information is Monday, May 8th. If you are planning a special event (i.e., cocktail party, dinner, reception, etc.) and are planning to invite the press, please notify Bob Miko (see contact information below). In addition, make sure invitations are available in the Press Kit Library — deliver these when you deliver your press kits. (See "Press Kit Library" for additional information). Also, you can post invitations on the message boards.

Wire Service Distribution

Business Wire provides the following services in advance of and during show:

Exhibitor Previews - You will be contacted directly by Business Wire, requesting a 100-word profile of your company and/or products by e-mail. All profiles will be sent out over Business Wire's Trade Show Global Circuit, high-tech trades and the IDG World Circuit at no charge, one week prior to the show.

News Dissemination Services - Business Wire's news dissemination services will be available on site in the Press Center to exhibitors at the show. News can be disseminated via fax, modem, e-mail or the Internet. Business Wire will also offer special Trade Show circuits to exhibitors should you want to issue releases, Electronic Media Kit, video, audio or photos before, during and/or after the show.

NEW SHOW PRODUCT INFO:

Smart News Release - For a true multimedia news release, you may include streaming video, streaming audio, photos/graphics and/or spreadsheets with your news release. Smart News Releases are posted to the BW/ show news site, with recaps e-mailed to registered show journalists. The text releases are issued on BW's wire circuits to media and posted to more than 700+ databases.

Virtual Press Office is the official on-line news service at the National Online Meeting & IOLS 2000 - May 16 - 18 in New York, NY. Exhibitor press kits (press releases, product and corporate backgrounders, photos, etc.) will be made available on-line to enable the media to manage information electronically. Exhibitors participating in the service will receive a post show usage report identifying the media that reviewed their information.

Reach the Media with PR Materials as Never Before!

If you need to reach the press in advance or during the show, May 16 - 18 in New York, NY, you should take advantage of a special arrangement we've made with the nation's largest public relations printing, media mailing and fax service - Media Distribution Services. MDS has agreed to give a substantial discount for new clients. MDS is headquartered in New York City and has service center in major markets nationwide.

Most important, MDS has the most comprehensive media database in the country with more than 200,000 contacts at more than 50,000 print and broadcast media in North America, plus all daily newspapers worldwide. It's the only daily updated database in the PR field.

MDS can print or assemble your news releases, press kits and other information and disseminate them without delay to editors and program producers by name, editorial beat and other critical targeting criteria. MDS also has Fast-Fax, the premier "blast" fax service that allows you to send handfuls or hundreds of faxes to the press simultaneously in minutes.

Exhibitors are eligible to receive a special free offer from Press Access, the leading provider of information and automation for public relations. They will receive a FREE, two-week subscription to Press Files -- the only online source for in-depth editorial information for PR.

With Press Files, exhibitors will have 24-hour access to detailed profiles on thousands of editors, publications and editorial calendar opportunities. Press Files provides inside information including editors' beats, responsibilities, background, and working preferences -- the kind of detail that makes PR efforts really pay off.

The show offers a diverse array of important promotional opportunities developed to assist you in maximizing your exposure at the event. From print advertising, display banners and event sponsorship, you have the opportunity to attract thousands of attendees to your exhibit space and make a strong corporate statement about your value to the industry. This is an unprecedented opportunity to reach thousands of influential attendees. An abbreviated list of the sponsorship items follows: