How: Publicity & Promotions

Advertising is the most important element to your event, and can be the most fun. Advertisements get the word out and excite people about your program. A person has to hear about an event seven times before it sticks with them. Seven times! Thus, hitting heavy with advertising in a variety of media is crucial to the success of an event in terms of attendance.

There are numerous ways to advertise, but among the most common are fliers. Fliers are usually 8.5” x 11” and contain all the important information about an event in a concise format. To make your flier stand out, keep it simple and legible while experimenting with graphics, borders, orientation, and fonts. A person should be able to glance at it and obtain all the necessary information in just a few seconds. When making copies, look at the colors of other fliers that are already up and choose a color that will stand out from the rest. Alternatively, if you have the funds to do so, print your fliers in colored ink.

However popular, fliers are not the only way to advertise, and students may become “flier-blind” after awhile. Here are a few more ideas to help push your event:

• posters, in odd shapes and sizes

• banners

• KLC radio or TV adverts/announcements

• “spontaneous” dining hall announcements

• shirts

• sandwich boards

• e-mail listservs

• free samples

• mailbox stuffers

• Pioneer Log advertisement

• table tents

• L&C events calendar

• a town crier

• sidewalk chalk

• previews/teasers in popular public spaces

• tabling in public spaces during lunch

• buttons/pins

• write a press release (see Helpful hints!)

• stickers

• deals on advance ticket sales

• punch cards (i.e. go to so many events, get entered in a drawing)

• doorhangers

• body paint

• scavenger hunt

• advertise on L&C LiveJournal community

• create a Facebook party

• anything 3-D

There are many more methods besides those listed here. Be creative! Also be sure to refer to the posting guidelines (in the Pathfinder “Student Involvement” section and in this guide on pg. 48) to ensure that your advertisements are not taken down prematurely.

Despite all these ways, the single most important method of advertising is word of mouth. Hearing other people talk about your organization’s program is more genuine than any method listed above as it reflects true interest. Talk up the event to others and get them talking. Your other advertisements will help you do this, but it’s up to your group to really get the fire started.

Timing your advertisements is also important. If they go out too early, people will forget about them and they’ll blend into the background. Put them out too late, and they won’t reach enough people. Fliers should go out a week to ten days in advance of the program. Word of mouth should begin once all the details of the event are worked out and hit heaviest.

Useful Contacts and Publicity Tips from Public Affairs and Communications

Helpful hints:

If your organization’s target audience includes the Portland community, you may consider writing a press release. Here are a few tips to help you out:

• Know to whom you are writing. You are sending information to a journalist, not your actual audience. You want to give them reason to use your event as news.

• Keep it simple. Don’t give them all the details, just enough so that they get an idea of what’s going on. If a journalist needs more information, they will contact you.

• Keep is short and sweet. A press release should be no more than 400-500 words in length, in a simple format, and with clear wording.

• The most important info goes first. Put the most necessary information in the first two paragraphs.

• Avoid frills. Just as with a class paper, don’t use slang or jargon. Again, you are only providing the most essential information with minimum padding.

• Include your goal or purpose. You want a journalist or reader to know why you are having the program and the benefits of attending.

• Give contact info. You want to provide enough information for a journalist to be able to reach you with any questions. This includes a contact name, phone number, and e-mail address.

• Proofread your release. Have someone else read over it to check grammar and clarity.

• Don’t touch that dial! Rest assured that if they are interested, a journalist will contact you about your event. Submission does not mean acceptance.

Once you finish your release, turn it in at least three weeks prior to your event to the Office of Public Affairs and Communications. See the sample press releases in this guide for ideas. For assistance with your press release, call Public Relations at x7960, e-mail public@lclark.edu, or visit in McAfee.

The information contained in this box was adapted from the University of Idaho ASUI Student Organization Handbook ‘03-’04.