7 hints on how to create a convincing press kit for Paysalia trade show
To grab the attention of journalists, you need to provide them with a convincing and easy-to-use press kit. But be careful of excesses!
Exhibiting at Paysalia is one of the best ways of promoting your landscaping company and brands to visitors - and the trade press. But to grab the attention of journalists you need to provide them with a convincing and easy-to-use press kit. Creating a convincing press kit is a delicate task as you need to strike the right balance between pushing your business while remaining neutral and avoiding obvious sales pitches. To avoid excesses, here are some tips based on our experience with Paysalia!
6 good reasons for exhibiting at Paysalia
1. Think like a journalist
Even if the aim of your press kit is to promote your latest innovations, products and services, and more broadly speaking your corporate vision of landscaping, avoid the trap of disguised advertising! Your article must be factual, clear and coherent. Journalists must be able to grasp the salient information in just a few seconds to assess and evaluate what you are offering, and then read the whole text to assimilate the contents to include in their articles.
Additionally, journalists love digital press kits, easier to carry around and more ecological. Always ask interested journalists for their e-mails so you can send them your press releases and press kit a few days after Paysalia.
2. Rank the information in your press kit by order of importance
Usually a press kit starts with a leading article summarizing important information. You may also want to embellish your corporate history with a timeline. For the contents of your file, there is no absolute rule as your press kit must express your own needs. To do this, there are two schools of thought:
- the funnel technique in which you start with the overall view – your company and what it does - and work down to the details of your latest products.
- the thematic technique in which you zoom on your main families of services and/or products one by one.
Journalists are increasingly attentive to your commitments to environmental protection and society so it is important to focus on what you do! In an “About” section at the end of your press kit, summarize your company, your products and your services in a few sentences.
Press kit is not the only tool you need to prepare for trade shows. Perhaps you do not have enough material to create a ten-page press kit. Here are some alternatives:
- write a simple press release which announces your latest innovation
- write a dedicated Press Relations card presenting the key information about your company which can be slipped into a brochure or a catalog.
3. Adopt the editorial style of your target medium
Your objective is to facilitate the job for the journalists, so your press kit must be first and foremost very informative, with simple sentences, which if possible avoid abbreviations, initials and jargon. Add explicit titles to each page or section so journalists can find the information they need quickly.
Highlight technical features and statistical data. But if you have a lot of data, for example for a new mower-treedozer, select some key data and refer readers to an appendix to improve comprehension.
4. Take care with your press kit graphics and page layout
At Paysalia, journalists pick exhibitors’ press kits from racks in the VIP-press space. So the graphics must make your kit stand out in the crowd! But the front cover is not the only element you need to look after: a pleasant uncluttered page layout encourages journalists to read the contents and facilitates understanding of technical data (for example, comparative computer graphics of power-saw range performances).
5. Use top quality photos
Whether you’re selling hardware, a landscaping service or flower bulbs, top-quality photos are the best way to highlight your press kit… and incite the media to re-use them. Provide your photos and your logo on USB keys or your website in a downloadable media kit in a file format suitable for use on the Web and for printing and attribute associated photo credits and captions.
6. Don’t forget to add your address and stand number!
At Paysalia we have often observed that exhibitors forget to add their stand number where journalists can meet them in their press kit. To ensure a successful trade show, boost your chances by adding a label to the cover of your press kit. Make sure it also gives the name of the person to contact for extra information – and perhaps even a direct interview at Paysalia!
7. Check out when the media go to press
If you send your press release to a trade publication outside Paysalia, check out the publication dates. If you get it wrong, your news may be delayed for several weeks – and even months! Attention, avoid sending a full press kit to a journalist who has not asked for it. The best way to establish a first contact is to send a concise press release.
Are you going to unveil your latest innovation directly at the trade show, for example by competing for a Paysalia Innovation Award? Guarantee a “scoop” for the journalists by waiting D-Day to send your press release. Meet up at Paysalia with your very best advertising and promotional documents!
© Photo credit: Nicolas Rodet / Adobe Stock
