What is a press trip and why are they an important part of your PR strategy?

Press trips allow journalists to immerse themselves in an experience organized by a PR agency on behalf of a client in order to fully showcase their service or product in a way that allows journalists to familiarize themselves with the company firsthand. Journalists will get exclusive access to behind-the-scenes or guided experiences so that they are better able to inform their articles. The press trip will have an exciting or exclusive element so that journalists will have unique details with which to enrich their stories.

How can press trips help build strong relationships with journalists and members of the media?

Press trips can give journalists a real insight into how a company runs day-to-day. It’s quite difficult to sell a brand or a product over email, especially when a journalist is getting over 100 pitches a day. Being able to immerse journalists into their world and actually meet the face of the company is really important to ensure a strong, ongoing relationship. 

It also gives you – the PR rep – a chance to get to know the journalist better. You can take them out for dinner and learn more about their lives and then use this when chatting to them in the future. At Little Leaf, we strive to become friends with journalists, and this is the best way to do it. 

The DO’S – How to manage and plan a press trip successfully

• Firstly, it’s important to make sure that you have an interesting trip to begin with! These journalists are taking a few days out of their working week or sometimes a weekend to be there, so it needs to be exciting for them. 

• It’s also important to list out every single possible expense, activity, and plan your days by the minute. It’s great to have extra add-ons like goodie bags and merchandise, but you need to make sure the simple steps are mapped out and planned first. 

• Walk through the event yourself and think about anything you may need such as taxis, umbrellas if there is rain on the forecast, and whether the hotel offers breakfast. Anything that may seem small but will make the trip run smoothly. 

• Think about what the journalists will write about when they are home from the press trip and what that headline will be. Then make sure the trip actually has that. Some journalists are traveling 7+ hours for the trip so it needs to have a ‘fun’ element, a zinger, if you will. It’s important for the client to do a speech of some sorts, and talk about why they started the company or why it is so important to them, but I would also steer clear of long, drawn out speeches.

• Have a back-up plan prepared to ensure the smooth operation of your event.  At the end of a press trip Little Leaf organized previously, a journalist’s 5AM flight was canceled. Luckily, when the Little Leaf Team are on trips, we ensure we are awake during our journalists’ flight times to ensure everything runs smoothly. A staff member was on hand to help them re-book a new flight and had already sent a follow-up email to the journalist before they landed, to ask if there was anything else they needed regarding the flight. 

• Befriend your journalist invitees, they may be nervous and will appreciate a friendly face acknowledging and thanking them for being there!

 The DON’Ts – Things to avoid when planning your press event to avoid disaster

• Don’t forget to stick to the itinerary. Once you start offering extra nights, or upgrades and more, it can become really costly and it looks like one journalist is getting more than another. 

• Don’t leave anything to chance. Preparation is key. There IS room for spontaneity in press trips, but only if the trip is planned to perfection. Of course, there is always going to be a slight itinerary change, or a flight may be canceled or changed, but as long as the trip is planned well and everything else is running smoothly, these small issues will be easy to deal with.

• Don’t try to plan on-the-go.

•  It’s not just yourself you are looking after but you have a client’s reputation at stake and you are looking after other people too. I would say that a lack of planning will lead to disaster because it’s impossible to plan on the go when you are trying to entertain multiple journalists whilst keeping your client happy too.

• Don’t forget to follow up after the event! After the event, give the journalists some time to get back and get over the jet lag and the excitement of the past few days first. Once some time has passed, they may have already told you what assets they will need, but if not, ask them if they need any BTS footage, if they got enough 1-1 time with the client or if they would like a short zoom to ask any more questions. 

• Don’t bombard your journalists with too many questions or demands after the event. 

• Don’t forget to provide your invitees with the correct social handles and hashtags you would like them to use, if journalists do post about the trip. It’s also important to ask each individually if they are okay with being tagged in any images the client or agency posts. 

• Don’t get defensive or try to argue back if you receive negative feedback. It’s best to hold your hands up, apologize, and see how this can be rectified. Every situation is an opportunity to learn. If you create a scene the journalist has the power to write a really negative review and harm the reputation of the company. At Little Leaf, we have not had to deal with this, and this can be attributed to the length of planning we do before the press trip as well as the duty of care we hold during the trip. To ensure you do not receive negative feedback following a press trip, you can: 

• Plan plan plan, and plan some more, ensure every possible scenario is accounted for.

• Be alert during the trip. Make sure the journalists have your number, and make sure you are available when they may need you the most 

If your brand could benefit from an exciting PR event that could help grab the attention of the press, then get in touch with an expert member of our team. With our years of experience and vast connections within the media, a meticulously planned press trip could be just the event to help support in blending physical PR efforts with digital and boost overall marketing strategy.