With another wonderful press trip just completed, I've been thinking a lot about what makes them so successful, and I'm keen to share some more thoughts and insights I've gained over years of organising and conducting some amazing visits.
Here are 5 reasons why I feel they're the way forward for a great many brands:
1. ROI
I’ve talked about this before, but with each new press trip my belief in their ability to provide the best cost / coverage bang for your buck continues to grow.
The numbers simply don't lie. When one calculates the financial value of the coverage relative to what the same volume of advertising would have cost, versus the outlay required to host a press trip, the results in my experience have always favoured press trips over any other form of marketing.
2. Lasting press relationships
Spending quality time over 2/3 days with journalists is a priceless way to build a long lasting and mutually beneficial relationship.
Genuine, enduring connections are made when trips go well, and the shared experiences often lead to relationships that can yield further coverage and opportunities.
This isn't a cynical perspective - more a reflection of how days and evenings (and sometimes long train journeys!) spent with journalists helps develop mutual respect and trust between clients and press, in turn leading to valuable enduring connections.
3. Direction
Often with press trips you are able to help direct the way you want to coverage to play. They provide an opportunity to design the experience your journalists are having, with both their enjoyment and the resultant coverage in mind.
You might wish to focus on the back story of a venue's history, or a fresh direction of a brand you've been tasked with overseeing, but whatever the desired outcome, press trips allow you the time needed with your target press to help develop that story.
Trips let you share all the information the journalists need within a more immersive environment, providing an ideal context to encourage the coverage that's best for your client. As all parties know - with true editorial there is no control of say from the PR / brand, instead journalists simply need to be allowed the opportunity that press trips grant in order to discover and experience the brand for itself.
4. Authenticity
The coverage that arises from trips will always be from your invited journalists' true and personal experience rather than merely a press release or image library.
Therefore, the coverage you should expect to see following a press trip, and which the readers will experience, is first hand, authentic experience delivered straight from the writer to the reader. This is invaluable when communicating a brand or venue's qualities to the world at large, and the difference between such authenticity and simply trying to paint a picture from a press release or interview can't be overstated.
5. Feedback
Feedback is always valuable, and rarely more so than when from individuals - the journalists - who actually do get to try it all.
Your press guests will likely have visited a great deal more places than you, and will no doubt have experienced much of the best that’s out there. Why not take advantage then of this wealth of experience and ask them for their honest feedback on the service or product you're offering? What better way to learn how your brand compares, and what may be improved upon?
You may never get a better opportunity than a press trip to gain a discreet insight into how well you're doing. Having a frank and friendly conversation with a journalist for whom visits like these are regular occurrences could well prove the best 'customer survey' you've ever undertaken!
These are the key benefits I've identified from a career arranging and attending such trips. My next post will explore further how best, from a PR perspective, to ensure the journalists have the best possible time.
