What you missed at the December 2006 meeting

Trista Wallace outlines event case studies at FPRA December luncheon

Trista Wallace, APR, a senior account executive for the Dalton Agency in Jacksonville, outlined the trials and tribulations in staging events that create media buzz at the December 12 luncheon of the FPRA Volusia County Chapter.

Wallace recently became the Strategic Events Director in charge of producing all special events for the agency’s clients. In this role, she has planned retail grand openings, press conferences, media receptions and more for such clients as Bealls Department Stores, Armor Holdings, Adamec Harley-Davidson, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and GROW-WELL.

Her presentation focused on case studies of two major campaigns that utilized events to generate media attention. She started out by noting that corporations have more challenges than non-profit groups in attracting awareness and need to be creative in cutting through the clutter in the information age. A simple ribbon cutting will not generate much buzz or public interest. Target recently hit a bulls-eye with magician David Blaine suspended over Times Square in a gyroscope to launch the holiday shopping season - generating worldwide media coverage, as well as countless blogs, text messages, cell phone photos and word-of-mouth.

Wallace outlined a PR campaign for a new POD-like product called SAM. The program included several public events featuring the SAM in high-traffic locations such as a McDonalds. They partnered with local non-profit art programs to solicit donations of student art supplies with the tag line, Cram-A-Sam. They also staged a SAM at the Jacksonville Art Walk, using it as an art gallery for student art. Their goal was not just media coverage, but mainly to get people out to see a SAM first-hand.

She also outlined a new Bealls Department Store opening in Jacksonville, where there are already many Bealls, so it was not really a newsworthy event. They came up with a $1000 shopping spree drawing for a lucky shopper, along with gift cards of up to $15 for everyone who arrived at the opening before 8:30 a.m. The crowd at first was small, leading to some initial panic, but soon the line of people nearly circled the building. The winner of the shopping spree had a heart-warming story, saying that she prayed she would win so she could get some clothes for her daughter who was fighting cancer.

A graduate of the University of Florida with a BS in Public Relations, Trista has earned the designation Accredited in Public Relations (APR), a voluntary certification program governed by the Universal Accreditation Board designed to ensure that standards are met in the practice of public relations.

Trista is a past board member of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA), a past president of the Jacksonville Chapter of FPRA and a past board member of the Northeast Florida Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Joe Radcliffe, APR