Commerce City’s Property Purchase Announcement
Challenge:
Most clients thrive on publicity and are anxious to share their stories with the world, but sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. Such was the case in August 2011 when Commerce City positioned itself to purchase a critical piece of property. While the city eventually wanted to make a big splash at a press conference to announce the purchase, all event planning activities had to be done “under the radar” to preserve final real estate negotiations. Adding to the challenge, the client’s primary contact was out of town in the days leading up to the announcement.
Solution:
CIG realized that a thorough assessment of the situation, including potential barriers or limitations that could arise based on the circumstances, was critical to ensuring a flawless and successful event for the city.
Event planning efforts got off to a strong start – the first step in the process – by conferring in depth with the client prior to their departure and developing a thorough checklist that left no stone unturned. By continually asking ourselves “What would the client do?” in their absence, and maintaining communication with the client through email and phone updates, CIG was able to keep the process moving in the right direction.
While most event planning activities could proceed unhindered, some tasks required coordinating with outside vendors or people not privy to the sensitive and confidential nature of the event. In these instances, CIG established clear expectations in terms of what information could be provided and in what timeframe to facilitate task completion.
The development and distribution of a “teaser” press release created a sense of intrigue amongst media members. Clearly communicating when further information would be available, sticking to this message and following through on the promise to deliver more details at the time specified were all important elements to generating media coverage.
The results speak for themselves; all major media outlets attended the press conference and the event generated nearly 30 media hits from local, regional and national outlets. Feedback from media representatives indicated it was one of the more well-run press conferences they had attended and the press packet was one of the most informative, professional packets they had received.