Event Media Partnership: Why It Matters and How to Start One

Event media partnership is a collaboration between you as an event organiser and media outlets. Such a partnership can be incredibly useful if the outlets can reach your target audience.

But an event partnership is a two-way street, so forming one isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. You need to offer something in return for all the coverage you’ll receive.

Read this guide to understand…

• Why you need a media partner
• How to approach media partners
• Which tools can help in your search

At the end of this article, you’ll be on track to secure some of the best media partnerships around.

Why do a media partnership?

Your job as an event organiser is to sell tickets to events. You have to wear a lot of different hats in order to do that. So you likely won’t have the time to run a blog or news website.

That’s where media outlets come in. Their job is to drive traffic to their website by publishing news and interesting stories they can then turn into advertising revenue.

Let’s look at some of the benefits of a solid media partnership.

1. Guaranteed coverage

Simply organising an event doesn’t guarantee that anyone will talk about it. A media partnership, on the other hand, guarantees that your event is promoted to the outlet’s readership.

2. Added credibility

Your target audience may potentially be wary of new events they haven’t heard of before. But they trust their favourite media outlets, so the outlet’s reputation can be yours with a partnership.

3. Improved SEO

A lot of media partnerships involve link exchange: “If you link to mine I’ll link to yours.” Quality backlinks from a reputable media outlet can work wonders for your event website’s SEO.

4. Broadened network

Other media outlets will start noticing if you get cosy with one of their own partners or competitors. If your current partnership is a success, expect to get approached by them.

5. More ticket sales

All of this leads us to the bottom line…which is a healthier bottom line. More coverage, credibility, SEO, and networking will ultimately lead to an increase in ticket sales for your event.

How to approach media partners

There are many benefits to a media partnership, so you’re no doubt eager to form one. But how do you find the right media outlet to partner up with?

Let’s have a look below.

1. Research media outlets

You should take your time to research all potential media outlets that could be a good fit for your event. Make sure that their target audience is the same as yours (or at least similar).

If you’re organising a local community event, your best bet is to get in touch with the local papers, radio stations, and online influencers.

But if you’re organising an international business conference or music festival, you should set your sights on bigger online publications.

Tip: Use this checklist to research potential media partners before you contact them.

2. Find the right contact

Ask to speak with the person who deals with event media partnerships. It’s usually handled by the sales manager at smaller outlets, whereas larger outlets will have a dedicated person.

It can sometimes be difficult to get hold of the right person. You may also encounter gatekeepers who prevent you from getting through on the phone.

LinkedIn is a great tool to circumvent gatekeepers because you can often use the social media platform to find out who deals with media partnerships in any given organisation. (You can also give email finders like ContactOut a try.)

Tip: Use this email template as a starting point for your approach.

3. Ask relevant questions

Before you get into what they can do for you and vice versa, it’s important to qualify the media outlet so you know whether it’s a good fit for your event.

Here are some questions you can ask them:

• How many monthly unique visitors do you have?
• What other advertisers do you work with?
• How big is your mailing list?
• Can you target different geographical locations?

You want to make sure their reach is big enough for your event. Let’s generously assume that around 0.1% of their audience will convert.

That means you need a media partner with access to a database of 10,000 mailing list subscribers or 10,000 monthly visitors to sell 100 tickets.

Tip: Use this list of prewritten questions so you can properly qualify a potential media partner.

4. Describe your needs

Once you’ve identified a media outlet that’s a good fit for your event, it’s time to put together a media partnership proposal.

Depending on what kind of media outlet you’re approaching, they can:

• Publish your press release
• Make a public service announcement
• Give you free airtime
• Discount advertising space

Tip: Read this article by The Drum on what they offer their media partners in terms of benefits.

5. Offer something in return

Simply making a list of demands won’t get you far, especially if you want a positive start to a long-term partnership with the media outlet.

Here are some ways you can return the favour to your new media partner:

• Promote them on your event website
• Put them on your event signage
• Mention them in your welcome speech
• Give them shout-outs on social media
• Offer them tax benefits (if you’re a charity)

Tip: Read our guide on event sponsorship packages to see what you can offer a media partner.

Tools to help you find media partners

It can be a drag to trawl through Google page after Google page to find potential partners. That’s why we’ve put together a short list of tools you can use to speed up the process.

1. Prowly

Prowly is a platform that lets you solicit media and press coverage opportunities from various media outlets across the globe.

2. Muck Rack

Muck Rack is an awesome database that lets you search for journalists based on their location, area of expertise, and other relevant qualifiers.

3. Cision

Cision is a PR software app that has been lauded on the international stage. It comes with a database that gives you access to over 1.6 million media outlets.

4. Anewstip

Anewstip is Google-esque search engine for media outlets, social media influencers, and freelance journalists based on their Twitter activity.

5. Blog Dash

BlogDash is another useful database that enables you to reach out to bloggers and influencers in different categories and areas of expertise.

Tip: Read more about these tools and other PR tools on the HubSpot website.

Find a media partner today

It’s never too early to start looking for a potential event media partnership that could benefit your next event. Just remember that you need something to offer in return.

Already got some event media partnerships in the works? Share your experiences with the Billetto community in the comments section below!