Sound Solutions, Inc.
Strategic Communications: Ideas & Initiatives
630-896-2638
630-896-2638
Case Study: Trade Show Media
Situation: The Radiological Society of North America hosts an annual scientific assembly during which the latest advances in radiology -- new diagnostic and interventional procedures that identify and treat serious afflictions such as cancer, infertility and neurologic disorders -- are unveiled. The event also provides a forum for manufacturers of radiologic equipment to display their latest products. The weeklong RSNA meeting, held annually in Chicago beginning the Sunday following Thanksgiving, is widely recognized as the world's largest medical meeting.
Beyond hosting the presentation of the science and the new products, part of the RSNA's mission is the inform and educate the public about the advances in radiologic sciences. While the annual meeting historically drew trade media who primarily covered exhibitors' new products, there was a desire to reach consumer health media with news of scientific advances, while still serving the trade media and creating an environment in which the all-important exhibitors and the Society itself would not compete for limited media time and attention.
The Society hired Public Communications Inc. to manage the newsroom at the annual event and address these issues. Sound Solutions founder Starr McCaffery, then on staff at PCI, supervised RSNA newsroom operations for six years, until leaving the firm.
Approach: To reach consumer health media with the advances in radiology, the agency team worked closely with a group of RSNA physicians to review all of the more than 3,000 scientific abstracts presented annually with an average of approximately 200 abstracts identified for potential news value. Topics were grouped according to consumer benefit such as breast cancer advances, "men's" cancers and other diseases, reproductive diagnostics and treatments, etc., enabling RSNA to release information from several studies under a single news release and press conference topic. Outreach to media began more than a month ahead of the event, with a release of general topics, more detailed information as the assembly drew near and a complete, but embargoed, press kit distributed via overnight mail to arrive the day before Thanksgiving.
At the same time, a thorough review of newsroom operations was held to determine how to best serve on-site media and allow exhibitors to present their news while still enabling journalists to cover the scientific program. The result was a newsroom operation that included private interview and writing cubicles, telephone and computer banks for on-site reporters to submit their stories, a catered mini-cafeteria within the newsroom, a press conference room and accompanying green room for presenters, and an exhibitors' press kit display room.
A press conference schedule was created with 20 scientific press conferences during the weeklong event held in 30-minute increments each morning, and nearly the same number of exhibitor press conferences each afternoon, scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. All exhibitors were required to hold their press conferences in the RSNA newsroom facility for the convenience of the journalists, which also served to keep the scientific news in front of working press. The morning/afternoon time slots were dictated by the deadlines of targeted media in that the morning sessions allowed consumer media to meet daily broadcast and print deadlines, while the afternoon sessions catered primarily to trade media with longer lead times.
Results: In the first year of McCaffery's involvement with RSNA, media coverage was 95.6 million audience/circulation and 130 journalists registered on site. By the sixth year, coverage increased nearly tenfold to 951 million and on-site journalist registration nearly doubled to more than 250. RSNA news stories are carried by major wire services, national newspapers and network television and radio broadcasts, as well as consumer magazines such as Glamour, Self and Ladies' Home Journal. Reporters from national outlets, such as USA Today and the Associated Press, as well as local broadcast and print journalists, regularly attend the meeting and some have been known to spend up to three or four days working in the RSNA newsroom.
The RSNA newsroom effort has been recognized with a Publicity Club of Chicago Golden Trumpet Award and, based on the achievements of the team, McCaffery was interviewed by PR Week about trade show media management more than a decade after leaving the agency.
Beyond hosting the presentation of the science and the new products, part of the RSNA's mission is the inform and educate the public about the advances in radiologic sciences. While the annual meeting historically drew trade media who primarily covered exhibitors' new products, there was a desire to reach consumer health media with news of scientific advances, while still serving the trade media and creating an environment in which the all-important exhibitors and the Society itself would not compete for limited media time and attention.
The Society hired Public Communications Inc. to manage the newsroom at the annual event and address these issues. Sound Solutions founder Starr McCaffery, then on staff at PCI, supervised RSNA newsroom operations for six years, until leaving the firm.
Approach: To reach consumer health media with the advances in radiology, the agency team worked closely with a group of RSNA physicians to review all of the more than 3,000 scientific abstracts presented annually with an average of approximately 200 abstracts identified for potential news value. Topics were grouped according to consumer benefit such as breast cancer advances, "men's" cancers and other diseases, reproductive diagnostics and treatments, etc., enabling RSNA to release information from several studies under a single news release and press conference topic. Outreach to media began more than a month ahead of the event, with a release of general topics, more detailed information as the assembly drew near and a complete, but embargoed, press kit distributed via overnight mail to arrive the day before Thanksgiving.
At the same time, a thorough review of newsroom operations was held to determine how to best serve on-site media and allow exhibitors to present their news while still enabling journalists to cover the scientific program. The result was a newsroom operation that included private interview and writing cubicles, telephone and computer banks for on-site reporters to submit their stories, a catered mini-cafeteria within the newsroom, a press conference room and accompanying green room for presenters, and an exhibitors' press kit display room.
A press conference schedule was created with 20 scientific press conferences during the weeklong event held in 30-minute increments each morning, and nearly the same number of exhibitor press conferences each afternoon, scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. All exhibitors were required to hold their press conferences in the RSNA newsroom facility for the convenience of the journalists, which also served to keep the scientific news in front of working press. The morning/afternoon time slots were dictated by the deadlines of targeted media in that the morning sessions allowed consumer media to meet daily broadcast and print deadlines, while the afternoon sessions catered primarily to trade media with longer lead times.
Results: In the first year of McCaffery's involvement with RSNA, media coverage was 95.6 million audience/circulation and 130 journalists registered on site. By the sixth year, coverage increased nearly tenfold to 951 million and on-site journalist registration nearly doubled to more than 250. RSNA news stories are carried by major wire services, national newspapers and network television and radio broadcasts, as well as consumer magazines such as Glamour, Self and Ladies' Home Journal. Reporters from national outlets, such as USA Today and the Associated Press, as well as local broadcast and print journalists, regularly attend the meeting and some have been known to spend up to three or four days working in the RSNA newsroom.
The RSNA newsroom effort has been recognized with a Publicity Club of Chicago Golden Trumpet Award and, based on the achievements of the team, McCaffery was interviewed by PR Week about trade show media management more than a decade after leaving the agency.