There are few other events on earth that can attract over 6,000 media, 4,000 participants from 72 countries along with a few hundred thousand spectators. What we can learn from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, is that the key opportunity for tourism, arts and charity organisations is the ability to leverage the presence of an extensive media contingent to reach an international audience.
The biggest winners from CG2014 has possibly been Glasgow – who improved their image and brand as a welcoming, vibrant and interesting city to visit and UNICEF who leveraged the opening ceremony to raise $5 million in one night. While these larger organisations need to craft an event leveraging strategy, even small businesses can learn from these tactics and attract visiting media to sample and promote their products and experiences. With 6,000 journalists all looking for a new story, businesses have opportunities to entice them with local information and experiences.
Some tips to engage the media:
* Firstly discover which media are attending from your target markets (don’t forget bloggers and freelancers too)
*Contact them directly, or through the Event Media Centre at each event.
* Engage other local tourism operators to help provide hospitality to them (accommodation, meals & touring)
* Treat the media well and offer a range of services and information to them – perhaps offer to tour them around the destination.
Finally, when the event dust settles find any publicity you have generated and promote it in your business. See these examples of Commonwealth Games coverage by visiting media.
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jul/26/commonwealth-games-glasgow-travel-guide
DESTINATION RESEARCH 