Special Events and PR Tactics
Group of individuals at an event. Photo by Jakob Dalbjörn on Unsplash
Communication tactics are the most visual elements of a strategic communication plan. As public relations practitioners, tactics are what all our hard work culminates to. All the hours spent on formative research and establishing goals and objectives leads us to tactics—the tangible elements of our plan that publics see and interact with.
Tactics are nuanced and can take a variety of forms. They can range from a simple press release to a special event. The most crucial factor is that tactics are tangible and available for your public to interact with.
“Leveraging the best PR tactics can lead to an avalanche of opportunities for any brand, including yours. It can enable you to build a stronger connection with your audience, raise brand awareness, increase customer loyalty, and boost your reputation at the same time.”
As noted by Prowly Public Relations, tactics can help achieve campaign goals and objectives, such as brand awareness, customer loyalty and reputation. Let us look at an impressive example of how special events can take the form of a public relations tactic.
The University of Oklahoma’s Fundraising Gala
Still from the University of Oklahoma’s fundraising gala. Photo courtesy of Twitter.
To kick off the University of Oklahoma’s first capital fundraising campaign in nearly twenty years, it hosted a massive gala celebrating the university’s strategic plan and goals for the future. At the height of the event, President Joseph Harroz, Jr. unveiled the $2 billion fundraising goal – an unprecedented and ambitious goal for the future.
The event had tasteful nods to the university’s architectural motifs and traditions. At every turn, all event collateral celebrated student success and what makes OU a special place for thousands of students, alumni and friends.
Fundraising presents a variety of public relations opportunities for organizations. A tactic that can help achieve objectives and goals for fundraising is a special event. Americans donated nearly $428 billion to charitable organizations (Smith, p. 336).
Because OU’s target publics got to interact with its fundraising campaign’s tactic, it helped encourage loyalty to the university and boosted its overall reputation.
