Spending huge amount of money in exhibition without relaying this investment by press relations, is a real waste. However this is what many French companies does. Maybe is this due to our culture. Let's take an American example. For instance American, even small business manager, will take into account in his budget expenditures (time and money) for Press Relations, Public Relations. Still, this argument is also applicable toward marketing. No doubt that Anglo -Saxons people are culturally ready to sell themselves, than us Latin-French !
However, a Company who make an exhibition has obviously something to show . At the other hand, journalists has a fundamental constraint : it is necessary that it fills out its newspaper. Fundamentally Journalists are ever seeking new contents...meeting the editorial line of its paper. Yes it is obvious that WIRED Magazine won't be interested by your tomato plantation...What I'm trying to do is to establish a kind of partnership with journalists. I give you contents, information, new product release, you publish it in a beautiful article and your Boss is happy, mine too.
I use this strategy every time I could in order take profit of the great amplifier the Press constitutes.
I haven't any difficulty concerning advertising : I had ZERO budget . Then I target the editorial one (even if it helps, sometimes in order to have a nice article, having a large advertising budget in their newspaper).
ZERO budget also to work with Press or PR agencies. In this case there, the only way to do is :
phoning all journalists concerned
drafting then fax or mail of a press release (157 K format WORD97. (pictures are reduced.)
Journalists are far from being idiots. As in my case, I speak about rather high tech, it is necessary to adopt a style which their readers will be able to read. Doing their job for them. Personally in my press releases, I use the more pictures I can, which are more explicit than a long speech. If You are lucky, your text any pictures, will be integrally published...