This year at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, I studied and applied public relations skills in my upper division course, “Writing for Influence”. Our most recent assignment prompted us to form groups and create a hypothetical newsworthy event. Our group chose to create an event promoting the Burning Man music festival, writing an example news release to legitimize the relevance of our event and practice using strategic communications writing tools.
My group identified an under-targeted audience in Generation Z and sought to connect young people’s love of music with the progressive, sustainability and counter-culture values of Burning Man. To bridge this gap we highlighted the uniquely non-materialistic reputation that sets Burning Man apart from other music festivals. Our event encouraged audiences to disconnect from instant, digital media and introduced a partnership with Polaroid, which would span across college campuses to involve young people who could not attend the festival but might connect with our mission.
My group outlined these key points in our news release, including strategies for accumulating earned media and building momentum for the brand-event partnership. While we encountered challenges communicating an anti-digital event over social media, we were ultimately successful in creating a PR plan that would have strong media messaging and innovative, tangible results. This assignment strengthened our comprehension of how public relations tools can be applied to effectively reach target groups.
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