2008

1st Annual

Downtown Multicultural Festival

Evansville, IN I June 7, 2008

PUBLICITY PLAN

1st Annual

Downtown Multicultural
Festival
Publicity Plan
Overview:
Entering into its inaugural year, the 2008 Downtown Multicultural Festival will be bringing a
completely new dimension to the established Dragons on the Ohio event. Throughout the
extravaganza, the riverfront will bloom with culture and diversity in the heart of Evansvilles
downtown district. The festival will promote the appreciation, value, and recognition of
community diversity through entertainment, cuisine, song, dance, and artistic cultural
expression.
GAGEs marketing, public relations, and events staff will work diligently with various media
partners to garner thousands of impressions for the event and its sponsors. GAGE will
secure media coverage for the event through a number of marketing and public relations
vehicles including radio, print, and television. Radio ads will be placed to promote the
various aspects of the festival. GAGE will also conduct media pitches for placement of
stories and local newspaper coverage. In addition, GAGE will work with local television
networks to raise awareness and cover the festivities. Grassroots efforts will include flyer
distribution to local community groups and businesses, and email blasts to the companys
database. As added exposure and appeal, GAGE will work to collaborate with the University
of Evansville and the University of Southern Indiana to better unite all of Evansvilles cultural
and diversity expressions.
The following public relations objectives and timeline have been developed to promote
Evansvilles Downtown Multicultural Festival as a much-needed premier event that truly
celebrates the diversity in the Midwest.
High-Level Festival Objectives:

Deliver the Downtown Multicultural Festivals key messages directly to media

Promote Evansville and the festival as a destination event
Generate positive and widespread coverage in advance of and during the festival from
national, regional, and local media (print/Internet/broadcast)
Build and cultivate relationships with media, sponsors, Dragons on the Ohio, and other
festival partners
Create brand awareness for the title sponsor via inclusion in all GAGE press releases and
marketing collateral
Execute media relations campaign in tandem with targeted marketing efforts
Develop creative and enticing marketing materials to stimulate interest and demand for
festival

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Promote awareness and appreciation of diversity and culture within Evansville

Specific Festival Objectives

Secure 10 positive articles/news stories about the festival

Secure three on-air interviews for Evansville representatives/featured vineyards/local
musicians/artists
Host reporters or on-air personalities from four media outlets at the event
Create two successful marketing promotions to encourage attendance (via print, radio,
television or grassroots)
Attract 1,000 new subscribers to our websites e-newsletter

Publicity Plan: PreEvent_________________________________________________________________________

The following activities will take place from February 2008 May 2008:
Pre-Event Public Relations Campaign:

Develop a (broadcast, print and online) media contact database of outlets in the
following categories:
National, regional and local consumer (broadcast, print and online)
National special interest (broadcast, print and online), including: Cultural Groups;
Minority Groups; Music, Dance, Cuisine, Art, and Language as they relates to
different cultures; etc.
Regional special interest, including: Indianapolis; Louisville; St. Louis; Nashville;
Chicago; Cultural Groups; Minority Groups; Music, Dance, Cuisine, Art, and
Language as they relate to different cultures; etc.
Top 25 dailies in region
Tier media list into three levels and concentrate efforts on Tier One
Create media kit that includes:
Contact information
Organization information
News release announcement
Event agenda/fact sheet
Schedule of Events
Descriptions of the organizations/groups participating
Travel, lodging and other event information
Reporting/media opportunity
Distribute media kits to Tier One contacts
Secure media sponsors
Undertake media relations initiative to:
Encourage pre-event media coverage (radio promotions, TV partnerships, special
interest print pieces)
Secure event on regional calendar listings
Stimulate interest in attendance and future talent and vendor participation
Develop news releases and distribute event news, as needed
Booth registration pr
Call to action for Artists pr
Schedule of events & artists pr
Kids activity area pr
Dragon Boats pr
Final call for registrants
Invite Tier One media contacts to attend and cover

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Secure all news articles for wrap-up reports and impression counts

Pre-Event Marketing & Promotions Campaign:

Develop the festival brand

Develop a creative concept/slogan to interweave into all marketing materials
Secure an event logo that creatively combines all aspects of the event
Attract repeat online viewers by developing new content for the website often, perhaps
by featuring a different cultural group each month
Place event details on downtownevansville.org as first source of reference for
potential invitees
Build the online database and e-newsletters subscribers
Determine if the cultural organizations participating will promote our Event on their
websites
Develop a number of e-mail blasts to regional database in the months prior to the
festival
Secure print sponsors to run interest stories on the event
Secure print sponsors to run stories on Evansville as a destination area
Partner with the University of Evansville, the University of Southern Indiana, La Mesa
Grande, and others groups to market to their client base
Work with regional television stations to develop engaging content and secure
interviews for sponsors and organizations/clubs during the festival
Develop festival news stories in the Discover Downtown newspaper insert
Design creative event collateral, including the following:
Posters and flyers to pass out to regional cultural clubs
Festival brochure/schedule
Secure advertisers for event program and design program
Design and order event signage
Develop stimulating radio promotions, such as a free dance lesson to be picked up at
the festival, dinner at an ethnic food restaurant
Work with festival sponsors to create on-site activation and retail promotions

Publicity Plan:
Event____________________________________________________________________________
The following activities will take place during the month of June 2008:
Event Public Relations Campaign:

Potential to host a press event featuring the kick off of the event
Create a daily news release
Distribute to dailies and broadcast outlets in key markets
Distribute to additional key outlets
Distribute to attending media contacts
Facilitate on-site media opportunities, visuals and interviews
Monitor and measure all news coverage
Secure articles and news clips

Event Marketing & Promotions Campaign:

Distribute event flyers and brochures to regional target businesses and households
Coordinate live festival coverage and interviews on broadcast and radio
Place signage in prominent locations

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Distribute Programs showcasing the different booths and organizations the day of the
event
Coordinate a booth with information and various marketing products on sponsors and
the organization itself
Coordinate on-site radio remotes to drive traffic to the event

Publicity Plan: PostEvent________________________________________________________________________

The following will take place from July 2008 January 2009:
Post-Event Public Relations Campaign:

Create and disseminate post-event media materials including:

Success measures, including number of participants, event exposure, economic
impact, etc.
Post-event news release
Event video footage and photography
Finalize and secure outstanding coverage
Measure all news coverage
Secure articles and news clips to present to sponsors
Start public relations preparation for 2009 event

Post-Event Marketing & Promotions Campaign:

Collect all marketing and promotional materials and rate cards for sponsor wrap-ups
Measure marketing & promotions efforts
Update website with photo gallery and video clips of 2008 event and post dates for
the 2009 event
Send hand written Thank You notes to all sponsors and organizations involved in
the event.
Start marketing preparation for 2009 event

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