For this outside class meeting, strategic communication agencies working on the same account will pool together to host a press conference for an audience of journalists from J335. This serves a range of goals: (a) it gives each student the opportunity to see how their peers in their position are approaching general questions, (b) it allows those operating within a role to work in a complementary basis, dividing tasks and playing to strengths, and (c) it provides another hands-on simulation of producing a press release, press kits, and press conference. Details on the topic of the press conference will be provided soon, but you must be prepared for anything concerning your brand. 

The press conference will begin with a 10–15-minute presentation by the spokespersons, followed by 20 minutes of questions from the journalists. The spokespersons should be thoroughly briefed by other group members in order to field a wide range of questions from the journalists. This is a public test of your breadth of knowledge about the case.

Each student will have a role in preparing for the press conference. Account Directors will serve as spokespersons. They will make the presentation and field questions from the journalists. Account Planners will work together to prepare a fact sheet for the press kit and prep the Account Directors with background information. They will also provide live support to the account directors during the press conference. Media/Interactive Directorswill work together to prepare a contact sheet of other targeted media outlets (beyond the J-335 students) for the press release and compose a total of 15 tweets that could be sent out during the press conference. PR/Promotions Directors will work together to write the press release for the press conference and review the press kit and presentation. Creative Directors will provide any visual support material for the press kit and presentation (charts, photos, etc.) and are responsible for designing their look and reviewing their content.

All group members should work together to provide information and prepare the spokespersons for making the presentation and fielding questions from the journalists. Research directors will provide “live” support during the event.

It is essential that all press conference participants stay in character and faithfully execute their assignments. One additional goal of the press conference is to force you to internalize information about the client to the point that you can converse fluently about the company and the brand. The press conference is worth 10 points toward the final grade as evaluated by the professors. 

Press Kit Assignment. Groups will prepare materials for a press conference (e.g., goal/objectives statement, press release, backgrounder/fact sheet, prepared remarks, etc.). Some of these materials will be used to help brief the spokespersons and panelists for the press conference. Other materials will be packaged into a press kit for release to the journalists prior to the conference. 

The press kit includes all materials produced for the press conference including a press release, fact sheet and other supporting material. The press release should be written with three purposes in mind: a) to grab the media’s attention so that they will cover the press conference; b) to give the journalists the story you want them to write; and c) to conform to journalistic style so that information from the press release can be incorporated into news stories without much editing. The fact sheet has dual purposes: 1) to provide a concise summary of important information that journalists should know; and 2) to provide important background information that will help to educate journalists and answer some of the questions that they might have.

All members of the press conference group will get the same grade for the press kit. The press kits are due at the beginning of the press conference. Press kits will be graded on the basis of content, creativity, style, and overall quality. This assignment counts for 10 points toward your final grade. For both this assignment and the press conference, points will be assigned as follows: A = 10, AB = 9, B = 8, BC = 7, C = 6, D = 5, or F = 4 or below.