Conferences Organization Manual – Section 8

8.0 THE PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE

8.1 DUTIES
The duties of the Publicity and Public Relations Committee is to promote the Conference through out the entire planning process:

Arrange for mailing of the Call for Papers
Arrange for publicity mailing lists
Arrange for placement of the Conference on the Calendars of various publications
Advertise the Conference in IEEE and non-IEEE publications and news media
Arrange for local publicity of the Advance Program
Arrange for advertising in related conferences

The Publicity and Public Relations Committee cooperates with the Local Arrangements Committee in arranging for pre-conference and on-site publicity. In addition, the Publicity Chair should coordinate the conference promotional program with IEEE publicity efforts with national press agencies. Frequently, free publicity can be secured in local newspapers, magazines or newsletters, and on local television and radio public service announcements. The following types of media should be contacted, both by press releases and follow-up phone contact. It is the customary practice to offer free admission to the press on all events where publicity is desired. Be sure that provisions are made at the registration desk for free "press passes" or press badges to be issued so the media can easily attend all sessions.

Advertising the Conference in IEEE and other professional magazines
Advertising the Conference in IEEE geographic and technical newsletters
National Press (newspapers, engineering society magazines, technical society publications and other trade journals/magazines).
Newspapers, Radio and Television Stations in the conference city and local area.

Additional avenues for Public Relations to be considered include:

Local Publicity: When the meeting is held at a university, governmental facility or a local institute, the Publicity/Public Relations Department of the involved agency can be of assistance in generating interest among the local press. Normally, all scientific and federal agencies have public relations departments which are willing to publicize events of this type and will contact local newspapers, television and radio stations.
Conference Calendar Listing In Appropriate Publications: Such basic information as the city, hotel, dates, name and address of contact, as well as telephone and fax numbers are required to be listed.
Welcome By Local Public Officials: The committee may contact public official's office early to obtain the aforementioned in a timely manner. Depending on the location, officials such as the Governor or Mayor may be sufficiently interesting to be considered as a speaker at the conference.
Conference Preview: It should be written by the Publicity Committee and includes brief highlights of the Conference about three months before the Conference, after the Technical Program has been completed.
Press Kits And Arrangements At The Conference: It is important to define policy early on regarding attendees who represent the press. Invitations to the press to attend the conference may be open or selective and normally limited in number from any one publication firm. If selective, credentials must be checked at the conference, and free registrations given only to those invited. The members of the press who do attend the conference should receive a conference record and allowed free admission to all sessions, and to all social events which are likely to stimulate news coverage. A separate "Press Only" desk should be provided at Registration, and name badges should indicate that the attendee is with the press. A press room, appropriately furnished and equipped with restricted telephones and typewriters, should be provided, as well as light refreshments. It should be manned at all times, and its hours posted. If any significant announcements are made at the conference, or interviews requested, they should be coordinated by the Publicity Committee. Each member of the press should receive a press kit with a conference program, biographies of key committee members and speakers, copies of key speeches, an up-to-date release, and other pertinent information.
800 Number (or equivalent) If Needed: An 800 number is a great convenience to prospective attendees, and is another outlet for publicity for the conference. A digit format that is recognizable and easy to remember may be very useful.
Promotion Of Local Industry Attendance: An excellent way to increase local attendance is to offer local companies a discount on multiple registrations. The discount must be aggressive enough to appeal to senior management to whom the campaign should be directed. The mailing should go out no later than three months prior to the conference, and considerably earlier, if possible. If the Advance Program is not ready at the time of the mailing, the package should be sent out with the caveat that the Advance Program will follow. This promotion is a joint effort of the Registration, Finance and Publicity Committees.
Promotion At Related Conferences: An excellent way to promote the conference is to exhibit at other conferences and trade shows. The Call for Papers, preliminary announcements, and Advance Programs can be distributed at such events. A video or slides of the conference city, giveaway items, and other novelties with the conference logo help promote the conference. This activity should be coordinated with the Exhibits Chair.
Post-Conference Article: An article highlighting the events, speakers, special announcements and the like should be prepared for insertion into IEEE and other Magazines, preferably within a month or two of the conference. The bulk of the article can and should be prepared well before the conference, as momentum and enthusiasm wanes once the conference is over. Statistics may be inserted into the article after the close of the conference. The article should include photos of events such as receptions, speakers, exhibits, committee members, awards, banquet, and other social events. It is recommended that a paragraph at the end of the article be reserved for promoting the next conference. Include basic information such as dates and location, and any other information of interest.
Photographer: The use of a designated photographer is recommended to insure usable photos and timely turnaround. Black and white photos are preferred for reproduction.

8.2 DISTRIBUTION: ANNOUNCEMENTS, ADVANCE PROGRAMS AND REGISTRATION MATERIAL

8.2.1 IEEE Not-For-Profit Mail Status
Only IEEE Sponsored or Co-sponsored conferences are entitled to IEEE services at the non-profit rate. Any promotional mailing which uses the IEEE mailing indicia (Permit No. 52) and IEEE return address must be mailed from the IEEE Service Center. This mailing is at third class rates and usually requires several weeks for delivery. Third class mailing cannot be used for delivery outside the United States. However, for conferences held in Regions 7-10, mailing inside the US can be performed via IEEE Conference Services using the same process.

Any questions or problems that are encountered with local postal authorities in regard to the mailing rates for promotional material should be directed to IEEE Conference Services Department. Since, from the Institute's position, such questions are a very sensitive issue, it is extremely important that appropriate protocol be followed in dealing with the U.S. postal authorities in these matters.

8.2.2 IEEE Mailing Lists
IEEE membership mailing lists may normally be used in connection with conferences which have IEEE involvement. Selection of mailing lists should begin during the initial planning stages of the conference and the Publicity Chair should work with the Conference Committee in selecting those target membership lists, Societies and other IEEE entities, which will most effectively promote the conference. IEEE Conference Services will assist the Publicity Chair in obtaining appropriate IEEE mailing lists. A letter requesting the mailing labels should be forwarded to IEEE Conference Services with the following information:

name and dates of conference
what is being mailed (Call for Papers, Advance Program, etc.)
which IEEE Society members are to be selected
geographic area(s) to be selected (regions, sections, etc.)
membership grade(s) (higher grade, student, affiliate)
when selecting TIP (Technical Interest Profile) categories indicate which rankings are to be selected)
what type of label (Cheshire - machine applied or Avery - peel and stick)
to whom to send the labels, if IEEE is not providing mailing services
to whom to send the bill

It is prudent to allow one month for this activity.

8.2.2.1 Proprietorship of Mailing Lists
Normally, only the mailing lists of the sponsoring Organizational Unit(s) or cooperating unit will be made available to the conference by IEEE. However, access to mailing lists of other IEEE entities is also possible. IEEE Conference Services should be contacted for further information.

8.2.2.2 Costs for Mailing Labels
Mailing labels can either be sent to the Publicity and Public Relations Committee for use in the distribution of promotional materials, or the actual mailing of the promotional materials can be processed by the IEEE Service Center. IEEE mailing services are limited to IEEE sponsored and financially co-sponsored conferences. In any event, all costs for mailing labels and additional mailing services are invoiced directly to the conference, unless the sponsoring entity authorizes an alternate method of payment.

8.2.3 Special Mailing Lists
The Publicity and Public Relations Committee should determine which means will achieve the widest publicity desired by the conference. Mailing lists, not already available from other sources, should be compiled by this committee. Registration lists from previous meetings are generally very effective.

8.2.4 Local Mailings
The Publicity Chair should determine what local mailings should be made and provide programs for this purpose. An IEEE geographic mailing may be coordinated with the Local Arrangements Chair.

8.2.5 Publicity Mailings Through IEEE
IEEE Conference Services has a special publicity list for the distribution of conference promotional material, e.g., Call for Papers and Advance Programs. The IEEE Conference Services Office will advise the Publicity and Public Relations Committee of the numerical requirements for these special mailings. Such promotional material and a request letter for these services should be forwarded to IEEE Conference Services for distribution.

Promotional material for publication in IEEE periodicals should be submitted with attention paid to the monthly, bimonthly or quarterly schedules and deadlines. Promotional material should be organized in a standard format and contain complete information about dates, location, technical program, keynote speakers, registration procedures, conference papers, inspection tours and hotel reservations.

8.2.6 Advance Copies of Papers
The Publicity and Public Relations Committee may also assist the Program Committee in securing advance copies of papers so that pre-conference releases can be prepared for the general press. Complete papers may also be made available for review by the technical press and certain members of the technical community. The following statement must be placed on any paper released for review:

Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the IEEE copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and specific permission. Direct inquires to: Copyrights Office, IEEE Service Center, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331.

8.3 CATEGORIES OF PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL

8.3.1 Publicity Letter
A publicity letter specifying the particulars of the conference should be prepared. It should incorporate a condensed program that outlines the general chronological schedule of technical sessions, and highlights any special keynote presentations.

8.3.2 Conference Program
The Publicity and Public Relations Committee is involved in the distribution of the Advance Program. It is responsible for targeted publicity using the Advance Program.

8.3.3 Call for Papers
The Publicity and Public Relations Committee, in coordination with the Program Committee, may also be involved in the distribution of the initial conference's Call for Papers. Appropriate care should be taken to ensure that both the scope of the conference program and specific deadlines for abstracts and/or manuscripts are clearly indicated in the announcement. It should include such basic information as the name of the conference, the dates, the city and the hotel. The body of the call should announce the theme of the conference, suggested topics for papers, author schedule and instructions, regional representatives, and sponsorship with appropriate logos.

The Call for Papers is generally inserted in IEEE Magazines and Newsletters. It may be distributed by mail to targeted audiences. Targeted mailing lists, or TIP (Technical Interest Profile) lists, may be obtained from IEEE. It is recommended that copies of the Call be sent to offshore representatives for mailing locally, due to slow mail service to overseas locations.

The Call should also be available for distribution at other related conferences and trade shows.

8.3.4 Self-mailers
For IEEE Sponsored and Co-sponsored conferences, if the Publicity Letter, Advance Program or Call for Papers is prepared as a self-mailer and is to be handled by the IEEE Service Center, the IEEE Service Center's return address and mailing permit (indicia) must be shown on the address side of the program mailing piece. In accordance with regulations of the United States Postal Service, self-mailers must have at least one self-adhesive tab to keep mail pieces closed. All promotional mailings processed through the IEEE Service Center should be coordinated with IEEE Conference Services.

8.4 ASSISTANCE TO PROGRAM COMMITTEE
The Publicity and Public Relations Committee may assist the Program Committee in the following areas:

Development of themes for panel discussions.
Selection of appropriate topics for keynote addresses.
Selection of speakers for social functions.
Development of appropriate publicity brochures regarding technical exhibits at the conference.

8.5 ASSISTING MEMBERSHIP PROMOTION AT CONFERENCE
It should be standard practice to set up a membership desk at the conference in order to recruit IEEE members into the sponsoring Organizational Unit(s) and non-members into IEEE. A good incentive for membership efforts is to apply the member/non-member differential to reduce dues payment. (Paragraph 9.1.4.1.1 for more details.)

8.5.1 Membership Desk Activities
The following guidelines should be followed in arranging for a membership desk at the conference. Additional details may be obtained from IEEE Conference Services.

Coordinate with the sponsoring Organizational Unit(s) membership development committee.
Contact the Conference Chair to secure the best possible location of the Membership Desk at the Conference.
Appoint Committee members to set up and supervise the activities of the desk.
Prepare a duty roster to make sure that the desk is attended at all times during the conference.
Arrange for the display of IEEE publications, literature and advertisement of its activities.
Contact IEEE Conference Services to obtain available IEEE membership literature and supplies, including the loan of an IEEE banner and instructional guidelines for those assisting at the IEEE membership desk.

8.5.2 Conference Registration Card
The registration card should be designed to readily identify and allow later communication with non-members and those IEEE members who are not enrolled in the sponsoring entity.

8.5.3 Post-Conference Membership Promotion
The Publicity and Public Relations Committee should arrange for the addressing of special letters to non-member registrants inviting them to apply for membership in IEEE.

8.6 PUBLICITY - IEEE PUBLICATIONS

8.6.1 Educational Activities
Frequently an IEEE entity co-sponsors educational activities (short courses) which are run concurrently with a conference. It is important to ensure that the publicity and promotional materials for courses be coordinated with the publicity for the conference in order to present a unified IEEE image. The Publicity and Public Relations Committee should contact IEEE Conference Services to coordinate the promotion of these courses.

8.6.2 Sponsoring Organizational Unit(s) Publications
The Publicity and Public Relations Committee should coordinate all promotional concepts for the display and possible "sale" of other publications of a sponsoring Organizational Unit(s). In some instances, the complimentary distribution of previously published technical literature may be used as an additional promotional incentive in the recruitment of non-members at the conference.

8.6.3 IEEE Standards/Press Books
Brochures for these publications should be prominently displayed at all conferences. Conferences provide an ideal opportunity to promote IEEE book publications. Requests for assistance with promotional displays for book publications should be made through IEEE Marketing.