When it comes to big industry events like GTC, CES, or BlackHat, marketing teams start planning a year in advance – securing booth space and designing creative assets. As the event nears, PR and comms kick into gear to help support with news, meetings, and more. The plan is developed…a media list is in hand, announcements are drafted, spokespeople are confirmed…everything seems on track. 

Then, reality sets in. That announcement? Stuck in partner-approval purgatory. That product demo? The engineers are still making final tweaks. The executive on-site for meetings? Their calendar suddenly shifted.

Now it’s crunch time. Despite all the changes, expectations for media briefings and analyst intros remain. Welcome to event planning, where even the best planners can get derailed by variables out of their control.

No matter how detailed the plan, some things just get knocked off track. How can you minimize the impact from the “uncontrollables” and still deliver on expectations? Here are four key strategies I use to guide work around events.

It’s Never Too Early 

One of the best advantages you can give yourself and your clients over other companies is starting your outreach process to media, analysts, and influencers early. Press and analysts are like rock stars at these events, and their schedules fill up quickly. So identify and pitch your targets early; the sweet spot is right around 4-6 weeks before the event. This ensures you get on people’s calendars before they fill up and get them interested in connecting with your clients. 

I also suggest putting a placeholder on the press/analysts’ calendar after they’ve shown interest. This will help lock down your spot on their calendar.

As an example, for this year’s Supercomputing 2025, we began outreach five weeks before the event. This resulted in over 15 press and analyst briefings across multiple clients.

Additionally, you’ll want to focus on targeted outreach rather than just trying to pitch as many people as possible. If you have access to a media list, leverage that to identify media and analysts that suit your clients best, and build your target list from there. 

Pro Tip: If you don’t have an official media list, check out your event’s hashtags on LinkedIn to get a sense of who attended last year, or look at last year’s coverage and cross-reference authors.

Work Your Connections 

Leveraging personal connections is a great way to secure briefings at your upcoming event. Ask yourself: 

  • Did you connect with press or analysts at an event last year? 
  • Have any of them written about your company recently? 
  • Has attendees made a social media post featuring you or commented on your page?

Use those touchpoints to reignite a conversation. Reference their previous work or your last interaction and frame your outreach as a continuation, not a cold ask. Small gestures and personalization turn a transactional request into a relational one. This will ultimately set you up for future coverage and better media relationships down the line.

Speaking of relationships, a common mistake PR people make is only reaching out when their clients need coverage. Don’t be that person. Treat these events as checkpoints to nurture your relationships with press and analysts, not just to book briefings and hit metrics.

Pro Tip: Keep a simple spreadsheet of every reporter or analyst you’ve briefed. Before each event, note who wrote coverage, who didn’t, and who you owe an update. That follow-up pitch six months later lands better when you reference your last conversation.

Craft the Perfect Pitch

At one point or another, we’ve all sent that pitch that was too long, too vague, or simply too late. But when you lead with value and include the who, what, and why it’s important up front, you’ll see responses to your pitch increase. Keep these pitching tips in mind during your next round of outreach:

  • Personable – Mention prior connections or previous coverage. If you haven’t met, frame it as a great time to connect in person for an introduction.
  • Informative: Offer which executive is available, what news they can speak to, and why it is relevant.
  • Brief: Keep it short and skimmable. Two to three sentences and a few bullet points are plenty.

But what if I don’t have anything newsworthy to share this year? That’s totally okay. If you don’t have any news to share, be sure to leverage:

  • Existing news from the past year (maybe they missed the importance of it).
  • Knowledge and insight into your industry. (Go on background.)
  • Offer press a chance to meet in person and connect with an executive to get a personal overview of the company.
  • Offer a personalized introduction with analysts.

If your pitch doesn’t land immediately, don’t panic. A quick note, the following week can be the nudge press/analysts need to book that meeting.

Pro Tip: Move beyond email and be sure you’re connecting with influencers on social media platforms. Check if they’re on Signal or Discord, etc. Most have a digital presence they’re aligned with…find it and tap into it. 

Get Organized

Success, you have the meetings booked. Now what? Coordination becomes critical here. It’s your responsibility to be the facilitator between the client and the reporter or analyst.

Make sure to send clean, cohesive calendar invites with details that include:

  • Names and titles of attendees.
  • Meeting time and location.
  • Backup phone numbers and email addresses.

Pro Tip: Be sure to provide your executives with a briefing doc with key details on who they are meeting (including the personal cell phone number).

Start early. Pitch smart. Execute flawlessly. When you do all of these things, the event floor becomes a place to leverage your clients’ story and secure them top-tier meetings. 

Voxus PR has helped clients of every size connect with top-tier press from CES to Supercomputing. Need help getting your plans in order for an upcoming event? Let’s connect.