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Publicity
By Colleen Power, updated by Karen Lawrence

Publicity will either make, or break, your show. Without gate, you will have to rely on your entry fee income to support the show - and that doesn't always cover your expenses. It is very important for the person in charge of publicity to be somewhat aggressive when seeking out ways to publicize the show. They must stress to the media the fact that by holding your show you are a) promoting responsible pet ownership; b) working to raise the stature of the pedigreed cat; c) educating the public about the many different breeds of cats; d) that some of the show proceeds will be donated to an animal welfare group, which in turn will benefit all cats (explain which one(s), and why), and even perhaps e) you are indirectly contributing to the economy of the area in which the show is held by attracting out-of-town exhibitors to the show. .

Remember, all paid promotional and publicity material must have either the CFA logo or a statement that "This is a CFA cat show". - CFA Show Rule: 14.08

Publicity Timetable

Included in the show manual you will receive from CFA is a publicity schedule. Following is a timeline that we have found works quite successfully.

TIMELINE:

  • 11 months before show
    • Assign Publicity Committee/give them timeline for direction

  • 10 months before
    • First meeting of Publicity Committee, identify talents and assign duties
    • Identify show theme to tie in publicity
    • Seek a charity to sponsor show
    • Contact local chambers of commerce to add show to their schedules/calendars
    • Contact Newspapers that publish quarterly/annual calendars to add show
    • Contact PBS stations to donate entry tickets to their auctions 9 months before
    • Send dates location and names of judges to national mags
    • Prepare entry tickets to donate to local charity auctions
    • Contact local humane organizations to place dollar off coupons in their newsletters
    • Contact merchant organizations with coupon booklets to place dollar off coupons
    • Contact Public library to do a cat book display and ribbon exhibit close to show date

  • 8 months before
    • draft flyer and arrange printing draft national ads for pet mags
    • Set up poster and sign committee
    • Call pet food companies for free food posters litter litter pans and dishes

  • 6 months before
    • Distribute first flyers at other shows

  • 5 months before
    • Poster committee should be completing road signs and posters

  • 4 months before
    • Prepare $2.00 off coupon for library exhibit(list of web sites/good cat books on other)
    • Prepare press releases
    • Select slides for television
    • Plan press release, interviews, distribution schedules

  • 3 months before
    • Visit show hall and decide on sign placement, clear attachments with hall owners
    • Purchase attachment materials(rope for big signs, poster tape for walls, etc)
    • Scout out locations for road signs and posters

  • 2 months before
    • Begin distributing posters to county businesses, motels and clinics
    • Get permission to place road signs by local businesses on roads into town
    • Send first letter to newspapers along with informational show package
    • Make appointments with newspaper editors/television stations
    • Contact local NPR station to schedule "cat care"interview close to the show

  • 1 month before
    • Set up public library exhibit w/ cat website/good cat bookmarks with coupon on back
    • Take slides and show hours/prices to local television stations for publicity setup
    • Check on posters at businesses, motels and clinics to insure they have been placed
    • Place first ad in newspapers with $2.00 off coupon(design each differently, so can track effectiveness)

  • 2 weeks before
    • Repeat Newspaper ads
    • Contact newpaper and television personnel again, arrange for press meetings

  • 1 week before
    • Assign cleanup for after show
    • Give new ad copy to the newspapers/television with hours/prices
    • Give Interviews
    • Set up road signs (Charity CAT SHOW Sat-Sun)

  • Thursday and Friday before
    • Fax amusing ad to local television stations
    • Place paper road signs with arrows
    • Call TV assignment editor late Friday afternoon to remind them to cover the show

  • Saturday
    • Place Giant Friskies signs from Central Office

  • Sunday/Monday
    • IMPORTANT - Clean up of all publicity posters, etc.

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Types of Publicity

There are several types of publicity available to a club, but it depends on what kind of funding your have available for this purpose. Take advantage of free publicity if you can get it, use the lost cost publicity if your budget is small, and the high cost publicity if you can afford it. An affordable combination of all three will attract your largest gate. Remember, you have to spend some money on publicity in order to get people into your showhall.

FREE PUBLICITY

Using the LOCAL MEDIA often gets the highest return for the investment.
Step one.
  • Contact an organization to sponsor.
  • Talk with either the Winn Foundation or a deserving, *Breeder Friendly* local humane shelter and agree to promote their foundation, in exchange for a percentage of the gate or a set amount donation.
  • Verify the verbal agreement in a follow up letter, even if informally.

This will give you the open door to approach local merchants and media for added free publicity.

Step two. Make a list of all local media, newspapers, radio and television. If you need help, contact the CFA Public Relations Department about 3 or 4 months prior to the show, and they will send you a list, with addresses and contact names, of all media in your area.

  • Television is your hottest media.
    Free. Approach the TV and newspaper people at the beginning of the month about the upcoming show. Then again the week before the show, offering interviews and photo sessions. Then FAX them all with an entertaining ad, very simply designed, the day before the show.

    The first meeting is mostly for you, to find out which stations are likely to be the most approachable, and who at the station is a real cat lover, and what their upcoming schedule is likely to look like.

    The second meeting the week before the show is to firm up the dates and times of pre publicity shots, either with club members and their cats, or even in studio interviews. Find a club member with a big longcoated white or cream or silver Persian..sometime light photographs best. Some stations do a Friday tape during the week on "What's Happening About Town This weekend". This is all the free publicity you can handle if you get into this package!.

    The final meeting should be arranged for the day of show set up, so the station can take advantage of setup publicity, getting in that VERY valuable last minute Friday newscast.

    Be sure to prove the newspaper with a free admission "Press Pass" so that their reporters/photographers can get into the show easily.

  • Newspapers are second
    Approach the feed store or pet store you shop at regularly. Most have advertisements in local newspaper including coupons. Ask them to include the information in their monthly ad, and PROVIDE THEM WITH THE TEXT. It is not recommended that you approach the chain stores, their ads are set regionally/nationally.

    Free. Approach the newspaper people at the beginning of the month about the upcoming show. Then again the week before the show, offering interviews and photo sessions. Then FAX them all with an entertaining ad, very simply designed, the day before the show.

    The first meeting is mostly for you, to find out which papers are likely to be the most approachable, and who at the paper is a real cat lover, and what their upcoming schedule is likely to look like. Reserve your coupon space at this time, and go for placement, like on the same page with the movie schedule!

    The second meeting the week before the show is to firm up the dates and times of pre publicity shots, either with club members and their cats, or even in-home interviews, like how to wash and blow dry a Persian. Find a club member with a big longcoated white or cream or silver Persian (sometimes light colored cats photograph best). Most newspapers have a "What's Happening About Town This Weekend", usually in the Thursday or Friday edition. Be sure to be included in this.

    The final meeting should be arranged for the day of show set up, so the station can take advantage of setup publicity, getting in that VERY valuable last minute Friday newscast.

    Be sure to prove the newspaper with a free admission "Press Pass" so that their reporters/photographers can get into the show easily.

  • Radio is least effective
    Send letters and faxes to radio stations with your press release. Use the CFA media package, Cat-ching Attention, for help in writing your news releases. A copy can be requested from either Central Office or the Public Relations Department. .

    See if the station is receptive to arranging an on-site-at-the-show broadcast by a locally popular DJ for a few hours on Saturday afternoon.

Step three. Design publicity coupons and posters.

  • Coupons. Coupon
    Design your coupon, use a simple border, perhaps in a monotone font (for example: wiehtmontaype somers is a line of monotype font letters.). Be sure to include on the coupon where and when the show is being held, the time the show is open to the public, who the proceeds will benefit, admission price, and an information number (be sure someone will be available to answer that phone on the show weekend, or have an answering machine message ready with all information).

    Coupons can be anywhere from fifty cents to one or two dollars off, depending on the price of your admission. Note that if you make your coupon $2.00 off the admission price you will find that it attracts more people. For some reason, people seem to think $2.00 off is a bargain and will be more likely to notice the ad! And warn your people at the gate not to hassle the spectator at the door if only one member of the party has a coupon. Better to have five people in with $2.00 each off, than have them walk away unhappy, with none of them coming in.

MAGAZINE CALENDARS/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE/NEWSPAPERS/TELEVISION

Cat Fancy magazine maintains free listings for cat shows. General information about your show is automatically sent to them by CFA Central Office when your show is licensed. You may, however, want to contact them and expand on the ifnormation they have been given. Your letter to them could be simple, as follows, but gives them all of the required information to include in their calendar listing: 
CATFANCY, Fancy Publications
 3 Burroughs, 
Irvine, CA 92618

Dear Show Calendar Editor:

We will be holding a cat show in March, 2003, and would like
to ensure that it appears on your next show calendar listing.

Here is the information.

Show location and address
Particulars:

CFA Affiliated Club 
Club name

Judges: 

Information phone:  

Hourrs of judging: Saturday 11-6   Sunday: 9-5

Entry Information
:  
Information phone number:

Thank you!



Show Manager
Cat Club Name
Address and Phone number

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LOW COST PUBLICITY
estimate $100 per section

  • Flyers distributed at shows:
    • Design a flyer specifically for show distributions.
    • Pick one color of paper and stick with it for all your show flyers.
    • Most shows have 100-150 exhibitors, so you will need at least that many for each show. Plan on distributing flyers at all CFA shows from six months before date of show.
    • Make the flyer attractive, putting in large print the features that will attract exhibitors: (example: COME TO THE SUN! EIGHT SPECIALTIES! ETc)
    • Include these:
      1. Be sure to include CFA logo on the flyer copy
      2. Judges
      3. Show entry clerk name address/Show Manager/Vendor phone numbers
      4. DATES/ Hours, make large if varies from usual
      5. Show location
      6. Show hotel
      7. See our Show Announcement page for full details of how to design a show announcemet.
    • Give copies to Club Manager to include with judges mailings.

  • Mailed Flyers:
    • Some clubs maintain a mailing list of past exhibitors and, if you choose to remind these exhibitors about your show, 300-600 flyers may be mailed out. These are the official CFA entry information forms You envelope will contain at least two pieces of paper - the show announcement and an official CFA entry form.

  • Sample PosterPosters:
    • Put up two months before the show.
    • Preparing Posters can be low cost. Prepare 50-100 posters with show information/entry price/hours on them. A good inexpensive approach is pasting picture of a pretty show cat to each. These pictures can be made on a color copier, six to a sheet, and pasted to the poster with glue. Alternatively, if some one has a color inkjet printer, you can scan in a picture for the poster and print it that way. Always include the CFA logo on your posters. To make your poster look really good, have it xeroxed on glossy paper. While this may add a little to the expense of your posters, it will attract more attention.

    • Placement of posters. Be sure to take poster tape and scissors with you. Ask permission of store manager or owner before posting. Check on posters a week before the show to make sure they are still in good shape.
      Best places to put posters:

      • Shop windows
      • Vet Clinics
      • Pet Shop & Feed Store
      • Sponsors/Vendors
      • Beauty Shops
      • Book Stores
      • Libraries
      • Schools
      • Chamber of commerce
      • Take posters the week before to motels.

  • Signs.
    Implements needed: Have 4x8 foot plywood cut in half to make 4x4 foot signs(have store make cuts). Spray paint, cat stencil, letter stencils 6 inch high. Spray back ground of sign a light color. "CAT SHOW" "FAIRGROUNDS" "SAT_SUN" Place letter stencils and cat stencil on sign. Cover painted portions with newspaper. Spray paint the sign. Let dry. Drill two holes six inches apart in middle of top of sign Thread wire or rope through holes. Get permission of owners to place signs.(stress charity event) Attach to cyclone fences or telephone poles on roads leading into town.

  • Contests Talk with school principals about having a cat drawing contest with entry ticket(remember each kid will bring at least one other paying person)for each participant. Buy crayolas and Paper. Post pictures at the show

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HIGH COST PUBLICITY

For these possibilities, consider a design consultant, especially if your budget is large enough to include Television ads and Billboards. These are frequently available through Friskies Lead shows contacts. When contacting people regarding prices, be sure to stress that you are a nonprofit agency engaging in a charity event.

  • Newspaper AdNewspaper Display Ads
    The posters can be sized down to ad size on the computer. Take rough copy to newspaper at least one month before. It may be wise to INCLUDE $2.00 off ONE ADULT ENTRY coupon in conjunction with the ad. Be sure to include:
    • hours of the show
    • prices
    • location
    • special attractions
    • $2.00 seems to attract more interest than $1.00 off, even if you boost your prices one dollar to cover the lost revenue

    Be sure to APPROVE THE FINAL COPY prior to printing.!

    Here are some possibilties to investigate for printing insertions:

    • Sunday Inserts(often only 25-50 per insertion)
    • Penny Saver Papers(uusally $10/insertion)
    • Regular Display Ads($200/insert)
    • Classified Display ad($100)

  • Billboards.
    Very Expensive, $2000 and up, not including design Consider a design consultant for this step

  • Radio Spots
    Expensive, but possibly worth the price. Figure a minimum of $1,000 investment for 30-40 10 second spots in any given week. Contact CFA Public Relations at least 4 months before the show. They can help with the tapes for this type of advertising.

  • TV Ads
    The sky is the limit with these ads, figure a minimum of $500 each 15 sec ad. Check out public access channels and consider doing a show for cost of tape and rental equipment.

Budget | Entry Clerk | Exhibitors | Fundraising | Judges | Planning Timetable | Publicity
Ribbons & Rosettes | Show Flyer | Show Secretary | Showhall Layout |
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