Using a full range of media is vital when you’re trying to catch the attention of a wide variety of businesses and individuals.
The five local authority partners in the recent Borderlands Conference wanted to appeal to as large a relevant audience as possible to maximise turnout for their landmark event.
Using their own website was an obviously place to start with its already engaged audience and where a newsletter database was being grown.
On social media the #borderlandsgrowth was set up, using one style of tweets and posts by all partners to ensure consistency of message.
#Borderlands Conference tweet
A social media countdown looking at the day’s key themes  was used to further drive conference attendance sign ups.
Traditional media was also part of the mix with PR ahead of the event announcing keynote speakers. This helped build a sense of something new being created for the area.
The turnout on the day in Dumfries was excellent with around 370 attendees. They got an update on the proposals from local and national government figures and business leaders.
The Borderlands partnership was determined there would be opportunity on the day for delegates to have their say and feed into proposals. These breakout sessions certainly led to some lively debate.

Create video to replay the day

Throughout the day Helliwell Media and Liquid Studios were videoing proceedings and recording short interviews with key figures.
Shooting video is a great way of being able to replay the event for a fresh audience. Such was the enthusiasm from the day we ended up with hours of footage not just of speakers but of attendees that had to be carefully edited down to a coherent package.
Using multi-media PR to catch a wide audience: the Borderlands Conference
Even then it weighed in at a chunky seven minutes, so we also cut a snapshot video. This lasts less than a minute and was aimed at the partnership’s social media channels.
The event attracted quite a lot of on-the-day media attention from newspapers, radio and TV. But the Borderlands is a vast area so it was important there was post-event PR. This was to ensure readers, listeners and viewers of news companies that couldn’t attend on the day could still be informed of developments.
There was a wealth of information from the event. This was packaged into bite-size chunks and a couple of longer pieces for the website and that newsletter audience.
The possibility of a deal has certainly sparked enthusiasm in businesses looking for support to grow and thrive. It would be the first rural growth deal, connecting West coast to East and both sides of the border.
There’s lots more from the conference here.
And Seven reasons business should engage with mainstream media here.