Why YOU should plan an event for your next PR campaign

Image credit: SoPr.Com

The fun decorations lining the event space, the thousands of photos taken by attendees with you in the center of it all, knowing your brand has just successfully pulled off another great public relations event. 

For PR professionals, events are good ways for brands and companies to further increase brand awareness in a fun and memorable way. They allow for a more personal connection with their audience and stakeholders and can even be a great opportunity for more media coverage, whether that be from journalists or user-generated content. What makes awareness from an event different from awareness from, say, a press release is a personal connection with a brand’s audience and important stakeholders. Inviting those in the community to come out and have a fun day involving your brand creates a sense of personality and belonging, as well as a positive association with your brand. According to Forbes, “Events provide a unique opportunity for your audience to interact directly with your brand. Attendees can engage with your products, ask questions and experience your brand personality firsthand. In the best case scenario, events serve as powerful lead generation engines too” (Forbes, 2024). Forbes also lists that events can be a great opportunity for content creation as mentioned previously. As PR professionals, one of our goals is almost always to find a place in the media and creating a fun “Instagram-able” event is an easy way to encourage attendees to create media and content about your brand naturally. 

Event planning can be particularly difficult for those in entry level positions or have never organized a PR event before because event planning is not typically a skill taught or learned in school (That would be a pretty cool class though!). It’s one of those things that’s learnt through practice, but that’s why we are here today. Despite it not being as well-known as how to write a press release or media pitch, knowing how to plan a successful event is just as important to PR professionals as any other skill and I hope you decide to plan one for your next PR campaign.

So, why should you plan an event for your brand? As established before, it can create good brand awareness, but how do you know if it’s necessary or even helpful? No matter what industry you’re in, events can still be helpful to your organization. In fact, events are so impactful that according to Bizzabo, in their 2025 State of Events Report, 78% of event organizers identify in-person events as their organization’s most impactful marketing channel. On the other side, 80% of attendees say in-person events are the most trusted way to learn about new products. With these numbers, it’s hard to argue against the effectiveness of PR events for your organization. 

The current discussion on event planning is lacking despite its prevalence and benefits in PR. Learning from other examples and understanding how to host a successful event can help PR professionals and brands stay above the curve and stay relevant to consumers in a world where companies are constantly competing for their attention.