"Michael" Movie Case Study: How to Use Event Activations for PR, Sponsorships & Community Visibility

PR often gets branded as “media outreach,” but that narrow definition leaves a lot of brand visibility and public relations opportunities on the table. In this episode of PR Yourself with Leah Frazier, we pull back the curtain on a more modern PR strategy for small businesses and entrepreneurs: event activations that build community, strengthen trust, and generate content, press, and brand awareness—without relying solely on the traditional pitch-to-producer loop.

Leah shares a real-life Dallas PR case study involving the highly anticipated Michael movie, where a lawyer wanted to host an exclusive screening on behalf of his law firm with very little lead time. We break down the two paths most brands face when planning a movie screening event activation: securing an advanced screening funded by the film team versus paying for a private theater buyout. Leah also shares the exact outreach strategy that led to a “yes,” including how she identified the right PR firm, positioned the pitch around community engagement and visibility, and negotiated based on what sponsors truly need: promotion, influencer attendance, and a full house.

Then we get tactical. Leah walks through how to plan ROI for event activations before guests even arrive—including target audience alignment, on-site activation with QR codes, branded photo moments, social media-driven giveaways, email capture, and simple branded swag that keeps your business top-of-mind long after the event ends. We also cover one of the most overlooked parts of event marketing and experiential marketing: the follow-up. A successful event is just the beginning if you don’t send the thank-you, reinforce your call to action, and extend the visibility with photos, recap content, and a post-event press release.

If you’re looking for smarter brand visibility, stronger community-based PR, and a practical DIY public relations strategy that works both offline and online, this episode is for you. Hit play, subscribe, share with a fellow entrepreneur, and leave a review so more small business owners can discover how to PR themselves through strategic event activations like the Michael movie screening.

Transcript

Welcome And A Quick Life Update

SPEAKER_02 0:00

So, are you ready to PR yourself? We'll remove the mystery from all things PR and we'll discuss everything from our top strategies to tips and tricks and everything that you can utilize to further enhance your brand or your message. I've been in media, I'm a journalist, and I'm also a publicist. I am Leah Frazier, CEO of Think3Media, and your host for PR Yourself with Leah Frazier. Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 0:31

And welcome back to another episode of PRYourself with Leah Frazier, the space where entrepreneurs, creators, and go-getters learn how to elevate their message, own their narrative, and build the visibility that they deserve. I am your host, Leah Frasier, CEO of Think Through Media, based out of Dallas, Texas, and I am so excited to be here with each and every one of you. I am literally on a high, but also overcoming some sickness. If you can't tell, I'm a little bit congested. I just got back from sunny South Africa as well as Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia. I just had the best time. I was able to do some safaris while I was out there. We did a river safari, just seeing the animals, was able to be with my fiance and his family. So if any of you are new listeners, my soon-to-be fiance is from Johannesburg, and uh I am soon to be a South African wife or a Makoti, as they would say. But, anyways, it has been a blast just traveling the world, um, just really enjoying the fruits of hard labor and really just trying to do a lot more of the things that I love, even if that means pulling back in some areas and doing so unapologetically. So, if if you want to take that as your clue to evaluate um, whether it's now, next week, or the next month, some things that you can do just to bring you joy, whether that's just reading a good book, having a glass of wine, stepping back from the computer, because this stuff is gonna be there tomorrow, whatever it is for you, I am giving you permission to do so. Because let me tell you, I'm doing it. So, anyways, I'm so excited to bring you this episode. I've actually been wanting to bring this to you guys for about a month now. And but due to travel and just work has been extremely busy, it's been really, really hard for me to get this up.

Publicity Beyond Traditional Media

SPEAKER_03 2:26

So, giving this to you straight as it is, this episode is all about thinking outside of the box, okay? And I'm sure there's some other publicists that can agree with me that oftentimes when folks hear the word PR or public relations or think of a publicist, you only think about media outreach as the medium between you and your target audience or your visibility. It's like I have to get on TV, I have to um be on that podcast, or I have to be on the radio or in the magazine. And there's so many other ways beyond that to maximize on your publicity that I think we're leaving a lot on the table. And it really is up to those who are a little bit more creative who are going to see the best shine nowadays. So, one of the things, way, way, way back when I started this podcast episode, a dear friend of mine, Cynthia Smoot, came on and we talked about events and event event activations. And the reason why was because we were in the middle of a pandemic and it took when you know, when we were in the middle of the coronavirus, it took away our ability to be in front of one another. It for publicists, it took away our ability to go into the studio and to have new segments with our clients or to do radio interviews. We really had to be creative and think outside the box. And one of the things, if you go back season one, I think one of our very first episodes, Cynthia came on and was talking about how to PR yourself with events virtually. And so that was one of the things that, like, for fundraisers, nonprofits, where the majority of their money is made with in-person events and activations, they really had to hop, skip, and a jump and figure out what the hell are we gonna do? Because we got to raise this money just because you know the pandemic is here, is not shutting down the organization. And so Cynthia was one of those masterminds that really helped her clients to figure out how to use events as a medium to reach in their audience and their marketing and PR goals. So segueing is a little bit different because we are all outside, honey. Like we we are outside, we are doing events. I'm events out, let me just tell you. I live in Dallas. There's like, I feel like there's four events a day. There's a happy hour, there's a gathering, there's a networking event, there's a conference, there's a summit, there's a brunch, there's an evening brunch, there's a reverse happy hour. Dallas is popping, and and I'm not complaining, I'm just not at that age anymore where I can just consistently go to these things. But all that to say is that people are longing for community and connection, and they want to go out. And so, one of the ways that you could PR yourself or your brand is thinking of how can I gather my community or what fun way can I bring my community together in person in order to further provide visibility for my brand or to reach any sales and marketing goals that I may have. And I'll just pause right there. It doesn't always, and then people hear a vent, and the first thing you think is dollar signs. It does not always equate to large sums of money. There are ways that you can do it that don't hurt your pocketbook. Uh, where I'm trying to think of one of my uh sales and marketing coaches, I think he calls it other people's money. So instead of OPP, is OPM using other people's money to fund your idea. That's another way. Um, but I know of so many

Why Events Create Real Connection

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more people, especially right now, when human beings just want to connect. We want to connect with the person behind the brand, we want to connect with the business, excuse me, behind the brand before we give you our money. And so in-person events, while not all the time feasible, but if they are, are a great way to provide visibility for your brand to connect with your audience and to truly see some ROI, right? So when we come back from the break, I'm gonna talk about, I'm gonna walk you step by step literally what I did with a client of mine that reached out and wanted to do an event activation. Now, mind you, he didn't reach out in enough time. I still made it happen, but uh give yourself time, folks. Stop doing shit at the last minute, but I digress. Anyway, so he reached out with an event activation for a very, very popular movie. Many of you may know, the Michael movie, uh, which is fantastic. I actually went and saw it for the third time two days ago, and I'm probably gonna see it for the fourth time this week. Uh, huge Michael Jackson fan, as was my client. And we utilized that movie, uh, the advanced screening, in a way for him to connect with a new audience, for him to elevate his brand within the community. And then we secured press and media placements based off of that event activation. So I know that's a lot, that's a mouthful. I'm gonna walk you through it step by step. But as I'm walking you through it, I want you to put yourself in his shoes, saying, Okay, if this were my brand, what type an event? It doesn't have to be exactly how we did it or even how we did it, but what type of event can I curate just like this, where I can elevate my brand and the things that I'm doing and reach the community or reach an entirely different audience and use that as my publicity versus always being so one track minded and thinking that publicity only means press and media? It does not. How can you because public relations has the word public in it, you guys? Publicist has the word public in it, so it's about your public image, your public persona. How are you being perceived in the public? And so, how can you use an event in order to activate your brand, to reach a new audience, and craft your perception in the public. So that's what we're gonna talk about when we get back from the break. So you know what you're gonna do. You're gonna grab your pen, you're gonna grab your paper. And when we get back from the break, you're gonna hear six things from me that you can do in order to use an event activation to leverage your brand. You're not gonna want to miss this. And oh, by the way, if you haven't seen the Michael movie, go to Michael.movie. Get into your local theaters. And let me tell y'all, do not go see it in a theater that doesn't have IMAX. I did that two days ago and I regret it, okay? Go see the movie in an IMAX or some sort of Dolby sound theater. And I'm not getting paid for this at all. I'm just giving it to you guys straight because it'll feel like a freaking concert. And I went two days ago, so excited. It was like my third day going, and I went to a small theater, and it just wasn't the same. So that's neither here nor there. I'm I'm getting way off topic. But, anyways, when we come back from the break, we're gonna talk about six things you can do to use an event activation to further leverage your brand or your visibility. So keep it locked in. We'll be back right after the break.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

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SPEAKER_03 11:00

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The Michael Screening Case Study

SPEAKER_03 11:41

I'm gonna give you the background, okay, so that you can visualize a scenario, and then I'll give you the tips woven in within that. And again, like I said, imagine what event activation you may have in mind for yourself. It doesn't necessarily have to be the same, but you get what I'm saying. All right, so I had um a lawyer reach out through a mutual uh client, and he told her, hey, the new Michael movie is coming out. Um, my son used to play Little Michael, uh, or he was the first Little Michael actor in MJ the musical. And I want to be able to host a screening on behalf of my law firm. She's like, I know the perfect person you need to talk to. You need to call Leah. Um, pretty much there's no one else in Dallas that um I'd want you to go to. You got to talk to Leah. She does all my events. So get this phone call from this lawyer, and we're talking, and I'm like, oh yeah, that sounds super fun. Yeah, I've done I've done movie screenings before. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That sounds super fun. And so literally he called me mid-March, I think, or maybe it was early March, mid-March, something rather. And as he's talking, I'm literally on my computer Googling when the movie is supposed to come out. So I'm literally Googling, and I see that the film is set to be released on April 24th. And this particular lawyer, I believe, I want to say maybe it was six weeks out. I'll give him a little bit of grace. Maybe it was six weeks out, um, but it felt like four. And I remember talking to him, and I'm like, yeah, I've I've done this before. Um, where you can essentially do a takeover. Uh so let me let me back it up. So what he wanted to do was host a community screening uh that that was on behalf of his law firm and that brought visibility to his law firm um in honor of his son, his son's obsession with Michael Jackson, his obsession with Michael Jackson, but use it as a way to leverage his law firm. And I said, hey, I've I've done these screenings before. Um there's two ways that it could possibly happen. One is that uh there's gonna be so many advanced screenings around North Texas, and literally the film company will just give you a theater. So that is the low-cost, low budget way to do it, is that they give you a theater, but you pretty much have to guarantee to them that you're going to fill it up or that the people are going to show up. Which if you haven't been working on your brand or you don't have a built-in audience, that can be a little tough for some of you, right? So that is obviously the most ideal situation is OPM, other people's money. If they've already bought the theater, just hand it over to us, we'll get the community in there. My client, the lawyer, he doesn't have to pay a dime. Win-win for him, right? Because now you get all this for free. Second scenario is like, homie, uh, we're four to six weeks out. And it's not just any movie. This is the Michael Jackson film, which at this point in time is about to hit a billion dollars globally. But at the time we didn't know how big it was gonna be, but we could assume it, right? Because it's Michael Jackson, and we knew that the fandomonium was about to be insane, and so I said, Hey, just letting you know, I've done this often. If I'm not able to get you this theater, then option two is that you have to host a private screening and you have to do like a theater buyout. Um, same thing, invite the community in, but now you've kind of fronted the money, and if it's a community screening, you really don't want to charge people because I mean then they could just go to the theater themselves and pay a ticket and have a great time. Like, why would they need to go on behalf of your law firm? So you really need to be sponsoring the whole thing on behalf of your law firm. So that was option two: a theater buyout where we hosted the screening on behalf of his law firm. Same theory, invite the community out and uh and have an event activation that brought ROI to his firm, right? But of course, of course, he comes back to me and of course he wants option number one. And again, I'm looking at the calendar like homie. This freaking film comes out in four weeks, and I I can make magic happen, but you're really pushing it. You are really pushing it. So let me tell you how this often works.

Finding The Right Contacts Fast

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You generally either have to find the distribution company of the film uh to figure out who to contact to see if they would be willing to allow you to host a screening that they're paying for, or you have to find the marketing or PR firm that the distribution company has hired, get in front of them and pitch yourself and see if they would be willing to give you one of the screenings. So, one of the things that I did, there were several things. One, I went online and I saw that there were several advanced screenings across Dallas. Like, I think at the time when I looked, there was about eight that I could find online. Great. One was two days before the film release on April 22nd. And but the problem was I did not know which PR firm was representing Lionsgate, who was the distribution company for the film. So I went online. I'm just giving you guys literally how to do it. Fine. If if film screenings are one way that you want to, you know, link in and PR your company. So, which people are going back to the movies these days, it's a great way to do it. Just saying. So reached out to Lions Gate and said, Hey, told them what was going on. Like, hey, I have a client. Uh we're we're looking to do a community screening. And anytime you couch anything in community, with news stations, with anybody, community is the way to go. So that is your buzzword. This is for the community. So buzzword number one, I was like, hi, we're looking to do a film screening for the community. We really were trying to invite folks who in families who would not have had an opportunity to see this film if it weren't but for my client. So it I wasn't lying, but I knew that community was a huge buzzword. Two, we were gonna invite our own influencers, content creators, press, and media. So that was another buzzword saying, like, hey, I'm NPR. I have very great relationships in North Texas with all of the media outlets, and we're definitely gonna extend an invitation for them to attend to further talk about and promote the film. So that was number two. Sent that off to Lionsgate. But because my dear client didn't leave me with much time, uh concurrently, I was trying to find who was the film, the PR company for the distribution company for Lionsgate. So I only knew of one firm that I typically go to advanced greetings on, reached out to the team there that normally emails me those advanced greetings, told them the exact same thing. Hey, I I've done and I had done this with them before. So I told them, hey, I've done this with you before. Uh this is a really huge film. My client, I told them about his son. I told them about what he wants to do in the community. I did not, what the the thing that I did not do when I did outreach was make it all about him. Okay. I I didn't say like we want this film for free. Give us this, give it this, give, give us that. It was like, hey, we're wanting to host this for the community. So we're couching this around others. We want to host this for the community. We're gonna invite content creators, you know, press and media influencers to this thing, big community leaders, and just really have a celebration of this film hitting Dallas, but it will be hosted on behalf of his law firm. The couching it in that way to this company not only says that this is not just for us, this is for everyone. And knowing that at the end of the day, their goal is to get the word out about the film, by me strategically saying that I was gonna invite influencers, content creators, and media and press, that actually takes work off of their plate because that's something that they would have to do. And I'm saying, look, we're gonna do it on behalf of our screening if you give us one of those advanced screenings, if you give us the theater. So sent it off to my contact. Immediately she replies back and was like, Yes, if we were representing uh Lions Gate on this film, which they represented Lions Gate on other ones, but wouldn't you know it? Not on this one. But she says, Hey Leah, here's three other firms in Dallas that could potentially be a running point on this film. So I did the exact same thing, reached out to all three. Two came back with no, and when did you know it? One came back and said, Yes, we are representing them. What would you like to do? So here is my opportunity. I'm not gonna sugarcoat shit, okay? We want the theater. I know you've paid for it, or I know the film company has paid for it, but we want it for free, and I know what my clients' goals are at the end of the day. Now, without asking in that manner, you now have to think in terms of marketing. What would their goals be? And what can we realistically do so that I can get a yes, right? So this

Negotiation That Gets To Yes

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is like that power of negotiation, which I learned in law school. So I guess that's what makes me such a great publicist, is because I'm using all my lawyer skills. But I knew at the end of the day they need asses in the seats. I also know at the end of the day they want a great promo for the film. So I said, look, at the end of the day, we want to host this. On behalf of his law firm. So essentially, we want the theater. I saw online that there were eight screenings that I could find. We want one of them. And uh I said, we're gonna invite community leaders, media and press to this thing. He's gonna have his own photographer, videographer. So there's gonna be pictures afterwards. We're gonna get testimonials, people are gonna be sharing online about the film. Like we're literally doing what you guys would have been doing. So you're giving it to us. It's less work for you. And because I knew my client wasn't as well known as myself, I literally had to leverage like all of my power and say, this is the type of thing I do all the time. Uh he's big in the community. Here's who he's linked with, here's his fraternity, here's his network, here's his circle. I put all of that in the email to let them know we're about business, and here's what we can give to you. The only ask we asked was for the theater, but everything else in that email was about what we could do for them, what we were giving. It's not always about taking. Okay, so that's that's that's just a bonus tip. Got an email back, and it was like, absolutely. I was like, oh my god, this shit worked. I'm always surprised, even though I've done it a million times before. I think this time I was surprised because it was the Michael Jackson film, and I just didn't. I'll be honest with you guys and be always be transparent. I wasn't confident that we were gonna get it because it's Michael Jackson, they didn't need our help. Michael, after all these years, even though he passed in 2009, still has that same star power that he had. And they didn't need us. People were gonna go see the film without us, right? So she comes back and she's just like, absolutely. And I'm shocked. I'm like, oh my God. And mind you, my client said, if you can get us the film for free, if we don't have to do the buyout, I'm gonna give you a bonus on your fee. So I was like, Well shit, let me work even harder. So they write back, and mind you, uh, I'll back up just a little bit. When the owner of the firm said, Hey, let me get you in touch with so-and-so, they're the ones actually handling the screenings for Michael. And I saw her name, it looked familiar from an organization that we're all a part of called the Public Relations Society of America, PRSA. So when he put me on the email and I told her what I wanted, and I was like, Oh, and by the way, your name looks so familiar. Um, are you a member of PRSA Dallas? I think at some point either we've met before or we're linked on LinkedIn, or you know, we've networked together. So, again, establishing that relationship that makes it more than just I'm only trying to get something out of you. So I think that was important too. So, anyway, she emails me back and she was like, Oh my gosh, absolutely. Uh, let's hop on a call and let's discuss uh what we can do. And by the way, we there's two screenings I'm thinking of. One is gonna be our VIP screening, and she was like, So maybe we can give you some access to that, and then we could talk about another advanced screening where you know we can give you pretty much either the entire theater or a set number of seats in that theater for your client. And I'm like, so not only do I get one, but I'm getting two, and one is VIP. And I'm like, oh my god. So I'm gonna press pause here. We set up the call, and I literally have to take a step back and say, okay, we're getting on the phone. And again, you have to remember, and I apologize because I'm sick, but you have to remember that when you're getting on these calls, it's not a take. You have to couch it as I'm giving you value. Here's the value that you're gonna get if we host this screening. So I wrote up all the values before we got on the call, and but then I know what I have to get for my client on the other end for this to be successful for him. And I couldn't shy away from what we needed. I didn't want him coming out of pocket, period. I also knew that we wanted a set number of seats, but we needed to make it realistic because I didn't want him to set a goal that wasn't achievable, knowing where his brand was at that point in time. Uh so getting going into the call, I wanted to be as transparent with this particular publicist as possible. So it's the best deal for the bargain on both sides. But I didn't want to shy away from the fact that A, we don't want to pay shit, and B, we want this literally for you to hand us this theater on a silver platter. So we get on the on the call, and I was very honest about what I wanted. We asked for everything but the kitchen sink, or I did. I was like, we want both of the screenings, uh, the VIP, of course. And then, of course, I said, Look, we know all these community leaders, content creators, influencers. So for this VIP screening, I know you guys are they were already inviting their list of VIPs. So the VIP screening, they gave us a set number of seats that we could fill for ourselves. They blocked off all the seats and put our name, his name on it. Like it was, it was really, really special. And I'll tell you guys this. At the time, she was like, Oh, I'll confirm it in three days, but Jafar Jackson was supposed to come to Dallas for that screening. And I, she was like, But you can't say anything because we're still waiting on the confirmation. So I sat on, I was like, look, if Jafar Jackson comes to Dallas for that VIP screening, and my client and his son get to meet

On-Site Branding And Measurable ROI

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him, and then my regular media and press folks get to interview him. Like, I'm a I'm a star. I'm a star. Like, I literally like this would have made my entire year. Unfortunately, she called back in three days and said that Jafar was not gonna be able to make the Dallas screening. Uh, but it was okay because we still they still gave us a set number of spots. And again, she asked, How many do you want? And you have to be honest, like, don't say what you think the other person would have said. So most people would have been like, Oh, just give me 10 seats. I was like, No, give us 30. Give us 30, because that's 15 people assuming that they're gonna bring a guest. And we easily filled those 30 seats, and so those VIPs got to feel special. They got to meet Shannon 101, his son. There was a Michael backdrop, there was a DJ. I mean, it was phenomenal. Then we get off the VIP thing, and then she asked about the second theater, and I was like, Look, we want between 100 to 150 seats, and she's like, Well, we have this one huge theater that seats about 300. You know, do you want the entire thing? And I would have loved that, but again, I also have to be realistic because I want to set realistic goals for my client. So 150 was a push. So they gave us literally almost that entire theater, and then uh they were gonna fill the other seats with flow over overflow from some of the other screenings. So we got everything we wanted. He didn't have to pay a dime. All we had to do was turn over our list to ensure that we had the number of people that we said were gonna show up, and then I continually asked for additional things, and I wasn't shy about it because at the end of the day, this is not just a party, this is an event activation. I needed people to be able to take pictures with my client. I needed him to be able to have some sort of way for them to interact with his brand for us to measure it. So I asked for a table where we could check in our own guests, where we could have a QR code, where he could potentially have swag, where we could have a photographer and a videographer taking photos, especially against that Michael backdrop. Um, and it did take some back and forth negotiation because his signage couldn't necessarily be directly by Michael's signage. And so we worked that out. And at the end of the day, she's like, Yeah, sure. Sure. And so we I got everything that he wanted. Everything that he wanted. Uh, we measured it. I'm still getting the exact numbers, but his social media following definitely grew. Uh, we got some recaps in the press and the media because of it. He was recently in a magazine with our photos from the event uh in that magazine and online. And so it was a very, very successful event. He was able, we were able to bring in uh families who wouldn't have necessarily been able to go to the film. And now people are watching his social media and uh connecting with him and his law firm. And one of the things that we had when they were checking in was his QR code for them to follow him on social media. So we were activating people on site, mind you, at no cost to him. So here's

Six Event Activation Lessons

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six things. If you're thinking about doing something similarly, um, it doesn't necessarily have to be a film screening, but six things that I thought of that could do as takeaways from how that all worked out. And number one, you just have to know your target audience. One of the things that worked out for us was that our target audience aligned with Lionsgate or the PR company's target audience. They could see a clear connection that who we were trying to bring and who they were trying to serve were along the same lines. So if you're trying to do an event activation, it doesn't even have to be a film screening. If it's a retail company, if it's a if you're trying to do an event at Nike, does your brand match who Nike is trying to bring in to buy their product? A lot of people don't think about that. You guys pitch these brands and you do not have target audience alignment. So think about that. And then in the age of Chat GPT, you literally could put it into your AI agent and figure out a way to see if there's a match between you and the brand or the event that you're trying to put on. It's really that simple. Okay. Number two, you're going to want to think about like what's my ROI? How am I gonna? We call it an event activation. How am I activating? When people show up, what am I prepared to receive what I need to get out of it? Do I have a landing page? When people are signing up, are they signing up on my website? Are they giving me their email address so that later on down the line I can send them a newsletter so that I can keep them in my funnel? So that I can keep them in, you know, you know, in my marketing funnel or however you want to call it. Um, are you requiring them to follow you on social media um so that you can increase your social media following? Even with him, we did a couple of giveaways included, especially that VIP one, because I knew a lot of people were gonna want to go to that VIP one. So when I first posted our giveaway, they had to uh follow several of his pages and they had to like the post and comment who they would want to bring to the VIP screening. Again, activation. And one girl commented, she was so stupid. She was just like, Oh, well, I don't want to follow him, I just want to go to the screening. You're not gonna go because why would we give you something and you don't give us something? Like, people are so crazy these days. It's just and it was like, and then to waste your energy commenting on that. And so I commented back and I said, Well, looks like you ain't going. You got the right one today. But, anyways, so think about how you're gonna activate the audience. Another thing that I told him, another good thing for ROI was swag. Um, now he didn't do this. I was a little frustrated, but it's all good. Um, I looked up online and I was like, What is one of the most commonly used but affordable swag items? Because we're not paying for the theater at this point. So put a little money into giving away some swag. And one of the items that I saw was actually a like lens or screen cleaner, and not just the spray, but the actual cloth. And so I told him, I said, hey, you know, I found this online, we could get about 200 of these. Um, and I I think it was like so cheap. I think it was like maybe a dollar uh to make, and they would have arrived on time and for whatever reason he didn't do it, but I think that would have been awesome because every time somebody uses that screen cleaner or that lens cleaner, because let's talk about all the devices we have desktop, iPad, phones, they would have seen his brand. So swag, um, QR codes activating people on site. And then we also had a retractable banner that we had there at the screening so people could take pictures of his banner. We had his uh the tablecloth had his logo on it. So we really made sure that it was branded um so that people knew that this was a screening hosted by his law office. So you have to be prepared and think about all the ways that you're gonna activate people before they get to uh the event, while they're on site at the event, and then after the event. Okay, another thing that I had is like when you're trying to do this event activation, especially if you're doing an OPM of other people's money, you need to figure out what value you're gonna provide to this particular, because uh essentially they're a sponsor. So, what value are you providing where they're just gonna hand it over to you to say, oh man, this is a great partnership because that's exactly what this is. Um, and here's why we want to give this to you. You need to have that listed out. What value am I providing? And again, it has to be an audio target audience alignment match. You always want to think in terms of marketing to say, because you gotta think in terms of them, they were gonna pay for this anyways, and now they're gonna give it to you because you're essentially gonna do their job for them, if not better. But you have to prove to them why they should sponsor your event, and that comes with telling them what the value is for them doing so. So you need to have that worked out ahead of time. My other tip is is don't look at it as gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. I think what really worked for us in this scenario is that we looked at this as a partnership. We know that this is what you guys need to do in the world of film screenings, and I I had some experience in that, so I was able to coach my client through that. I was able to handle all negotiations, thank God. He didn't do have to do shit. He just I just have to call him and give him updates every week. Well, he did nothing, I did all the work. Well, it's just that's what he paid me for. Um, but anyways, but it's a partnership, so I knew going in like, what do you guys want? And what can we give you so that it feels more like a partnership than it does take, take, take, take, take. And it actually ended up being a beautiful, beautiful partnership. Um, it worked out great. I like I said, I asked for everything that we wanted. We got everything that we wanted, plus more. And uh at the end of the day, they wrote me after the event and said how much of an honor it was to work with me and that they would love to work with me again in the future. And and I'm actually gonna send the lead publicist uh a gift as another thank you because they did not have to do what they did for us. They could have just given us the seats and that's it, but to give us VIP access, um, possibly uh meeting Jafar Jackson, um, catering to our guests, allowing us to have a pop-up banner, allowing us to have a photographer and a videographer, and all the things that they allowed us to do, they did not have to do that. Um, and so it was a great partnership. What I'm saying right now in society is we're so narcissistic and we're so egocentric. And narcissistic, I know it's a medical term, but you get what I'm saying. It's always about me. Me, me, me, me, me. I, I, I, myself, myself, myself. The moment you can step outside of that and say, What can I do for others? And then put yourself last, that's when you're gonna see the most success. It is a partnership, it is not all about you because my client did not have much of a following at all. So I had to sit down and really think about what are they gonna get out of this? Because you are a small sole proprietorship law firm, right? So, what are they gonna get out of this so that we can get a yes value, value, value, and then last, when you have something like this, you need to follow up. So, what is your call to action? Yes, you've had this fun event, the community has come out. Uh, people have gone to see this film ahead of everybody else. They get bragging right, so people love being able to go online and say that they saw the film. Uh, it was kind of funny to watch because we were also actually under an embargo where you couldn't really leave a review for the film or talk about it until a certain date. But people were all of our guests were able to say that they saw the film, post their pictures, um, and and our VIP screening was nine days before the film came out. So people really felt like superstars. Um, but what is your call to action after that? So afterwards, I sent a huge email thanking people, still reminding them to follow Shannon, uh, still reminding people to follow my client, uh, to follow up with him, to remember his name if they ever have XYZ law services, um, following him on social media, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then we had further call to actions listed in our post-event press release with our images from the screening that went out as well. That was published in a couple of magazines. So, um, what is your call to action when it's all said and done? You're not just gonna throw the event and then walk away. You're gonna let it breathe and then you're gonna follow up with all of those people that came out that were interacting with your brand and figure out how am I gonna further activate them? Now, what I wish my client would have done in retrospect, I really wish that during the sign-up there was an opt-in for his newsletter or something where he continues to give them value and nurtures those relationships. But this particular screening, we really just focused on more of a social media activation and a brand visibility um strategy. Um, if we had a little bit more time, more than four to six weeks, then we really could have built some sort of marketing funnel uh to really have seen a huge ROI. But I think it was a major, major, major success. I got my bonus. Clock that day. And we are in the process of probably doing some more business together. So that's it. So just a recap: if you're thinking about doing an event activation, first you're gonna nail down your target audience for yourself and for the brand that you're wanting to hopefully partner with it using other people's money. Two, you're gonna be prepared, you're gonna think about how am I going to bring ROI to my brand? Do I need to create a landing page? How am I gathering email addresses? Am I gonna have swag with my logo on it? How am I gonna create brand visibility before, during the event, and even after? Then you're also going to, when it comes to your sponsor or whatever, you're gonna be honest. You're gonna ask for all the things that you need, but you're gonna remember that you're gonna give what is your value that you're bringing to the table. Write down all the ways that you're bringing value to them. Value, value, value. Next, you're gonna think of it as a partnership. You're not thinking it as a take, take, take, take, take. This is a brand partnership, hopefully, uh something where you can partner with them again in the future. It's not a one-trick pony. So definitely be on your best behavior, but it is a partnership. It's not just about you, it's also about them. And then lastly, you're going to follow up with your audience after you have a successful event activation and you're gonna have a call to action. Are they signing up for your email list? Are they following you on social media? Do you have a free offer or another giveaway or something else that you can roll them into to continually activate and grow your brand and your audience? So, what is your future or present in that moment call to action? And so those are my tips, just based on using, I guess this is more of a case study of this recent film with Michael. Uh yeah, I I don't know. I I think I surprised myself with this one just because I didn't have time. Time was not on my side. Uh, so I had to use every tool in my toolbox. And if I could think of what made this successful and what made us get more than less in this situation, was the fact that at the forefront of all negotiations was me bringing value to the film company and

Follow-Up Plan And Final Recap

SPEAKER_03 43:54

the PR firm that was representing them, making it as less of a happy On them as possible, but also showing them like I'm literally gonna do part of your job. Like they paid you, but we're gonna do it for you. And I think that's what made it successful is that type of mindset. So there you have it.

Listener Callouts And What’s Next

SPEAKER_03 44:14

Shameless plug. If you haven't seen the film, go and see Michael movie. I hope you love it as much as I did. I'm gonna go see it for a fourth time this week at an IMAX or Dolby Theater. No more not doing that, cuz what the hell? But, anyways, you know what to do. If you liked this episode, you're gonna like, comment, share this out, leave me a message. You can either contact me on LinkedIn at Leah Fraser or you can go on Instagram, leave me a message at PRYourself podcast. I'm also gonna put a recap of this out on Substack. If you're not following my Substack, you can go to the Leah Fraser on Instagram, and that Substack link is in my bio. Definitely gonna share this one out. Um, and then you'll be able to see those pictures of Shannon and his son and the great time that we had online as I was working on that film or working on that event activation. Our next episode is gonna deal with all things TikTok. So if you're wanting how to leverage some of the monetization or leverage your brand with TikTok, I'm gonna talk all about TikTok shop and all of the secrets that I learned from TikTok creators when TikTok came to Dallas about three or four weeks ago. And so I'm gonna be giving you guys all the tea. And I just found a really good video talking about um how these creators are really using TikTok shop to leverage their brands, and so I'm gonna play that video for you guys in the next episode, in addition to some tips that I got from some of the top creators in the US on how they're growing their brands with TikTok. And so you're not gonna want to miss it. Some of these creators are making $40,000 a month just talking about what they love, and I want you guys to have all of the secrets and all of the T's. So you know what you gotta do. Keep it locked in. If you like this episode, like, comment, rate, leave us a review so we can continue to keep having these discussions. Keep it locked in. Next episode will be on TikTok shop. Episode after that, we do have an interview with one of the TikTok creators that I met at the TikTok shop, and she rakes in tens of thousands of dollars every month talking about what she loves. So you're not gonna want to miss it. Keep it locked in and until next time.