Client
Association for Advancing Automation
Year
2023
Deliverables
Media Relations
Situation
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3), North America’s largest automation trade association, hired Franco in the spring of 2023 to provide media relations support for the Automate Show, its flagship event held in Detroit at Huntington Place.
Two key objectives for the project were to secure significant media coverage, particularly within the local Detroit market, and as a result, generate greater awareness of the event to ultimately drive registration and attendance.
Approach
Media Relations
We leveraged our relationships with local media, as well as several community partners, to provide multi-faceted media relations coverage of the show by:
- Working with Visit Detroit, Huntington Place and others to align on key messages and promotional efforts
- Crafting and distributing three pre-event press releases
- Organizing and hosting an informational media briefing with local and trade media
- Tailoring media outreach to trade publications and local media
- Coordinating on-site media relations opportunities with client, key exhibitors and industry partners
- Negotiating with WJR-AM to arrange for an on-site morning broadcast to kick off the show
Results
- From May-June 2023, secured local and national media coverage totaling 34 broadcast, podcast, print stories or interviews, including WDIV, WDIV Flashpoint, CBS Detroit, Axios Detroit, TechCrunch, TechCrunch newsletter Actuator, Daily Detroit and CNBC Digital
- Industry trade publication coverage totaling 39 stories primarily May-June 2023
- Strengthened the client’s relationships with key local partners including Huntington Place and the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau and helped to create new relationships
