When a major sponsor for the Rugby World Cup threw a beach party for the hundreds of journalists, broadcasters and media professionals who had gathered to cover the event, the world's press embraced the event and took part in the activities that had been organised for them. This event would give the media access to the players in the England team in a more relaxed environment, but to what extent did they realise that the party was part of the sponsor's elaborate PR plan and that their principal aim was to gain minutes of TV coverage and pages of free write-ups in leading magazines, newspapers and websites? Not only were the press and England players invited, the sponsor also took the opportunity to include a number of their customers who had entered competitions as part of the sales promotion campaigns. Given the relaxed nature of the event, the sponsor was able to use a number of innovative ways to maximise coverage of their logo, including a number of flags on the beach and a sand sculpture of a rugby ball and shirt that featured the logo of the sponsor. All players were also kitted out in beachwear that was covered in their name, meaning that virtually any picture taken of a player was likely to feature the sponsor's logo, which would again be featured in the photographs that made their way into the media. Inviting the press to play small games of beach rugby with key players meant that the event received a number of dedicated pages of coverage with journalists and broadcasters keen to show their audiences that they were playing rugby with the players who were rapidly becoming heroes back at home as a result of securing a place in the final. The players themselves had been well-briefed by the Public Relations Agency that represented the sponsor, who understood that extra media coverage would also improve their value as a brand, and so gave several interviews and featured in many photographs taken with members of the media. The key to this success was that the beach party was a much-needed event for the media, many of whom had spent the entire three weeks away from family and friends at home and needed an opportunity to relax. While the events took part on a Sydney beach, the sponsor also made sure that they provided facilities for the media to carry out their jobs effectively with tents set up with internet access and secretaries on hand to provide admin support. The cost of setting up this beach party is estimated to have been 20,000 but the amount of media coverage gained from the event more than justified this outlay, and once the media had carried out their interviews and taken photographs they were then able to relax and enjoy the party. All parties were pleased with the outcome of the event and the sponsor had shown how to work closely with the media, develop better relationships and gain more publicity for the event, as well as showing other event organisers that creative ideas can help to maximise publicity by working closely with the media. Padiet Q1 Who were invited to attend the beach party? Q2 What are the sponsor's real objectives of organising the beach party? Q3 What the sponsor did in order to achieve the real objectives of the beach party? Q4 What type of event is involved in this case study? Explain your answer. Q5 How the beach party is benificial to the rugby players