5 Tips for PR Success This Summer

Maine is world-famous for all things summer: beaches, beer, lobster, lakes… you name it. With schools out and summer populations swelling traffic on the roads, in restaurants, and in stores, summer can be an interesting time for businesses and anyone in PR.

Whether it’s your slow season or your busiest stretch of the year, the weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day can be full of PR opportunities and challenges. To help you make the most of it, we’re sharing our top 5 tips for PR success this summer.

1. Use this time to plan for fall.

Many organizations take a summer hiatus from speaking opportunities and events, which can give you breathing room to plan ahead for the busy fall event season. This will be especially important in 2021 coming out of the in-person event desert that was 2020. Create a calendar to plot out seasonal opportunities and avoid planning around holidays.

2. Understand what summer looks like for your audiences.

Will you have special hours? Will your capacity be limited at certain times? Are there any unique seasonal marketing opportunities? Make sure you are communicating any updates early and often to minimize disruptions.

3. Build in extra time to account for vacations.

Journalists and clients take vacations, too. Keep this in mind when picking a date to launch that press release or media availability. Make sure you factor in common travel days around major holidays, as well as academic calendars so you know when students are headed back to school in August.

4. Think practically about visuals and logistics.

Summer means outdoors, which means heat, light, and traffic when coordinating media opportunities. Factor in additional time for media to drive to your interview location and park. It is also a good idea to have a backup location in case the weather doesn’t cooperate.

5. Evaluate your PR efforts to-date.

If you operate on a calendar year, summer can be a natural midpoint to reflect on your PR strategy over the first half of the year and adjust heading into Q3.


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