June 10, 2017

How Wedding Planning and Leading a PR Campaign are More Similar Than You Think

By: Jillian Sellard

So you’re engaged. You have the sparkly ring on your finger – you’re glowing – you can’t stop smiling! He (finally) proposed! And then it hits you: you have a wedding to plan. The “biggest event of your life,” some may say. Gulp. Now what? Where do you even start?

Being recently engaged, while simultaneously stepping into a leading role on my first accounts as a PR professional, I’ve noticed that planning a PR campaign and planning a wedding have a lot of surprising similarities.

First Things First: What’s Your Grandest Vision?

When we first began to plan our wedding, my mom asked my fiancé and I, “What’s your mission statement?” An odd question you’d think to ask outside of the business world – but she had a point. What she meant was, “What story do you want to tell your guests?”

In PR, we ask clients the same question: What story do you want to tell? In this case, your audience may not be your friends or family, but San Diego, another city, the U.S., or even the world. On your big day, how do you want to be perceived by your audience? What are your goals and how can we help you get there?

Your Story is Told Through the Details

One thing I can tell you is that The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner is keeping me sane. The timeline is so perfectly planned out, and every few weeks or so I check in to see what’s next on my to-do list. If I didn’t have this resource, I’d be very lost and disorganized.

The Olives are kind of like your Ultimate Wedding Planner. We know all of the details and pieces it takes to put together a grand showcase – but instead of dress fittings, cake tastings, menu finalizing, and remembering to pick up your marriage certificate, it’s thoughtfully crafted press releases, media drops, TV segment coordination, and weekly updates.

At Olive, we work as a team to ensure you look fabulous on your big day. Your audience won’t see all the details that were put in, but they’ll be in awe of the final product.

The Wait Begins

After the initial excitement of getting engaged wears off and the sparkly oval diamond becomes a part of your own being – the wait begins.

Your friends are saying, “Your big day is so soon!” while inside you’re thinking “October feels SO far away!”

In PR, especially in the national market, it’s typical to feel antsy around the four-month mark. But rest assured knowing that you chose your PR team for a reason. We’re always pitching new opportunities for you, but the media works months in advance (we pitch national holiday gift guides in June!). Find comfort knowing that your big day will come before you know it.

The Big Day

The day you’ve been waiting for is finally here! You’re featured in The New York Times, Vogue, The Today Show and Forbes. The months of planning and stress were well worth the wait. Now it’s time to celebrate. Get your dancing shoes on, pop the champagne and toast the Olive way.

So here is our proposal to you…will you campaign with us? If you’re ready to say, “I do”, send your love letter to info@olivecreativestrategies.com.

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