Guidelines

Getting your grant award in the news

Contents
3 4 4 5 6 8 10 10 11 Acknowledging our funding Getting coverage Getting started Making a story Who to target, and how to go about Writing a press release Technicalities, timing and follow-up Marketing Sample press release

Acknowledging our grant award

By accepting your Lottery grant award, you have made a commitment to acknowledge our support publicly, through all your related information, marketing and publicity materials. Everything you write about your project needs to include the wording supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Lottery grant award logo is required to be included on any publicity material you distribute. Guidelines for acknowledgement and logo downloads are available at: www.artscouncil.org.uk/grantawardlogo The reason we require all Lottery funded projects to acknowledge our support is very simple: we need to demonstrate that the Arts Council funds a wide range of arts projects, in order to continue receiving our own funding from the Government and the National Lottery. In addition, we need to make audiences as well as government aware that public funding for the arts is an important national priority. The arts need more resources and the Arts Council campaigns for this. One of the most effective ways we can do this is by showing what artists achieve when they do get a grant and we also need to make it clear that many of these projects were only made possible through public funding. Your work is the best advertisement for public funding for the arts that there is.

Getting coverage
Getting started How do you get your local papers to write about your project, or your local radio to come and interview you? If you havent done much (or any) press work before, getting coverage can seem daunting. However, all you need is a few basic skills and an idea of what the media really is. In practice, the media breaks down into print media (newspapers, magazines, specialist journals and so on), broadcast media (radio and TV), and electronic media (websites, blogs, social networking etc). The guidance here concentrates on local and specialist print and broadcast media, but a lot of the basic rules stay the same and they really are not that complicated. The information below is mainly for individuals and organisations with little previous experience of press and publicity work, but we hope others will find it useful.

Getting coverage
Making a story What all media outlets want is a story. The type of story they want depends slightly on the media channel for instance radio needs sounds to record rather than images to look at but the main elements of a story are usually much the same: it needs to have something new about it it needs to be interesting and for local media in particular, it needs to be local This puts you in a very good position. Your project can provide all of these, from striking images to artists talking about themselves and their work, as long as you present it in the right way. It is very useful to have what journalists call a news hook for your story. Arts projects and the people who produce them are often the basis for a longer feature article, focusing on you and your work, but news hooks are still good opportunity to remind your local media about your existence. Your project is news: when you have just been awarded your Grants for the arts funding just before the project opens to the public (and all publicity you get at this point will help attract an audience) when any important or newsworthy visitors come to visit as the project finishes (with information about the number of people who attended, and possibly quotes from some of them about how much they enjoyed it) Its worth trying for coverage at all these times. Its often just a case of being the right story at the right time. Even if you dont get any response earlier on, your last press release may arrive on a day when your local radio station is running low on stories or your local paper is looking for interesting pictures. You could be exactly what they need to fill their empty slot, either as a shorter news piece or as a longer feature with interviews. 5

Getting coverage
Who to target, and how to go about it You should send press releases to: local and regional newspapers (dailies, weeklies and free-sheets) your local library local and regional whats on magazines (including free ones) specialist magazines like Arts Professional and Arts Industry (ai) local radio and TV stations any freelance photographers you know any regional correspondents for national newspapers who are based in your area (they probably wont cover it, but you might fit into a bigger story) relevant websites and blogs by subscribing to services provided by organisations such as: Editors Media Directories www.editorsmediadirectories.com Freelance Directory www.freelancedirectory.org Desktop (formerly Media Disc) www.waymaker.co.uk BRAD www.intellagencia.com Hollis www.durrants.co.uk organisations such as the Press Association www.pa.press.net and Reuters www.reuters.co.uk collect information and are used by news groups for gathering news pieces When you are collecting information make sure you get the phone numbers as well as the postal and email addresses. The communications staff at your regional Arts Council office may also be able to help you identify the right media. Dont be put off if this seems like a long list. Because of data protection requirements we cant send you detailed lists of contacts but you can get press contacts from a number of sources:

Getting coverage
Its a very good idea to do a bit more work at this stage, rather than just sending releases to The editor. If you contact the right person youre much more likely to get coverage. Youll also come across as more professional. Ring up all the contacts you identify to find out the name and contact details (including email) of the person or at least the desk or programme who should be getting your release. When you are talking to the print media (newspapers and magazines) get the details for the picture desks as well as the news and/or reviewers youll need to send information (and probably tickets) to both of these. Ask how they would like to receive the information. Theyll probably ask for it by email, but they might prefer it posted or faxed. This is also a good opportunity to find out which day of the week is press day for weekly publications, and what is the latest time that day that they can receive releases in order to cover the story in their next issue. If you cant get these details, send your information to the: news desk or the forward planning desk Or send it to: both, as well as to picture desks for print media.

Getting coverage
Writing a press release The most important thing to remember when youre planning a press release is that its actually very straightforward. Its not a major article: its a short news story, even if the reporters do eventually decide to use it as the basis for a longer in-depth feature. Whether or not you do any other sort of descriptive writing you can learn the skills of writing a good, effective release. Follow this standard structure, which is also the same structure as a newspaper news story. It works on the triangle principle, starting with a concise statement of the most important information and then broadening out to more detail which is relevant but not essential. The words Press release and the date at the top; you might prefer to date it for the actual day of the event the press release is about, in which case you should say Embargoed until [date]. If you embargo the information journalists wont use it before that time but it also means you cant use it either. Use embargoes only when really necessary Headline: keep this short and interesting 8 First paragraph: the must know facts. Get straight to the point with a couple of sentences which give the basic message. You do not need to give all the details at this stage, but you do have to convince the reader that this is an exciting news story Second paragraph: the need to know facts. Make sure you have covered all the essentials who, where, what, when and how. Include information here about how your project is supported by the National Lottery, through Arts Council England. Next paragraph or couple of paragraphs: the nice to know facts. This is where you can go into a bit more explanation about the project Last paragraph: quotes from a named person either the person responsible for the project, or someone else involved in it Details of contacts for more information. Include name, organisation, the phone number where that person can be readily reached and their email address (as long as this address is checked regularly). Put these details in bold so they stand out

Getting coverage
ENDS: write the word ENDS in all capitals, to mark the end of the release copy Notes to editors: these should come at the end of the press release and include the following: supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. To find out more about the Arts Council visit www.artscouncil.org.uk in addition, you may want to explain which artists are available for interview Keep the full length of your press release to two pages maximum, shorter if possible. Write it in clear, simple language that everyone will understand and that doesnt require specialist knowledge of the arts. Also avoid hype words like exciting or unique; so many people use words like this that editors are immediately put off. Your project is interesting after all, thats why it was awarded a Grants for the arts grant. Just concentrate on explaining that.

Getting coverage
Technicalities, timing and follow-up Its better to send out releases by email if you can. In any case, make sure they are out a few days before the event, so that news planners have the chance to look at them and fit them into the schedule for that day. If you have any good pictures to go with the release, send these to newspapers and magazines as JPEGs (with emails) or transparencies (in the post). Find out the press day for weekly and monthly media, or the time of day for daily newspapers or programmes. Review tickets are a worthwhile investment, so find out the name of the person who could review your work. The reviewer may not be the same person as the staff journalist, so make sure you get their name. You should make review tickets available for the first night of any performances you are holding leave these at the box-office for collection. Reviewers are used to having one free ticket but paying for any guests they take. Phone up a day or so after the reporters should have got your release find out whether they need anything else but dont just ask Did you get my release?, as this is guaranteed to wind journalists up! Ring in the morning, and not on the weeklies busiest press day, and just check briefly if they have all the details they need. Journalists are used to being phoned. Marketing This advice has concentrated on working with the media. If you want to find out more about marketing your project the Arts Marketing Association (AMA) is a source of advice and information. The AMA is a membership body for arts professionals wanting to build knowledge, ideas and skills in marketing and audience development. It offers information, a range of events across the UK, mentoring, coaching and networking. You can find out more by visiting the AMA website, www.a-m-a.co.uk, emailing info@a-m-a.co.uk, or phoning 01223 578 078. And finally Good luck. Remember, the media wants stories, and you have a good story to give. Offer it in the right way and there is absolutely no reason why you shouldnt have every chance of coverage. And if you dont succeed the first time round just keep trying. 10

Sample press release

First performance: Adopt and discard Dancer and visual artist Savitri Devanesan holds her first performance of Adopt and discard today (19 August) from 7pm in Northern Halls. Savitri, who is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, is a second generation British Asian who explores her own story and those of the women she grew up with through a mixture of dance, song and painting. Over the two hours of her performance, she works through a whole series of different roles that Asian women are expected to fulfil. Women like me grew up learning a mixture of ballet and bharatanatyam, pop music and Bollywood film tunes, says Savitri. Every day we choose whether to wear a sari, or salwar kameez, or jeans. Each of us makes different choices every day and although I wouldnt want it any other way, it means that we are constantly thinking which am I now? In Adopt and discard I wanted to push the audience to reconsider their ideas about Asian women. For more information contact: name, organisation, phone number, email address ENDS Notes to editors: Adopt and discard is supported by the National Lottery, through Arts Council England. To find out more about the Arts Council visit www.artscouncil.org.uk Savitri Devanesan is available for interviews and advance photographs.

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Arts Council England 14 Great Peter Street London SW1P 3NQ www.artscouncil.org.uk Phone: 0845 300 6200 Textphone: 020 7973 6564 Email: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk Charity registration number: 1036733 You can get this document in Braille, in large print, on audio CD and in electronic formats. Please contact us if you need any of these formats. Arts Council England, March 2009

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