Advertising: newspapers etc have a set rate they charge - usually per single column centimetre (here in the UK anyway). You NEVER pay that if you're doing marketing for a business. If you're going to be a regular advertiser in certain publications, it would be good to get to know who would be handling your account at the publication and meet them to discuss your needs. They should be able to help you and will negotiate rates with you. (If you count across a paper or magazine and see how many columns there are, then you can see how many scc an advert will take up) They will also help you with sizing your advert. If your organisation can afford it, you should not let a publication set your advert for you - they generally make a complete hash of it and if there is time to proof it, fine, but usually there's not. That means you need the help of an advertising agency. They may also help you out with the media buying - but that incurs a fee and your post sounds like you're not going that route. But do have your adverts professionally set - the papers like it better (less for them to do) and they look better printed. For that though, you need to know what the requirements are of the publication in terms of sizing, bleed, etc, etc (bleed is where colour is concerned)
Exhibitions: You haven't said what type of exhibitions you would be organising - whether this would be taking a shell type stand at a professionally organised and run trade fair, or whether it would be small one off type display-type exhibitions at local shopping centres etc.
If the former, the exhibition organisers should produce a complete pack which answers all your questions, and if it doesn't, they should know them. I used to work for a trade exhibition organiser and we did massive things like engineering and building.
If the latter, it all depends what kind of space you have and what you're exhibiting. A must on any stand is some kind of flyer which attracts people to take it away and which obviously explains what the product is about and how they can buy it, at what cost, etc, etc. If budget is tight you may have freestanding display boards which can be a nightmare if they get knocked. If you can afford to get one of these fantastic pop up things made - and the price of these is coming down - that's a great backdrop for any kind of display.
Editorials: the trick here is to put yourself in the shoes of someone who knows nothing about your product. You need to tell them about it in the shortest possible way so as to keep their interest. A case study could be a good way if your product lends itself to a story about how Joe and Jane Bloggs find such a use for it in their home or whatever. There is also such a thing as an advertorial whereby you would pay for an advert, and this would be accompanied by editorial running alongside - great jargon!
Hope this helps. It could be a lot of fun, though hard work. It might get you out of the office a bit more, if that's something you want to do - but if it's a huge amount of additional work on your schedule then you either need an assistant or a huge rise!
Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org
