The PR whirlwind

OPINION

The 20th annual edition of The World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade drew "unprecedented media attention" for the Spa City, according to the latest public relations report from Paul Johnson Associates.

The firm, which has handled PR duties for the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission for years, compiled the special public relations report on the parade for the commission, which was released on Friday.

In a nutshell, the report states, "By every estimation, the 2023 parade attracted unprecedented media attention for Hot Springs, including international pre-parade attention, the day of the parade itself and after-event coverage in the days following the parade."

But what was that, exactly? The report does provide some details ...

For example, The Williamstown Herald in Franklin, Tenn., carried an extensive report on the parade.

AARP Magazine included it among the "Six Destinations to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day."

In advance of the parade, national and international major media outlets mentioned the parade, including Forbes Magazine and online outlets that, according to the report, included Thrillist, an international online outlet with hundreds of thousands of followers; Parade magazine; Axios; The Tour Operator travel trade publication, and "even media in Queensland, Australia."

The Irish Central, "international arbiter of all things Irish," joined the outlets in listing the Hot Springs parade among the Top 10 St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the world.

The Boston Globe, Oklahoma Welcome magazine, the Savannah newspaper and TV station WMGK in Philadelphia also showered attention on the parade.

Statewide media, including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette included reports on the day of the parade, and the day after. All four Little Rock-based television stations sent on-air personnel to Hot Springs to provide two live reports each during the stations' 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts.

The media coverage actually began weeks before the event itself, the report notes. Months in advance of the parade, there were media reports carrying the announcement of Justin Moore as the parade grand marshal and actor Christopher McDonald as the official parade starter.

"These announcements were reported by media outlets across Arkansas and in surrounding states," according to the report.

Coverage of the Kilties drum and bugle girls from Springfield, Mo., the Zero K footrace and the announcement of the parade royalty also brought advance publicity to the parade.

The total estimated PR value? According to Johnson's report, it generated $240,000 in free publicity for the city and the parade.

That wasn't the only positive public relations report Visit Hot Springs received this week. Geiger & Associates Public Relations, a separate firm the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion contracts with to market the Spa City to the media, generated an updated coverage report for March.

According to Geiger, coverage generated as a result of the media tours it arranged for Hot Springs had an earned media value of $1,750,342.

As a side note, in its year-end marketing overview to the ad commission in 2022, Geiger states that, from 2007-2022, 232 travel journalists have visited Hot Springs for editorial research, generating 464 articles in print, radio or online media that reached 2.3 billion consumers through "earned editorial coverage." The total value of this publicity, had it been purchased in the form of paid advertising, is estimated at $12.7 million.

Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison, in a memo to the commission last fall, called the Geiger arrangement "The best return on dollars spent that we see all year."

The second Geiger media tour of the year is coming up this month.

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