Successful Construction Project Media Events are Built on Planning and Attention to Detail
Knowing the goals, audiences and messages of a public media event is the important work behind the scenes. And, oh, yeah, the wind, too!
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Jennifer Villeneuve, centre. holding event planning documents, leads a question and answer session with front-line workers in the days leading up to the media event.
reVerb Communications understands how much is at stake when planning a successful media event for a construction project.
There are big elements to pay attention to: What’s the goal of the event? What change in awareness or action is the public being asked to make? What’s the budget?
There are questions of visuals: What is the memorable “shot” the news media are invited to capture and share? And of technology: will the event supply good video and clean audio?
There are the logistical questions of parking and timing of the agenda.
Content considerations like who speaks in what order, and are the messages complementary?
Meteorological matters like what do we do if it starts to rain?
As well, there’s the vital need to ensure that participants and guests stay safe coming to, moving in and leaving the site of the media event.
And, above it all, is the overarching risk to reputation — the project’s and that of the people behind it — that goes along with deciding to give the project a positive public appearance in front of the media.
reVerb’s experience in event planning
“We’ve seen it all, we’ve pretty much done it all, we bring years of experience to these types of events.”
Villeneuve said reVerb’s advantage is its people.
“We have people who have worked in the media before, so they know what the media will be looking for.
We have great strategists who can put together a plan for an event that will be effective and meaningful. Our teams are embedded in the projects, so we know how to work with the staff and coordinate logistical details.”
Villeneuve said reVerb can provide every service required for media events, big or small.
“And we enjoy doing it,” she said. “We really enjoy helping to put together memorable events. We like to take the pressure off the people who are involved in them.”
reVerb’s ear for audiences
reVerb's Villeneuve, in Edmonton, paces off location of speakers' lectern for upcoming media event. Photo illustration
Speaking recently about the planning of a May 2025 media event for an LRT infrastructure project, Villeneuve underlined the importance of always knowing who the audience is.
Or, more accurately, audiences.
Besides planning an event aimed at the general public, the surrounding neighbourhoods and future LRT riders, Villeneuve also helped build the event with an ear for another audience: the construction company’s corporate leaders.
“One thing I need to consider is that they’re not here every day,” Villeneuve said. “So it’s important that they feel up to speed on the brass tacks of the event — what’s happening during the event, minute by minute, who’s speaking, what the messages are, who’s managing what.”
Villeneuve said her events team avoids the temptation to believe that a media event is only for the media.
“You need to bring everybody in who’s impacted by the event and make sure they know what’s going on,” she said.
Villeneuve stays in touch with internal partners in the days leading up to the media event. Photo illustration
That commitment to internal communication in the shaping of an external communication undertaking applies to all aspects of the event planning:
identifying relevant journalists,
developing event materials,
writing speaking notes,
creating presentations,
setting up equipment,
staging,
rehearsing,
recording the event and
handling questions and answers from the media.
Planning for the invisible!
reVerb event planners take all details, including weather conditions, into account, knowing, to update an old phrase, that for want of a nail the show is lost! :) Photo illustration
For Villeneuve and for reVerb Communications, the accumulated experience of planning and pulling off countless media events over the years has instilled a signature combination of confidence and humility.
“You just know that an unknown can pop up at the last minute, and you are ready for that and you deal with it,” said Villeneuve.
As predicted, an unknown element did materialize for that May 2025 LRT construction media event: the wind.
Forecast gusts of 40 km/h and stronger blew in just as the event got under way. Two giant company pop-up banner flags snapped back and forth under the wind’s force. They would have flown away if not for the steady work of the four, six-inch metal pegs that kept them anchored.
“We talked about the possibility of the wind, and the construction team did a great job to make sure we were ready and that the flags stayed put on each side of the speakers’ lectern,” said Villeneuve.
“Every detail matters.”
Indeed, reVerb Communications understands how much is at stake when planning a successful media event for a construction project.
Another uneventful eventful media event thanks to solid planning by the reVerb Communications team and partners.
