Your event is amazing, no doubt about it, and it deserves media attention on its own merits. The only problem is that all 923 events playing at the Adelaide Fringe in 2012 are amazing, and they all deserve media attention on their own merits.

Therefore, when all of these events are competing for coverage by the same media outlets, it can be difficult for yours to get noticed. It is essential that you know how to market your show effectively to journalists. Not only will it make your show seem more appealing from a journalistic perspective, but your media-savvy skills will stand you out above the rest and a media force with which to be reckoned.

Here are some tips from the Adelaide Fringe Publicity Team on how to sell your story to the media:

• A good media release is never more than one page in length, has a clear and strong title, and conveys the Who, What, Where, When, Why, How Much and How Many of your event succinctly and snappily.
• Do not send a single generic media release to a variety of different media. Target specific media organisations likely to be interested in your event. Find out what a particular organisation is most interested in and tailor each release specifically to each organisation. For instance, an arts magazine might be interested in the artistic inspiration of an event, while a lifestyle magazine will be more interested in the personal backstories of those involved.
• A media release should be accompanied by a bright, energetic, strong, clear image, ideally a photograph. A strong photo will increase the likelihood of a story being published.
• Always include all relevant contact details on your release – a contact name, along with at least one phone number, an e-mail address, as well as links to any websites or social networking pages.
• If possible, save your media release as a PDF and embed into your email, and put your contact details into the email as well as on the press release.

Remember, when preparing any media-related communications, always focus on why your story is more newsworthy than everyone else’s; how your story impacts on other people; and why they should be interested.

If you have any questions about how to conduct a Media Call or select the most ‘newsworthy’ angle for your event, don’t hesitate to contact the Adelaide Fringe in-house publicity team:

Anna Vincent, Senior Publicist, 08 8100 2019 anna@adelaidefringe.com.au and Emily Rice, Publicist, 08 8100 2052 emily@adelaidefringe.com.au

ROAD CLOSURES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT NOTIFICATION

Some roads will be closed in the CBD and public transport will be affected on Friday 24 February 2012 for the Adelaide Fringe Parade.

King William St – CBD

Road Closure Plan Parade 2012

• 12:15am closure to commence once evening public transport services utilising King William St are complete on February 24
• At 6:00pm on February 24 tram services will cease to operate between Victoria Square and Adelaide Railway Station only
• Full Tram services recommence on the morning of February 25
• Bus services diverted from King William St following 6:30pm closures on February 24
• Western footpath boundary of King William closed to through traffic from 6:30pm February 24, excludes residential access

Download details of public transport disruptions here or head to the Adelaide Metro Website for more details

***Please note addition Public transport disruptions***

720-720H-721 INBOUND SERVICES:

Terminating services: Normal running from Grote St, through Victoria Sq, left Gawler Place, left Flinders St, Left King William (Victoria Sq), Right Grote St to VS6.
Through-linking services:
Normal running from Grote St, left Morphett St, right War Memorial Drive, left King William Road and normal route

720-720H-721-721F-T721 OUTBOUND SERVICES:

Non-through linking services: From stop VS6, Grote St and normal route
Through-linking services: Normal running from King William Rd then right War Memorial Drive, left Morphett Street, right Grote and normal route.

Adelaide Fringe Director and Chief Executive Greg Clarke said,

“The city will be literally engulfed by the festival as over 325 venues pop up in parks, warehouses, lane-ways and empty buildings as well as established venues such as theatres, hotels, art galleries and cafes”.

Artists from around Australia and across the globe will participate alongside home-grown talent. This year there are over 100 international acts coming from Germany, Hungary, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, France, Russia, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan, China, Korea, Canada, USA, Argentina, South Africa and the UK.

Unlike a curated festival, the open-access nature of Adelaide Fringe means that anyone with a show, exhibition or cultural event is able to register and be part of Australia’s largest arts event. The result is one of the most diverse arts festivals in the world, renowned for fresh ideas, spontaneity and fun.

When asked who attends Adelaide Fringe, Clarke simply replied: “Everyone! In a program bursting with world premieres, hit shows, brilliant artists, great music acts and free events there is something on offer for everyone, it appeals to all tastes and all ages.”

But can the Adelaide Fringe ever get too big? Mr Clarke believes that as long as audiences and ticket buyers are increasing at a greater rate than the number of events then it can just keep growing.

He and his team have developed a number of key strategies to ensure that’s the case. This includes marketing to interstate audiences, outdoor showcase stages, new central box offices, launching the program and selling tickets online one month earlier, promoting the hundreds of Fringe venues throughout the city and rebranding and promoting the Fringe-run ticketing system FringeTIX.

This year Mr Clarke launched Adelaide Fringe not only in Adelaide but at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne’s Federation Square. Going on sale a month earlier, before the printed guide came out in January, is already proving a huge success. By 7 January FringeTIX had sold 15,000 tickets worth almost half a million dollars. The increase in ticket sales has continued with sales tracking 40% higher on the 2011 Fringe.

Adelaide Fringe 2012 kicks off on the evening of Friday 24 February for what promises to be a massive celebration of the unexpected. This year’s opening night celebrations are different to previous years.

Mr Clarke explains,

“There are two very exciting new changes this year. The first is that the Parade will run down the centre of the city along King William Street and the second is that the celebrations before, during and afterwards are not just in the East End, but in Fringe venues everywhere. As the sun goes down the streets of Adelaide will light up for the biggest party of the year – and everyone’s invited!”

Adelaide’s main street, King William Street, will be closed to traffic to make way for thousands of spectators who will line the eastern side of the street to watch the Parade run down the western side.

“Spectators will experience King William Street as they’ve never seen it before, with the buildings becoming an enormous illuminated backdrop to the passing procession,” said Mr Clarke. “The parade will be like a moveable stage show featuring over a 1,000 performers riding on all manner of modes of transport, all to an explosive soundscape created by Adelaide’s own DJ TR!P. There will be hot-rods, trucks, buses, floats, caravans and even camels.”

Mr Clarke said,

“After the Fringe Parade we are challenging spectators to journey out across the city to discover as many of the fabulous Fringe venues, shows and special events as possible. Think of it as the biggest progressive dinner ever and we are challenging punters to try and taste everything on the menu. They probably never will, but they sure are going to have a blast trying.”

On Fringe venues Mr Clarke said

“Each Fringe venue is unique in its own wonderfully eclectic way, many have created sensational pop-up bars and all feature exciting Fringe shows. Once inside be prepared to be surprised, as you may discover acrobats in bath-tubs, an after-party in the bed of an eighties one-hit wonder, Polish percussionists playing wooden tables; or even a piano-playing miniature horse.”

To really kick off the festivities many shows are offering a limited number of $5 tickets on opening night which is a great opportunity for audiences to be the first to discover the hottest new shows in town, and then tell all their friends.

Mr Clarke added,

“There are also $10 BankSA Support Act tickets available on opening night and if you miss out on those, the average ticket price for most shows in the Fringe is only around $20 anyway. We hope that on opening night, every seat in every show is filled.”

As well as the much loved Parade, the Adelaide Fringe produces or supports a number of large-scale free outdoor events throughout the festival including: the Adelaide Fringe Street Theatre Festival at which international street performers take over the city for four days and nights; Fringe in the Mall featuring a 1960‘s caravan converted into a stage showcasing Fringe acts daily; and The Spirit Festival, a 4 day event celebrating the very best in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

New in 2012 will be the Art Gallery of South Australia’s outdoor screening on opening night of AES+F’s Allegoria Sacra, a monumental moving image work from Russia. There are also Adelaide Fringe celebrations in a select number of South Australian regional towns including Desert Fringe up north in Port Augusta and down south in Goolwa, where the Murray River reaches the sea.

Adelaide Fringe 2012 kicks off on Friday 24 February with city-wide opening night celebrations and runs for 24 summer days and balmy nights until 18 March 2012.