How to Apply for Press Trip Invitations from a PR Agency

Tourist Boards and CVB’s from all over the world often work with a public relations agency, such as TravelMedia.ie, to arrange press trips and seek advice on which media to invite. However, when requesting assistance for a trip, or applying for an advertised group trip, many media fall at the first hurdle – liaising with the PR agency.

If a tourist board or destination has appointed a PR agency in your market, it is vital that you always liaise with the PR agency. It is their job to manage, organise and qualify media for press trips, going direct to the client will waste time as your enquiry will be reverted to the PR agency.

Are you interested in applying for a press trip? Follow this checklist to ensure you have everything you need to apply for press trip invitations from a PR agency…

  1. Introduce yourself: what industry do you work in? Include your media kit and examples of past work. Include a letter from your commissioning editor.
  2. Details of your trip: Exact dates, destination must be included, as well as the number of travellers and preferred departure airport.
  3. Details of assistance required: Flights, accommodation, car hire? What exactly do you require support with?
  4. Coverage details: What type of content will you produce, where and when it will be published? Will images be included and how long will the piece be? Provide details of commission(s) for this trip, if applicable. Will you be posting on social? Provide details of followers.
  5. Compose your email: Your introductory email to TravelMedia.ie for press trip support must include all of the above information. The more organised you are in your first email, the more chance you have of receiving the support you require for your press trip.

See below for further detail on how to apply for press trip invitations from a PR agency…

Introduce Yourself

First things first, introduce yourself to the public relations agency organising the press trip. Let them know who you are and what you do.

Explain to the us what type of media you work in, who your audience is, what publications you write for or give examples of previous work. Are you a travel specialist publication or writer, or are you a blogger? Be sure to include what industry you work in e.g., food industry, to ensure your enquiry can be dealt with appropriately.

Do you have a media kit? If so, it is very important to include this with your email. If not, maybe you should think about making one. Do you have a link to your profile or previous work? If not, you should organise this before reaching out to TravelMedia.ie for press trip support.

When applying to a PR for press trip support, media will likely be asked to fill in a press trip information form. This form often includes personal information and details of the coverage to be produced from the trip, such as story angle, word count and expected publishing date.

If you have been commissioned by a media outlet to produce content, you must send a copy of an email or letter from your commissioning editor when applying to TravelMedia.ie for press trip support. Without this you will not receive support for your trip. Please note, we do check these letters or emails before advising our client, and we have received fake ones before.

Details of Trip

When contacting TravelMedia.ie or other agencies regarding a press trip, media must include as much detail of the trip as possible.

Let the PR know what exactly which destination you want to go to, the number of individual travellers, your desired dates for travelling, your preferred departure airport as well as any other information that may be helpful. Please do not tell us ‘I can travel anytime’, this doesn’t tell us anything and will lead us to sending more emails asking you for specific dates.

We will require all of the above information to help arrange your press trip with our clients. Providing this information from the start helps to streamline the organisation process of the press trip for all parties involved. The more detail you provide in your initial email the better. When providing press trip support, our clients expect as much detail as possible from the start. Help us to help you by sending this information to us in your first email, without us having to ask.

TravelMedia.ie arranged the UNWTO Canary Islands Gran Canaria Press Trip, July 2020

Details of Assistance

TravelMedia.ie provide a wide range of support for press trips which is why it’s important for media to clarify the details of the assistance required. Do you require flights, accommodation, car hire, or all three? PR agencies can also usually provide a trip itinerary on request. Please be specific on these details. Some media don’t need full support e.g., can provide their own transport. For this reason, we need exact details of what support you require.

Again, the more information you provide on this, the more chance there is that our client will assist with your press trip support. It is in your interest to include as much detail as possible in this email.

Coverage Details

The key when applying for a press trip invitation is providing clear details of the coverage that will be produced from the trip. TravelMedia.ie and other PR agencies will need to ensure that the content you plan to create is appropriate for the support you are applying for from our client.

For this reason, it is crucial that media should include as much information as possible on the content they intend to create. This includes the type of content, where it will be published, will images be included, when it will be published and how long will the piece be?

Are you being commissioned to create this piece? If so, you must include a copy of a letter or email from your commissioning editor. Are you able to secure more than one commission? Media we work with can often get three or more commissions out of one trip. Our clients can be overwhelmed with press trip applications so, if you can secure numerous commissions please include this in your email as this may boost your chance on receiving press trip support.

Will you be posting on social about your trip? If so, let us know how often you will be posting, whether it will be during the trip or sharing your article when publish. Be sure to include your numbers on social in your initial email. Please note, numbers on social don’t have to be big, you may have a niche audience relevant to our client. Quality of followers is more important than quantity.

Our client will ask for all of the above details so, when you email us asking for press trip support, it is in your interest to include all of this information in your initial email.

Composing Your Email

Your introductory email to TravelMedia.ie for press trip support must include all of the above information. The more organised you are in your first email, the more chance you have of receiving the support you require for your press trip.

Here’s an email we received applying for press trip support. This is the perfect example of what not to send in your initial email…

Sample email of somebody applying to a PR agency for a press trip invitation

You’d be surprised by the number of emails we receive from media similar to the above.

This email has no trip details – which destination do you want to go to? What coverage will you produce? What dates will you be travelling? What support do you require? We cannot forward this email onto our client and therefore no support will be given.

In your introductory email to TravelMedia.ie, media must provide an exact destination, specific travelling dates, details of the coverage you plan to produce as well as a media pack. Remember to include the five W’s – who, what, when, where and why.

It’s important to remember that all tourist boards and destinations have limited budgets, they can’t support everyone therefore they must choose who they support. Media who are organised and provide detailed information from the onset are more likely to be supported rather than those with generic applications and details.

Tourist boards are government organisations and must qualify how and where they spend their money and will therefore ask for lots of info from you to validify your request. We are not requesting the above information from you just for the fun of it, we are building a case for your request and want to help you get the support you require for your press trip.

Thank you for reading our blog How to Apply for Press Trip Invitations from a PR Agency. If you’re interested in applying for press trip support with TravelMedia.ie please contact niamh@travelmedia.ie with your details.