8 Essential criteria to make press trips to campus worthwhile - with free downloadable checklist

Organising a press trip to your university or business school campus is a brilliant way to strengthen relationships with key media, which can lead to fantastic coverage and long-term, valuable connections for your school.

Download our free check list to make sure you don't miss any of the essential criteria to make press trips to campus worthwhile!

How to make press trips to campus worthwhile

Planning is everything

There are numerous ways that you can make a press trip worthwhile, and ensure that you get the most out of the opportunity.

Firstly, organisation is key. To plan an effective press trip, you need to start preparation at least two months prior. This time will allow you to finalise the agenda, and to prepare the presentations and content for the days on campus.

This time will also give you enough time to invite journalists, and to ultimately give them enough time to consider their very busy schedules. Once attendance is confirmed, you will also need this time to arrange travel and accommodation for the attendees, and finalise any other logistical arrangements.

Engage, don’t lecture

Once the journalists are on campus, it is vital that in order to make the trip worthwhile for them and for the school, sessions and activities planned on the day should be as immersive and engaging as possible.

Although it is tempting to present ideas and aspects of the school in a lecture format, remember these are journalists that want to get involved, ask questions, and have the opportunity to interview key faculty and students too. Tailor the sessions to their area of expertise, and keep the days on campus as interesting as possible.

The more engaged the journalists feel on campus, the more inspired they will feel once they return home to write articles.

Good hospitality goes a long way

If inviting journalists to your campus for a press trip, not only are they there to immerse themselves into campus life during the day, but they’re also there to enjoy themselves and feel welcome.

Aside from the presentations, interviews, and campus tours, it’s also a nice idea to treat your attendees to a nice lunch or dinner, to get to know the journalists on a more casual basis, and to make them feel welcome.

Good hospitality can go a long way, and if you go that extra mile, journalists are more likely to remember your university or business school favourably, whilst also being given the chance to get to know you in a less formal setting.

Follow up once the trip is over

Once the trip is over, it’s important not to forget to follow up with all of the journalists that attended with any materials, presentations, research papers, and contact details for the faculty and students that they may have met on the day. This will encourage the journalists to write articles not only in the short term about the school, but they will also have a healthy amount of content to refer back to for future features too.

The hard work can pay off

A great example of a business school that organised a fantastic press trip is NEOMA Business School in France. In March 2023, Neoma welcomed journalists from the Financial Times, QS Top MBA, Forbes and Business Because to their campus.

Journalists were made extremely welcome, being presented with engaging presentations and sessions in the day, and excellent Parisian cuisine at top restaurants in the evening. As a result of their successful trip, Neoma has received a lot of great media coverage from the journalists that attended.

For example, this article was written by QS Top MBA following the trip about the school’s virtual campus, featuring quotes from Alain Goudey, who was involved in the sessions during the press trip. This article goes into great depth about the schools use of VR in the classroom, and AI in their teaching methods. This shows that if planned effectively, your school can benefit from exposure in top publications as a result.

Organising a press trip can be time consuming, and requires a lot of planning and communication between faculty at the business school and journalists alike. However, if you and your team give yourself plenty of time to coordinate the trip, create engaging sessions on the day, as well as ensuring journalists are made to feel welcome with great hospitality throughout, the trip will certainly be worthwhile.

Press trips can ensure excellent coverage for your business school, but they can also lead to much stronger connections and relationships with top tier media that can benefit your business school or university in the short term and long term.

Author: Olivia Nieberg

Olivia is experienced in delivering targeted media visibility for her clients through her relationships with key journalists and editors, from important dedicated trade press such as Global Education Times, BusinessBecause, HR Director and Finance Monthly to major international media like The Financial Times, VICE and Forbes. This helps her to consistently understand trends in the media agenda and effectively capitalise on them for her clients.