How to Publicise Activities and Events INTRODUCTION: Publicising your activities and events is one of the most important things you have to do as a Club or Society Leader. There are various ways to publicise your events and activities, and this guide explains most of the major ones. However, you should always be creative with your publicity methods – try and think of new and original ways to publicise events, but do make sure that you don’t break the regulations on the Publicity Statement! STEP 1: Printing and displaying Posters and Flyers are traditional methods of marketing your events. You can either choose to print your posters with an external printer, or at the UCLU Reprographics Services. To use an external printer, you should use the procedures outlined in the guide on How to spend money from your Club or Society Account. This may involve using an ORDER REQUEST FORM or a PAYMENT REQUEST FORM. Obviously you also need to make sure your expenditure has been approved (if necessary) – this may involve the completion of an EVENT AND BUDGET APPROVAL FORM. To use the UCLU Reprographics Services, visit the http://uclu.org/print to view the range of services and prices.The Union can provide single and double sided, black and white and colour copying and it offers a range of different paper colours as well. Print requests must be submitted online by uploading your file to the online form (http://uclu.org/print/request). When the job is completed, you will receive an email and can collect the job from the reception desk in Lewis’s building. In terms of displaying posters, you can hand up to10 A3 posters in to the Marketing Department in the Lewis Building if you want your posters to be displayed on the poster boards around the Union. If you print through the UCLU Reprographics Services you can select this option on your form so there is no need to collect your posters as they will automatically be included in the next poster run. These can be displayed for two weeks so make good use of this opportunity and submit your posters in time. You can also use the Club and Society Flyer Racks outside Gordon’s Cafe for Flyers. There are 3 large purple poster boards in the CSC, which can be booked to advertise your events. To use one for a maximum of 2 weeks, e-mail the Activities Assistant on bikram.bains@ucl.ac.uk with Show Off in the subject bar. Displaying posters and flyers in college departments or in other places is possible, but be sure to have permission before you put them up. Fly-posting (putting up posters in unauthorised locations) is not allowed around UCL.. STEP 2: UCLU has numerous printed publications which you can advertise your events in. These include “What’s On” guide Submit your event details to the UCLU Online Events Calendar by filling the online form at http://uclu.org/whats-on/submit You could also ask RareFM for shout-outs or publicity during their broadcasts. STEP 3: There are numerous Digital and Online ways to advertise your events. Most importantly, submit all your events onto your GroupSpaces Events Calendar You can also use Twitter and Facebook. Finally, make sure your website is kept updated, as well as your entry on the UCLU Website Directory. How to Publicise Activities and Events In addition, if your club or society has done something noteworthy or had a big event or speaker, do consider writing a news article for the UCLU homepage. Articles can be 200-400 words in length and should be accompanied by a photo. Please send to the Marketing & Communications Coordinator at a.breen@ucl.ac.uk for consideration for publication. The Democracy and Communications Officer also sends out all student e-mails every week, so ask if your event can go in by emailing your event details to dc.officer@ucl.ac.uk. STEP 4: You can also get banners printed and put on display outside 25 Gordon Street. To order your banner, follow the procedure outlined in the guide on How to spend money from your Club or Society Accounts and make sure that your expenditure has been approved if necessary. You should then contact the Union Marketing Department to make sure that the banner space is available when you want it. View stall and calendar availability online at http://uclu.org/marketing/calendar and book a slot using the form at http://uclu.org/marketing/booking. This is just a request form, you will receive a confirmation email for the date(s) and the resource(s) you requested. To put up banners elsewhere around UCL, please contact UCL Room Bookings. STEP 5: To put up promotional images or videos on the screens around UCLU, please follow the specifications below and e-mail your poster to the Graphic Designer at o.buck@ucl.ac.uk. Please note that you must meet the technical requirements for your image/video, otherwise it will not go up on the screens. How to Publicise Activities and Events STEP 6: Finally, get creative with your marketing! You can do some crazy and fun things to draw attention to your events. These include: Handing out freebies Dressing up Getting on the loud speaker or pa system Setting up a stall in the quad or on campus Flash Mobs Setting world records Using the UCLU YouTube channel If you need help or advice then you can contact the CSC or the Union’s Marketing Department.