Event timings

I was discussing with a beauty journalist colleague earlier this week that the launch event schedule is back to pre-Covid times; there was a lull in the couple of years after the pandemic where many events were still virtual and beauty brands hugely scaled back on unnecessary events, but not any more. Events are back with a bang.

In an ideal world, I would go to many more events than I currently attend. I think they are a great way to get under the skin of a new product, speak to brand experts and network with colleagues. In reality, however, once I’m in the office there’s little chance of me travelling out to an event in the middle of the day.

We have lots of internal meetings for planning and production so that always takes priority. It’s a fine balance between wanting to go to events and having enough desk hours to get all the work done.

I know it’s similar for many colleagues in the industry, which is why it still surprises me when beauty brands – who are specifically targeting press rather than influencers – put on launches mid-morning or mid-afternoon. I had two such invites this week. I am far more likely to attend a breakfast (that starts promptly) so I can be back at my desk at a reasonable hour to crack on with my to-do list. I also quite like an event towards the end of a day, on my way home from work – that works, too!

Of course, there might be some journalists who would prefer to go to events during the day. If you want to maximise the number of journalists seeing your new launch perhaps consider a drop-in event with different time slots.