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How to get publicity for your benefit auction
By Sherry Truhlar
I refer to auction games, raffles and activities as the bells and whistles of benefit auctions. Some call them revenue generators, but that’s an understatement because they do more than make money.
These fun add-ons can address specific problems, involve the crowd, trigger fun, attract press and, yes, make money.
Many groups have little problem securing post-gala publicity. But pre-event recognition is what helps sell your tickets.
Secure elusive pre-event publicity
Consider Headwaters Foundation, a public school foundation about two hours south of Washington, D.C. The foundation is in what has traditionally been one of the poorer counties of Virginia. It provides support for the public school system by increasing community involvement in education.
By pitching two angles, the foundation’s savvy executive director managed to score sought-after pre-event publicity in both the local newspaper and The Georgetowner.
The latter publication, as you might imagine from the name, caters to that trendy zip code in Washington, D.C. Although I haven’t researched it, I sense it also has a more affluent readership than the local paper.
Think about it: Of all of the thousands of charities in the D.C. area, The Georgetowner wrote a coveted 8.5-inch story on a charity that was hosting an auction gala two hours south of Washington.
What gives?
I wasn’t on the call between the executive director and the reporter, so I can only glean information from the article.
In the third sentence, the executive director says, “We’ve hired Red Apple Auctions of Alexandria to help us with both the silent and live auctions, and they have some great new ideas that we are implementing.”
Did you catch it?
That single sentence had two tips to help you secure publicity.
• First, she said she hired someone. That ups the ante.
It’s like a baseball team announcing that they’ve hired a new coach. You’re expecting something better.
So as you think about your nonprofit, who have you hired that brings with them an expectation of improvement?
Most organizations focus on announcing their band or some headline entertainment. Although headline entertainment might help you sell tickets, you don’t have to go to that extreme. This group succeeded in securing publicity even with a fairly straightforward dinner and auction.
• Second, she talked “new ideas.” That’s change.
She’s saying, “Hey, we’re different.” I don’t know if she shared the new ideas (auction bells and whistles) with the reporter. If she did, they didn’t make it into the story.
Remember: “new” = story
For instance, if you were one of the first groups in your area to use electronic bidding devices in a silent auction, that’s a story. You’d be using “the latest” technology. It’s a new angle. The reporter could cover that as a technology story or a public interest story.
When you use auction bells and whistles in your event, pitch that.
P.S. Headwaters enjoyed some solid post-auction publicity, too.
Benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar's stories and advice has been published in Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, Auctioneer, The Eleusis and The Virginia Auctioneer and seen on television shows including E! Style and TLC. She inspires and teaches volunteers how to hit new fundraising records in their auction galas. Enjoy her free Auction Item Guide, which lists the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction, at www.RedAppleAuctions.com.
