Extremely common in the travel industry, but also applicable to many others, a famil is usually done in groups and showcases the best experience possible. They can be tailored, depending on the product/service at hand, but involve an experiential element.
Why can’t you just write a press release? I hear you ask. Don’t get me wrong, press releases are very important and at the core of what we do, but in today’s busy media landscape there’s only so far a media release can go.
Famils are a step further. They generate deeper relationships with media and influencers, allowing them to share your brand’s message/product/experience with their readers… and actually mean it. They foster recognition within a journalist’s mind, leading to more coverage and more people talking about your brand. Win, win!
At a recent famil I worked on for one of our clients, an editor of a large, successful magazine (who incidentally was thoroughly enjoying herself) said this to me:
“You could have pitched this to me… and I just wouldn’t have understood it”.
And the results showed it. That same famil generated huge amounts of publicity for that client, largely because what we were selling really had to be experienced to be appreciated. More than just the immediate social media buzz and publicity following this event, we turned the attendees into long-term friends of the brand, and more importantly brand advocates. I’m still regularly in contact with attendees who rave about the product to their own network of friends and family – which when you’re dealing with media and influencers can only be a good thing!
Is a famil right for my brand?
Do you have a product or service that can be experienced? If the answer is yes, then I would say most definitely! The old phrase ‘seeing is believing’ really rings true here, and the power of experience cannot be underestimated.
If you’d like to have a chat about how a famil would work for your brand, why not say hello? Email us at [email protected].
