Creating Buzz for World Usability Day 2008 – November 13, 2008
World Usability Day 2008 (WUD) is focused on TRANSPORTATION. This year’s theme could not be timelier and we are positioned to attract press coverage worldwide. With the challenge of rising gas prices, security issues, aging infrastructures and much more, globally, the transportation industry is facing ongoing change. With those changes come many usability opportunities and challenges.
World Usability Day 2008 will feature over 225 events occurring simultaneously in over 175 cities worldwide. Our goal is to have media coverage of each of these events. UPA and the WUD Planning Committee in collaboration with PR firms worldwide will be working on achieving this goal. As part of our team, we need your help on the ground to ensure strong coverage of World Usability Day and create awareness of the importance of user-centered design and engineering and our right to have things that works better!
In order to accomplish this, we need all local event organizers and participants to reach out to their local media and inform them of their scheduled WUD events and activities as far in advance as possible. We hope your events this year will be related to our theme and that it is front and center in your communications.
We’ve created some helpful tips and hope that you share your best practices with the WUD 2008 team.
Strategies for Developing Media Coverage
Start at home.
Be sure to have news items in your own organizations’ newsletters, intranet, website and other channels of communication. This includes the newsletters of your employer, as well as professional chapters.
Go for calendar listings.
Chances are, if you are a regular reader of a calendar of events, your information will be useful to its editor.