Entertaining the Media: A Tailored Event Design and Planning Process for Press

This study develops a planning model for press events, a strategic tool that has gained increasing relevance within corporate communication strategies. Despite their importance in media relations, the literature reveals a lack of models specifically addressing the planning of press events in a structured and sector-adapted way. To address this gap, a qualitative methodology based on in-depth interviews with 20 professionals from corporate communication departments and event agencies in the automotive sector was adopted. The findings show that press event planning extends beyond operational considerations and is strongly shaped by communicative and relational objectives. The analysis identifies a sequential process comprising event design, planning, execution, and evaluation stages, while highlighting the importance of media relations, product storytelling and journalist experience. The proposed model expands existing event planning frameworks by incorporating these communicative and relational dimensions into the planning process.