Corporate hospitality and event hosting can be two of the most powerful weapons in your marketing armoury. When managed effectively. Mishandled, however, and they can be an expensive waste of hard won budget - or worse - counter productive.

Shaw PR has many years' invaluable experience at planning, managing and staging numerous, memorable events. And they needn't cost the earth. One such event, taking an open top bus to the Epsom Derby for Datrontech plc, paid for itself in side a month with new business orders. And gave the client a day's access to many of its key journalists.

Sporting events have proven to be particularly effective, in that those on a Saturday afternoon or weekday evening, don't eat into the working week.

One client, Ethan Adams, found that entertaining at football matches (long before it became fashionable), particularly profitable. With a heady mix of satisfied and potential customers, the business practically closes itself.

Many childhood ambitions were fulfilled following a press launch we held at Chelsea Football Club, which concluded with a keenly contested tournament for the covetted Memory Corporation Challenge Cup. The eight competing teams included four squads of journalists; Writers' Bloc, Financial Hackers, Journo City and The Scribblers. The day was deemed such a success by the client, that it was immediately decided to make the event an annual occurrence - with double the number of teams.

"The Memory Corporation do was the best event
I've been to in all my years in the industry"
Mark Lytle, Senior Writer, ComputerActive

"It was definitely the 'bestest' PR event
of the year, and many thanks for it."
John Charlton, Editor, IBM Computer Today

Trips abroad can often be cheaper than staging events in the UK.

One factory visit for 15 medical journalists to Finland resulted in and a dozen press cuttings in the UK alone and 20 across Europe on one day.

Not to mention the long-term benefits gained from lasting relationships fostered on the ski slopes outside Helsinki.

A first-class Eurostar press trip to Paris afforded ICOM a day's access to 9 editors of its most influential publications for less than the cost of a half page advertisement in just one of their magazines.

Nearer to home, C-Technologies' press launch at the Swedish Embassy was attended by 49 journalists from the national, consumer and specialist press, resulting in coverage in more than 60 publications and on several TV stations.