How to create a launch event that drives PR coverage

If I had a pound for every brand that came to us saying, “We hosted a beautiful event but barely any press attended” or “we spent loads and nothing actually converted into coverage”, I wouldn’t be rich - but I’d have enough to buy a nice shirt from Sézane.  

The wellness industry is booming, and every other launch seems to incorporate fibre, protein, functional mushrooms or is aimed at new mums. Competition for media coverage is fierce, while a journalist’s time to come to a launch is stretched and doesn’t always help brands to convert coverage from their events – but that’s not even half the issue.

The problem is that most brands need to consider the story behind their event.  

A nice venue and good catering aren’t a launch strategy. If you want press and creators to attend and to create actual brand buzz, your event needs a story and one that differentiates you from the rest of noise media see every single day.

This is how to create a launch event that media want to attend and influencers want to post about.

1. Start with a story, not an event

Think story first to put your brand in the running with media.

When UNROOTED wanted to position baobab as the superfruit for 2026, we didn’t just host a breakfast.

We created a moment around gut health and high-fibre diets. Since this topic already dominated wellness headlines, we knew we needed to put a different spin on it.

By hooking the brand’s talking points into research, we created ownable data that enables UNROOTED to talk about consumers and what they think – less about the brand and more about what media want to write about. Earned media means just that – earned is about building trust, having something to say and earning the right to be talked about. That meant shifting the narrative from the cause (not enough fibre) to the effect (a lack of energy), something that so many of us can relate to - no get up and go to see friends or even enjoy sex! The Times, The Sun and Marie Claire all saw the value to their readers and covered the brand and quoted the founder.    

2. Build an experience media can write about

Media and creators don’t just need the angle, they need visuals and expert voices.

That means your event should include:

• An incredible theme or hook
• Expert commentary or founder storytelling
• Backing with something new like a first look, an insight or a new product
• An interactive or visual moment – an often-overlooked aspect, this part of an event is about the experience the journalist gets from being there. If the story is about their readers, the interactive and immersive aspect is about bringing the journalist into the brand and making it an emotional moment for them.  

For UNROOTED, the Baobab Breakfast Club went beyond sampling drinks, combining nutrition, neuroscience and sustainability talks with interactive food experiences and expert access, giving journalists real content to work with and something they will remember.

For Wild Nutrition’s Liberty partnership, we created an expert panel on brain health and longevity, a spoken word performance and intention-setting ceremony.

It felt cultural, not personalised and that’s what drove attendance and coverage.

3. Give influencers a reason to create content

Influencers don’t post just because they were invited.

They post when:

• The setting is visually strong

• The experience feels exclusive

• There’s a clear content moment

• The brand story aligns with their audience

Think beyond a step-and-repeat backdrop.

Create moments designed for sharing, installations, rituals, panels, tastings, performances.

At Liberty, we introduced a poetry activation where visitors created personalised intention poems on seeded cards that they could go away and plant themselves. It was meaningful, visual, and completely on-brand so naturally and lasted way past the event itself.

4. Extend the moment beyond one night

We are all for multi layered, multi-channel story telling so ensuring you are creating an event or launch which lives offline, online and everywhere else is essential.  

For Wild Nutrition, the launch didn’t stop at the Liberty event.

A branded taxi toured publishing houses offering bespoke consultations to journalists, taking the story directly to editorial desks and expanding coverage opportunities. Our poet content is extending out into an additional digital campaign. This helps consumers connect with the brand on a story arch and not just an opening chapter.

5. Invite with intention (not volume)

A packed room means nothing if it’s the wrong people.

An PR team should be managing their client that it’s about the right people and not everybody. Smaller, curated guest lists often drive better results than big generic ones. Time is precious and PR teams need to be shaping coverage with top tier media ahead of time, ensuring they show up on the day and results are gained after the event.

Both the UNROOTED and Wild Nutrition events prioritised relevant media and creators over sheer numbers to that every guest had a reason to engage and share. The room was full and buzzy, and media and influencers were authentically engaged.

So, if your last launch event didn’t deliver coverage or content, it wasn’t because media don’t attend events anymore.

It’s because they attend and write about relevant ones.