Members of the European Championships 2018 Strategic Communications Working Group, including representatives from the host cities of Berlin and Glasgow, all seven sports federations involved in the organisation of the inaugural European Championships and broadcast partner the European Broadcasting Union, met at the House of European Athletics in Lausanne on 26 April.
European Athletics CEO Christian Milz addressed the participants ahead of the meeting: “We have a lot of work ahead of us: it is easy for people to be critical towards such an innovative concept as we have no proof or data about the success of a previous multisport European Championships. So we have to work hard to promote our event. If we are to achieve collective success, we will need to push the concept and educate everyone within our own communities and beyond. We need to ensure the message reaches the most important people in this event – the athletes. It needs to be on their radar so we will need to work hard to ensure they are all informed.”
Chaired by James Mulligan, Head of Communications at European Athletics, this second face-to-face meeting offered the opportunity to exchange ideas and present initiatives such as the volunteer campaigns that have now been launched in both cities.
The working group then focused on the communications strategy to raise awareness of the European Championships and stressed the importance of a well-planned and coordinated effort.
Harnessing the power of social media will be an integral part in making this multi-sport event unique. Discussions about the proper usage of tagline ‘#TheMoment’ were instructive, with this tagline being the central expression in helping educate the greater audience about what to expect through 2-12 August 2018.
The common vision is to create a must-watch, must-attend experience that elevates the status of the champions of Europe. It’s therefore necessary to communicate effectively ahead of time to help build anticipation and increase media coverage before, during and after the championships.
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