PUBLICITY COVERAGE

Review & Analysis

October 2010

1
INTRODUCTION
For more than two decades, Africa House International has presented the African Festival of the Arts (AFA) to Chicago
and Northern Illinois as the official closing event of the summer season. The multi-day event, anchored by Labor Day,
had as its goal, the offering to the general public of a broad sampling of the culture that is reflective of the continent of
Africa.

The objective of the Festival is to showcase and support the people, culture and heritage of the countries of Africa
through education, entertainment and economic opportunities. This objective is accomplished by strategically
replicating the key elements of a traditional African marketplace, and seeding it with artisans, vendors and community
services. The success of the marketplace is built on the development of venues and programs with multi-generational
appeal, the creation of opportunities for corporate engagement and partnership, the marketing and promotion of the
event throughout the region; and the repetition and consistency of the event, albeit with improvements, year over year.

The purpose of this report is to review and critically analyze the promotion of the 21st Annual African Festival of the Arts,
conducting a comparative analysis against the previous year, and providing recommendations for the year 2011.

2009 IN REVIEW
Based on the information presented in the 2009 Media Report, prepared by P. Banks Communications, Inc., the 20th
annual festival utilized the following media strategies and tactics:

Media Partners 13 (does not include advertising)

Advertising Partners 15
Press Releases 11
Internet coverage via Festival website
Online news outlets
Online media partners
Social media (dedicated bloggers)

Media coverage monitored from August 13th to October 5th, 2009 included the following:

Print Hits 59
Television Hits 13
Radio Hits 14
Website Posts 33

While this listing is reflective, it does not represent the total media coverage garnered. Nevertheless, impressions on
print hits alone exceeded 11 million readers. Given the popularity and viral nature of the Internet, and omnipresence of
traditional electronic media, it would easily be within the realm of possibility to gauge overall impressions for 2009 as
exceeding 20 million.

2
2010 RELEASES, ALERTS, ADVISORIES
The publicity efforts for the 2010 Festival were handled by D Williams Public Relations Group. One press release was
prepared in advance of the main event and submitted to the Festival Executive Director for approval, prior to
dissemination to the media. A copy of that release is attached. Several blogs submission and website entries were
generated, along with daily media advisories during the Festival. However, none of these were captured in a hardcopy
format for inclusion in this report. Despite the absence of advisories, releases or alerts, a significant number of media
placements were secured prior to, and during the Festival. It should also be noted that these hits were placed in varied
media outlets, thereby reaching a broad cross-section of the regional market.

2010 COVERAGE RESULTS

The success of AFA can be determined by measurements within several categories; attendance figures, vendor
engagement, corporate sponsors, and media visibility. While an analysis of each category speaks directly to the success
of a particular strategy, for the purposes of this report, we will focus on the media visibility gained.

Based solely on informal assessments, it is clear that the AFA has grown in publicity through the two decades of its
existence. Word-of-mouth, locale recognition, and seasonal/calendar awareness by the general public are all indicators,
albeit informal, of the success of the festival. The quantitative measurements are obtained through comparing the
number of media placements (“hits”) secured through editorial methods, as opposed to purchased ad space in
electronic, print and internet media. The following charts reflect the print, radio and television hits secured between
the period of August and September 15, 2010. While the Internet coverage cannot be accurately captured, a sample of
the coverage is included in the Tear Sheet section. Additionally, a sampling of the sites upon which AFA information was
listed includes: Soleil To Do’s, Bean Soup Times, Centerstage.com, Urban News TV, Zeldaspeaks.com, Cherish the Soul
Entertainment, Soulful Detroit.com, and Illinois Entertainer.

Run Nielsen Calc. Ad

Date Media Outlets*
Time Audience Equiv.
8/23/10
8/25/10 Chicago Defender Online
Chicago Defender "TeeSee's Town" Online

8/26/10 Examiner.com/Chicago

8/27/10 Examiner.com/Chicago

8/28/10 GapersBlock website

Examner.com/Chicago

9/1/10 Examiner.com/Chicago
$
CLTV - 6:00pm 3:47 2,545 9,837.00
$
CLTV - 9:00pm 4:45 5,086 12,350.00

3
9/2/10 Examiner.com/Chicago
Chicago Sun-Times website
Chicago Reader website (3)
CenterStage Chicago
WGN-TV Midday News website

9/3/10 Examiner.com/Chicago
Chicagoist.com
Chicago Metromix website
Chicago Tribune
WLS-TV website
$
WBBM-TV - 5:00am :13 6,527 520.00
$
WMAQ-TV - 4:30am :18 31,246 66.00
$
WMAQ-TV - 6:30am :16 74,899 160.00
$
WMAQ-TV - 6:00pm :18 134,323 960.00
$
WLS-TV - 5:30am :51 85,477 1,360.00
$
WLS-TV - 6:00pm :41 321,666 5,193.00
$
WCIU-TV - 9:00am 1:23 21,653 415.00

9/4/10 Examiner.com/Chicago
Chicago Reader website (2)
Chicago Metromix website
$
WMAQ-TV - 6:30am :40 55,599 400.00
$
WLS-TV - 6:00am :29 78,978 580.00
$
WLS-TV - 11:00pm :31 52,560 723.00

9/5/10 WLS-TV website

Chicago Metromix website
$
WBBM-TV - 5:30pm :21 98,983 1,120.00
$
WMAQ-TV - 8:25am :10 70,769 333.00
$
WLS-TV - 6:30am :44 97,688 880.00
$
WFLD-TV - 9:00pm :16 133,629 3,200.00

9/6/10 Chicago Metromix website

$
WBBM-TV - 5:00am :25 6,527 1,000.00
WBBM-TV - 5:30am :10 7,752 $

4
 400.00
$
WBBM-TV - 6:00am :31 7,894 1,860.00
$
WFLD-TV - 5:00am :17 13,898 397.00
$
WFLD-TV - 6:00am :36 23,949 1,440.00
$
WFLD-TV - 9:00am :21 37,111 560.00

9/7/10 WMAQ-TV website

WLS-TV website
$
CLTV - 5:00am :35 7,149 327.00
$
CLTV - 6:00am :34 2,179 317.00
$
CLTV - 10:00am :35 1,716 385.00

9/8/10 WVON-AM website

9/9/10 Every Block Chicago website

Chicago Reader website

9/10/10 WGN-TV website

9/15/10 Chicago Defender online

$
TOTAL 1,379,803 44,783.00
*Per Nationwide News Monitors

5
 DATE PRINT MEDIA OUTLETS* CIRCULATION
Jul. 2010 Afrique - cover story
Chicago Defender - TeeSee's
Town 30,000
Crain's - Gardner Reception 45,000

Chicago Defender - TeeSee's

Aug. 2010 Town 30,000
N'Digo - cover story 75,000
N'Digo - calendar listing 75,000
Chciago Crusader - feature 90,000
Chicago Citizen Chain (3) 121,000
Uptown Magazine 15,000
African Spectrum 15,000
Chicago Sun-Times 268,803
Chicago Tribune - event listing 452,145
Hyde Park Herald 5,000
Lake Front Outlook 11,500
Chicago Jazz Magazine

Sept. 2010 Chicago Defender - cover story 30,000

Uptown Magazine 15,000
Chicago Crusader - calendar
listing 90,000
Red Eye 250,000
Chicago Reader 140,000
Chicago Magazine 150,000

ADDITIONAL PRINT COVERAGE

Bronzeville Metropolis
Washington Park Consortium
Daily Herald
Time Out Chicago
Gospel Synergy Magazine
Today's Photographer
Magaziine
North Lawndale Comm. News
South Shore Scene Comm.
Paper
The Windy City Word
Conciousness Magazine
*Per D. Williams Public Relations
Group

6
 RADIO OUTLETS* FEATURED GUEST
WVAZ-V103 - Herb Kent's Battle of the Best Chris Gardner & Robin Price
WVON - Cliff Kelly Show Joe Harrington
WSRB- Soul 106.3 - Shelby Moore Show Patrick Woodtor
WRLR - FM, 98.3
FM Liberte Media
Industrybuzz Internet Radio - Latonya Lang Show Robin Price
*Per D. Williams Public Relations Group

7
SAMPLE TEAR SHEETS
PRINT and DIGITAL

Chicago Sun-Times
Weekend warrior: 5 things to do in Chicago
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ourtown/2010/09/weekend_warrior_5_things_to_do_61.html

Chicago Tribune
A little bit of soul, and the economy
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-09-03/entertainment/ct-ott-0903-african-festival-of-the-
a20100903_1_african-festival-guest-speaker-vibe

Chicago Defender
21st African Festival of the Arts to host Annual Fest in Washington Park Labor Weekend
Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo to headline
http://www.chicagodefender.com/article-8625-21st-african-festiva.html

Metromix
Photo Slideshow with 50 pictures
http://chicago.metromix.com/events/essay_photo_gallery/photos-african-festival-of/2170298/content

Chicago Reader
African Festival of the Arts
Chaka Khan, Angelique Kidjo, and Tito Jackson are among the featured performers this Labor Day weekend
in Washington Park, by Kevin Warwick
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/african-festival-of-the-arts/Content?oid=2349645

Soulful Detroit.com (blog post)

http://soulfuldetroit.com/showthread.php?225-2010-African-Festival-of-the-Arts

Time Out Chicago

Out of Africa, by Brent DiCrescenzo
http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/music/88621/2010-african-festival-of-the-arts-at-washington-park

UPTOWN Magazine
Chicago: African Festival of the Arts
http://uptownmagazine.com/2010/09/chicago-african-festival-of-the-arts/

8
BROADCAST
NBC 5 Chicago
Photo slideshow
http://www.nbcchicago.com/around-town/events/PHOTOS-2010-African-Festival-102364744.html

ABC 7 Chicago
African Festival of the Arts on the city’s South Side
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/entertainment&id=7650918

WGN 9-Chicago Scene

21st Annual African Festival of the Arts
http://www.wgntv.com/news/middaynews/chicagoscene/

http://www.wgntv.com/videobeta/b6f266d2-c2ee-4f4d-886a-6fc2ead44a92/News/Chicago-Scene-21st-
Annual-African-Festival-of-the-Arts

9
ANALYSIS/RECOMMENDATIONS:
2009 2010
Print Hits 59 33
Television Hits 13 25
Radio Hits 14 6
Website Posts 33 21
Press Releases 11 1
Impressions 11 million (est.) 1.4 million (est.)

While this year’s African Festival of the Arts was an overall success, there were areas, particularly around the publicity
strategy, that would benefit from intensified handling in future years. In comparing various elements of the publicity
and communication efforts, it is clear that while there was almost a 100% increase in the number of television hits, all
other areas saw declines. The result was an overall decrease in the number of impressions by more than 90%. It should
be noted, however that impressions on face value alone, do not tell the entire story. Three placements in a community
newspaper do not carry the same weight as one front page placement in the weekend edition of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Nevertheless, in trying to reach as broad an audience as possible, it is critical that every avenue be explored – not just
community papers, and not just the weekend edition of the mainstream paper. Additionally, as the Festival audience
matures and demographics begin to shift, close attention must be given to social media.

Capturing an accurate picture of this year’s social media efforts was nearly impossible because of the lack of monitors
built into the publicity strategy; yet samples of blog entries, hit, and tweets were found with minimal effort by
individuals searching the Internet weeks after the festival concluded. Beyond the Internet’s ability to carry a message
globally (Hint: Out-of-towners planning to visit the region during the holiday weekend do not have easy access to those
community papers that typically carry Festival activities, but they do scan websites looking for places of interest!), there
is also an opportunity to link the Festival’s activities to the websites of corporate sponsors, thus engaging an entirely
new audience, employees, and giving corporation’s a sense of ownership in the success of the event.

Without question the Festival’s ongoing success is directly linked to attendance and corporate support. For the sake of
future corporate partnerships, it is critical that publicity efforts specifically have the benefit of heightened attention on
the part of Festival planners, particularly as corporations are looking to more strategically align with those organizations
that position them, favorably, in front of their target markets. Simply put, the return on investing their dollars in the
Festival that corporations look for is the ability to get placement and positioning in front of clients and customers; the
more opportunities that AFA has for media exposure, the greater the visibility for corporate sponsors. With this in
mind, it is recommended that publicity efforts be viewed in the same light as corporate sponsorships.

1) Develop metrics for publicity efforts. Using 2009 and 2010 results as starting points, determine what the
publicity goals are and begin strategizing on how to reach/surpass those goals.
2) Review goals every 3-4 months. Don’t ignore the value of periodic assessments as a way of keeping on track,
and implementing the necessary measures if goals aren’t being met. It is always easier to change the direction
of a plan in-process, than to try and repair a failed plan.
3) Engage a publicity firm that can devote resources to the Festival account throughout the entire year.
4) Develop an operational calendar for publicity that gives equal importance to the planning, execution and
evaluation stages of a 9- to 12-month life-cycle for the Festival.

10
 5) Recognize that publication schedules for major print vehicles (Chicago Magazine, Essence, Ebony) are usually six
months ahead of the calendar year. If stories, photos and captions, or even mentions in the “Calendar of
Events” are to occur, they must be developed, produced and vetted 8 months prior to the date the publication is
scheduled to hit the street.
6) Consider developing an advisory council composed of the PR people who represent the major corporate
sponsors. Gain their insights and contacts on securing airtime, solid placements, and year-round monitoring
services.

The African Festival of the Arts is, without question, one of Chicago’s cultural treasures. As such it deserves the same
level of attention given to other cultural landmark events.

11