On Monday, the AISTech show opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. AISTech is the steel industry’s largest annual trade show event attracting industry analysts, buyers and media from around the world. More than 8,000 attendees will travel the show floor during the four-day conference.
Our client W. L. Gore & Associate’s Industrial Products Division is exhibiting a new product at the show. We have been working hand-in-hand with the Gore team to support the introduction of the GORE® Low Drag Filter Bag, a true industry game changer.
Putting Visuals to Work
The GORE® Low Drag Filter Bag is the most sustainable and low cost of ownership option in filtration that the steel industry has seen in the last 40 years. As a public relations professional, working with highly technical information can be challenging as the material can be difficult for even the most “in the weeds” trade reporters to digest. That said, taking the approach of creating a visual component to accompany messaging can be critical when developing a media relations strategy. Our team worked with the associates at Gore and 3D digital animator Nick Rotondo to create an animated infographic (shown below) to accompany our written material. Being fully immersed in the process, I have learned that it is truly essential to have a visual component on hand while educating media on technical material, especially to articulate the benefits of an innovative product.
Storytelling Through Infographics
Infographics have become increasingly popular in communications plans for the following reasons:
- The infographic bolsters written content such as a press release, byline or blog post.
- An infographic also organizes large amounts of data, conveys complex information and presents it in a way that is easy to digest, resulting in the retention of a reader.
- According to HubSpot, 46% of marketers say photography is critical to their current marketing and storytelling strategies.
- HubSpot also noted that 65% of senior marketing executives believe that visual assets are core to how they communicate their brand stories.
As a public relations professional with a strong focus on media relations, I am not at all surprised at the importance of graphics in the media pitching process. While I leave the creative development to my colleague, Megan Berry, I enjoy participating in the brainstorm sessions and discussions about building informative creative assets.
The infographic has the same objective and end-goal as the traditional written content: convey a message and resonate with the reader. The approach of incorporating animation in the GORE® Low Drag Filter Bag infographic truly helps visualize the greater story of the filter bag, such as how the product will work in the steel plant.
Gore will showcase its latest innovations in filtration at AISTech, booth 2750, in Pittsburgh from May 16–19.
