Chapter/Start-Up/PROMOTE YOUR MEETING TO LOCAL DEVELOPERS
International Game Developers Association
Step6: Promote Your Meeting to Local Developers
Promote your meetings in a variety of ways to maximize attendance. Keep in mind that roughly 15-20% of the people you invite will attend a meetings. Attendance is usually a little bit higher for a chapter's inaugural meeting than subsequent meetings.
A. Online
Keep your chapter website up-to-date with advance meetings notices.
Use the Add/Edit Chapter Updates functions in the Chapter Admin area to automatically post your meeting announcement to the IGDA's homepage, the Chapter Meeting Schedule page, and monthly Newsletter:
https://www.igda.org/login.php?pid=chadmin
http://www.igda.org/chapters/meetings.php
http://www.igda.org/newsroom/newsletter_0903.txt
The IGDA forums are the most heavily trafficked section of the IGDA website, so be sure to post a meeting announcement in your chapter forum as well.
B. Email
Maintaining an email list of local attendees is crucial for promoting upcoming meetings, recruiting volunteers, and keeping attendees abreast of chapter developments.
A Personal list or a bcc email will work for a small chapter. Larger chapters need to use a free service such as Yahoo Groups or Topica: http://groups.yahoo.com/
Once you set up your list, populate it with local developers. Ask the IGDA for a list of members and registered users in your area to invite to your first meeting, and to invite to join mailing list. This list should only be sued for chapter purposes. In addition, ask atleast one person from each local company to send an internal email encouraging co-workers to join the mailing list.
C. Studio Champions
Recruit one representative from each game studio in your area to serve as an interal "champion" for your chapter. Champions should communicate all chapter news, meetings announcements, and reports to their co-workers and promote attendance to chapter meetings. As a show of appreciation, recognize your Studio Champions on your chapter website.
D. Promote at other local events
If you have any game-related events in your area, distribute flyers with information about your chapter and encourage people to join your mailing list.
E. Press Policy
While we encourage chapters to build relationships with local media to garner coverage of meetings, chapters are NOT allowed to put out official IGDA press releases. Chapters ARE allowed to send updates, memos, or informal announcements about their chapter and activities to the media in their area.
Chapter organizers are NOT allowed to endorse specific products, platforms, companies, or events while representing the IGDA. Organizers are NOT allowed to give interviews on behalf of the IGDA.
All media inquiries should be directed to IGDA headquarters (press@igda.org)
Chapters are strongly encouraged to use all of the built-in chapter meetings and report announcement functionality via the IGDA website and newsletter (as previously noted) before relying on general PR and media outreach.
