Aromatherapy
Awareness Week 9-15 June
Back-Pain
and Clinical Aromatherapy
This will be the sixth
year that we have sponsored Aromatherapy Awareness week and for the first time
we shall be using a specific theme to gain even more interest. It would appear
that 1 in 6 people suffer from back pain in the UK and it is the biggest cause
of absent days from work in the UK next to stress. This is an ideal opportunity therefore to
demonstrate our skills in this area and get the word out there about the
benefits of Clinical Aromatherapy particularly the IFA brand of Aromatherapy.
We shall of course
be promoting the Week in the National Press but you as members could also use
this opportunity to promote your own practices locally via your local press and
radio stations. In addition, because of the effects of lost days on business
due to back pain, the Week could provide an ideal opportunity to approach
corporate clients with a view to treating their employees.
First of all you
need to decide on the promotional feature you would like to offer. Here are some examples of what has been done
in previous years:
Discount treatments and offers
Demonstrations or Talks to:
Local
Businesses
Schools
Gyms
Doctors Surgeries
NCT groups
Having decided on
what you will do, you will then need to write a press release. A press release template specifically for
this Week is available from the IFA office.
As you will see from the template, it is important to keep the
information very concise. All you need
to do at this stage is to get the attention of the journalist.
Once you are happy
with the Press Release you can contact the editorial department of your local
newspaper, magazine and radio station. This
information can usually be found on their websites
You can then
either telephone the Editors and ask them if they would be interested in your
story, or you can email the press release directly to the Editor. Most publications are always hungry for real
news so don’t be shy – this is real news and making personal contact is always more
effective.
If you do
telephone make sure you have all the facts to hand that they might ask you
about Aromatherapy Week and Aromatherapy in general. The office has a bullet point sheet which is useful,
not just for contacting the press, but also if you are going to be giving talks
or demonstrations. We are often asked
‘Is there sufficient proof that Aromatherapy works?” The IFA website has several research papers
on Back Pain as well as many other associated conditions.
Although we have a
few months before the actual Week, you will need to start thinking about it
now. In terms of when to actually send
out the press release: for weekly newspapers, you could contact them a month
before; radio stations, a couple of weeks before. Local magazines will depend on how frequently
they appear. If they are quarterly then
you will need to contact them as soon as possible. By giving the press sufficient notice it
opens up the opportunity for them to do a more in depth feature for
Aromatherapy Week.
The IFA office has
a range of products i.e. leaflets, posters, smelling strips etc. to help
reinforce and support your event.
Good luck and we
hope you take this opportunity to make Aromatherapy Week exciting and fun both
for you and the IFA. Please let us know
what you plan to do so that we may incorporate it into the IFA publicity and
information.
Further
information on the effects of Back Pain
