Aromatherapy Awareness Week

Guidelines for IAAMA members

The National Aromatherapy Awareness Week falls on the 6th – 13th October 2008. 5th – 12th October 2009 and 6th – 13th October 2010.

This is an opportunity for Aromatherapists to raise awareness on the therapeutic benefits of Aromatherapy, and, by doing so, allow us to promote our own services and products to clients and our local communities.

The IAAMA has prepared these guidelines to support its members in using this opportunity. A number of resources have been developed for your use. Download the pack for awareness week.

Early planning is important. Choose one or two activities and don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to do too much.

Engage local services to assist you in promoting your services. Involve your team if you work for a larger organisation. Use your regional IAAMA meetings to brainstorm ideas and share the workload in spreading the word about Aromatherapy across a wider community.

Suggested Activities

1. Download the pack for awareness week and distribute these as listed below:
2. Have an open day for your clinic or service and invite the local community to participate
3. Run short workshops or talks on the benefits of aromatherapy - you can target a specific issue (such as respiratory ailments or sleep disturbances – see facts sheets) or a more general presentation
4. Speak at a local community group about the benefits of aromatherapy
5. Give free hand massages or 10-minute consultations using aromatherapy to clients or potential clients
6. Set up a stand at your local shopping mall
7. Contact the local media with an offer to be interviewed on what is aromatherapy and its benefits
8. Issue the free downloadable press releases to your local paper or radio stations

Media

Publicity is an extremely important part of National Aromatherapy Awareness Week. In fact, the outcome of your week will depend largely on your ability to promote it as widely as possible.

In order to get the word out and involve the community as much as possible, you need to alert your local media early on.

Let them know about the events of the Awareness Week. Urge them to publish or run stories about Aromatherapy. Choose a particular theme – e.g. allergies, insomnia or work stress. You can submit the downloadable media release or facts sheets from our website.

Radio stations are also an effective way to get your message across.

Distribute your fact sheets to community organisations (see list below). Use email to do this efficiently and at low cost.

Poster

1. Download the IAAMA poster from our website on a colour printer
2. Insert your own details on the poster
3. Display this in your own clinic or workplace
4. Invite other local businesses to display this in your local area – examples include:
   - hairdressers,
   - beauticians,
   - dentists,
   - cafes,
   - local GPs,
   - nursing homes and aged care facilities
5. Leave posters with community organisations such as:-
   - local library,
   - on the display board at your local shopping centre,
   - local council,
   - schools,
   - medical centres,
   - community centres & community health centres
   - colleges and universities

Press Releases

1. Download the free press release from our website
2. Insert your own contact details – name of service, address and phone number
3. Contact the editor of your local paper and ask them to run the press release on the date of release
4. Send copies to local radio station managers and ask them to air a story about the Aromatherapy Awareness Week
5. Email press releases to your clients

Fact Sheets

1. Download the free Fact Sheets from our website and print
2. Distribute to existing clients within your service
3. Hand out Fact Sheets to passing individuals
4. Make copies available to local libraries
5. Include these fact sheets on your own website or insert into your newsletter

IAAMA Brochures

These are available for purchase from the IAAMA Administrator call on 02 9715-6622. You can distribute these as per all of the other material above.

For more information see the following fact sheets.
Fact sheet 1 aromatherapy – What is it? What are its benefits?
Fact sheet 2 aromatherapy and workplace stress
Fact sheet 3 aromatherapy and respiratory ailments
Fact sheet 4 Oils ain’t oils – selecting quality essential oils
Fact sheet 5 using essential oils safely