2006 Assembly of Delegates

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Getting the Word Out
2006 Assembly of Delegates Presenters Tami
Tarpley National LEAVE A LEGACY
Director ttarpley_at_ncpg.org Nicole Cunningham
NCPG Public Relations and Marketing
Manager ncunningham_at_ncpg.org
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Presentation Overview

• Press releases
• Web sites
• Placing and pitching materials at
• little or no cost
• Community events
• Supplements

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Press Releases
Andy Marken of Marken Communications We
interviewed more than 50 business, financial and
industry publication editors. We talked with an
equal number of on-line editors. Most of them
said that they receive an average of
300 releases per day over the wire, in the mail
and sent electronically.
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Press Releases
contd Andy Marken of Marken Communications
More than three-fourths of the releases they
receive are so weak or amateurish that they go
directly into the wastebasket (electronic or
physical).
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Press Releases Content

• Appropriate contact information
• Headline
• Sub-headline
• Dateline
• Strong lead paragraphwho, what, why,
• when, where, and how

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Press Releases Content
contd

• Quotations from one or two
• relevant participants
• A summary of what LEAVE A
• LEGACY is, or a boilerplate
• statement

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Headlines

• All caps and centered on the page
• Write your most exciting news
• As few words as possible
• Emulate newspaper headlines

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Pick the Better Headline
Press Release Headline 1 NEW WEBSITE THAT OFFERS
HERBAL WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS LETS TEENS SPEAK OUT
ABOUT WEIGHT ISSUES Press Release Headline
2 TEENS ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET BAD
EXAMPLE
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Press Releases The Sub-headline
An overlooked but valuable tool!

• First letter of each word capitalized
• Should also be centered on the page
• Expand on your headline

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Press Releases The Sub-headline
TEENS ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET BAD
EXAMPLE Website Forumgoers Weigh In Teens Don't
Find Ultra-Thin Celebs Attractive Girls Say
Negative Self-Images Reinforced by Hollywood's
Super-Skinny
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Press Releases The Lead

• Contents
• Dateline (location/origin of press release)
• Who, What Why, When, Where, How?

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Pick the better lead paragraph
Press Release Lead 1 Recently on
theplace4vitamins.com, an online store dedicated
to selling the best herbal products, teenagers
had the chance to say what they thought about
weight loss and whether a society that pressures
young people to be thin is a good thing or a bad
thing.
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Pick the better lead paragraph
Press Release Lead 2 America's teenagers are
angry at Hollywood for glamorizing ultra-thin
bodies, and many girls say they feel too
self-conscious about their bodies as a result of
watching TV, movies and music videos. The
findings are gleaned from more than six months of
ongoing discussion and debate
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Pick the better lead paragraph
Press Release Lead 2
contd
at the website theplace4vitamins.com. According
to theplace4vitamins.com President John Smith,
anger and resentment toward the Hollywood
ultra-thin runs deep, particularly among teenage
girls.
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Press Releases The Body

• Contents
• Relevant quotes from participants
• Additional details
• A boilerplate

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Boilerplate Who are we?
LEAVE A LEGACY is the public awareness campaign
of the National Committee on Planned Giving.
LEAVE A LEGACY programs across the country are
educating the public about the benefits of
leaving bequests to charity in wills and estate
plans.
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Press Releases What to Avoid

• jargon  P   Pronunciation Key  (järgn) n.
• Nonsensical, incoherent, or
• meaningless talk
• A hybrid language or dialect
• The specialized or technical language of
• a trade, profession, or similar group.

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Press Releases What to Avoid

• contd
• Speech or writing having unusual or
• pretentious vocabulary, convoluted phrasing
• and vague meaning.
• Hype Exaggerated or extravagant claims
• made in advertising or promotional material

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• Press Releases What to Avoid
• contd
• Dont make them too long (1-2 pgs. is best)
• Never e-mail the press release as an
• attachment
• Avoid phrases such as for immediate
• release

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Press Releases What to Avoid contd

• Keep the release limited to just one
• subject or event
• Dont write I or we unless used in quotes

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Web Sites Considerations

• Cost
• Updates
• Content
• Repetition
• Presence of council web site

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Web Sites What to Avoid

• Long URLs/web addresses
• Counters
• Events calendarsI recently saw on that
• hadnt been updated since 1999
• Broken links or outdated e-mail addresses

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Spreading the Word Low/No Cost Strategies

• Form a strong community coalition
• Make sure partners are using logo and promoting
  partnership
• Be creativeuse PSAs as hold audio use
• ads and billboards on campus benches
• Request use as filler content for empty
  billboards or in newspapers

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Publication Supplements

• Usually put together by a local business journal
• Their reporters can write the material, but so
  can you
• Your audience is the public
• Remember the emotion of LEAVE A LEGACY

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Community Events

• Postcard mailings
• Use mailing lists of community partners
• Write a press release
• Submit event details to datebooks
• and community calendars for print
• television and radio

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Community Events

• Use LEAVE A LEGACY posters/ads
• Create banners
• Gather information about attendees
• Follow up with attendees (e.g., find out if they
  
• wrote a bequest in their wills after a will
  event
• and publicize)

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Questions?

Tami Tarpley, National LEAVE A LEGACY
Director ttarpley_at_ncpg.org Nicole Cunningham,
NCPG Public Relations and Marketing
Manager ncunningham_at_ncpg.org