Crossroads of America Council Boy Scouts of America

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Crossroads of America CouncilBoy Scouts of
America
District PR Chair Meeting December 9, 2008
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Agenda

• Introductions
• What is public relations?
• Why media relations?
• Getting your story out
• Questions and Discussion

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(No Transcript)
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Introductions
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PR Versus Marketing

• Marketing is selling what the company makes and
  P.R. is selling what makes the company Bob
  Gildea
  
• For Scouting this translates into
• Marketing sells the Scouting programs, P.R. sells
  the value of Scouting

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People who think well of Scouting are more
likely to

Join Recommend membership to others Recomme
nd others to donate Doubt negative informatio
n Volunteer or work (and continue to work) for
the organization
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Bottom Line

• Increased awareness helps with
• Recruitment and retention of Scouts and
  volunteers
  
• Fundraising efforts
• Positive feelings toward Scouting
• Differentiation from other youth programs

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Council PR Support

• Shelly Grimes Marketing and PR Coordinator
• sgrimes_at_crossroadsbsa.org/ [phone] x.
  224
  
• Full-time staff member
• Day-to-day pr/marketing contact
• Your link to communications support
• Lead for Crossroads newsletter, Eagle Scout
  communications, etc.
  
• Debbie Davis Triad Public Relations
• Consultant (part-time)
• Strategic planning
• Crisis management
• Major gifts campaign

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Role of PR/Marketing Committee

• Communications expertise from community
• Connects Scouting with others
• Provide guidance to support Presidents goal
• Scouting programs and services
• Crisis communications
• Style Guide

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Council-wide activities

• Calendar Specific Events
• Scouting Anniversary
• Scouting for Food
• Awards Dinner
• Cookout on the Circle
• Fall membership drive
• Popcorn Sales
• Good Turn Day
• Ongoing
• Human interest stories
• Stories aligned with major gifts campaign
• Preparation for 100th Anniversary in 2010

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Council Responsibilities

• Council wide programs (popcorn, Scouting for
  Food, membership)
  
• Major media contact
• Distribute public service announcements and
  scripts
  
• Write and distribute Eagle Award press releases
• Contact for TV stations and Indianapolis Star
  human interest stories
  
• Monitor press clippings
• Lead crisis communications efforts
• Keep district PR chairs informed
• Manage style guide and media database

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District Responsibilities

• Develop and pitch story ideas about Scouting to
  local media.
  
• Write and distribute district-specific press
  releases
  
• Using master media list, create a district media
  contact list
  
• Work with district committee to develop
  distribute a district newsletter to volunteers
  
• Recruit, encourage, motivate coordinate
  activities with unit public relations chairs
  
• Share pictures and video of district events
• Keep council informed of coverage in your area

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Unit Responsibilities

• Contact charter organization with unit news
• Develop contact list for neighborhood, school,
  church newsletters, etc.
  
• Complete unit press release templates and send to
  contact list
  
• Notify district PR chair of potential stories
• Share pictures video of unit events
• Contact newspapers or radio stations with
  district PR chair approval
  

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District PR Efforts in 2009

• Focus on recruiting and retaining district PR
  chairs
  
• Provide organized communications between council
  and district PR chairs
  
• Update toolkits and templates to make work easier
  and consistent
  
• Develop additional training

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Unit PR in 2009

• Identify and recruit more unit PR chairs
• Continue to focus on positive public relations
  for units
  
• Increased attention on human interest stories
• Provide more tools and communication from council
  including more templates
  
• Add more training
• Update promote Unit PR award system

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Why media relations?
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Media relations is critical
Media is invasive in our society (we cant h
ide from it) Media relations offers a way to ta
ke messages to the masses, without a
million-dollar ad campaign Media relations offe
rs third-party credibility, that no amount of ad
money can buy Cuts through the clutter of messa
ges that people receive
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So how are we going to get our stories in the
hands of media?

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Building a plan

• List activities you want to publicize as well as
  when and how they will be publicized
  
• Determine which media outlets are appropriate
• List other sources that may be interested
  (newsletters, etc.)
  
• Determine contacts and deadlines
• Establish a process within your district for
  submission and review
  
• Set ground rules upfront to ensure media doesnt
  get bombarded
  
• Let the council know so we can watch for it!

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Audiences

• Who do you want to reach? Why?
• Common audiences are
• Current Scouts/ families
• Prospective Scouts/families
• Volunteers
• Alumni
• Public
• Media

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How can we reach our audiences?

• There are many ways including
• News media
• Crossroads newsletter
• School newsletters
• Church bulletins
• Home owners association newsletters
• Weekly community papers
• Local radio shows
• Community calendars
• Community Web sites and message boards

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Takeaways

• What you can expect from us
• Assistance in reaching your goals with
  appropriate communications
  
• Collaboration on materials
• More effective strategies to reach your key
  audiences
  
• What we need from you
• Communicate early and often with us
• Participate in training activities
• Share all of the stories you hear
• Support for deadlines (internal and external)

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Questions/Discussion
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APPENDIX
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Ways to Communicate

• Press releases
• Short summaries (for newsletters, calendar
  events)
  
• E-mails/ phone calls
• Photographs (with signed talent releases)
• Letter to the Editor
• Speeches
• Word of Mouth

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Good story ideas
What makes something newsworthy? Timeliness
Trends Impact Conflict Human interest
Prominence
Novelty Proximity
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Media Relations Tips and Tricks
Always call and call back sense of urgency.
Never bring up advertising Know their preferred c
ommunication channel Never lie! Dont badger, SP
AM or generally stalk only contact them with
real news Have a database Have ONE point of cont
act- dont shuffle them around!

• Know and respect deadlines
• Respect reporters profession
• Become a source Stay in touch with pitches and
  news
  
• Never ask for or demand coverage
• Never try to buy a journalist
• Read the paper AND the journalists articles
• Send thank you notes!

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Press Release Tips
Press Release Tips
(or center -MORE- if multiple pages)
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Creating newsletters

• Timeliness is critical
• Documents need to be easy to read and
  non-threatening
  
• The design needs to be user friendly
• The key objective for the reader to understand
  the information, remember it and act upon it.

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For more information
http//www.usda.gov/news/pubs/fcn/intro.htm h
ttp//www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
http//www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Press-Release
http//www.prwebdirect.com/pressreleasetips.php