Public Relations

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Public Relations Schools
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Sullivan LeShane

• Sullivan LeShane
• Government Public Relations
• Design, manage and implement strategic
  communication campaigns
• Clients
• Corporations
• Developers
• Not-for-profits
• Citizen Coalitions
• Trade Associations
• Educational Groups

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Personal Background

• Former President and Creative Director of one of
  Connecticuts largest ad agencies
• Services to Clients
• Media training
• Strategic communication planning
• Media relations
• Litigation support
• Labor unrest
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Branding issues
• Crisis communications

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Todays Agenda

• Public Relations 101
• The Foundation Planning
• Building your reputation
• Leveraging your reputation
• Managing your reputation when the news is bad

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Public Relations 101
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Public Relations?

• The art or science of establishing and promoting
  a favorable relationship with the public
• A promotion intended to create goodwill for a
  person or institution
• Some might say public relations is about putting
  the best possible spin on the worst possible news

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More than Press Releases and Promotions

• PR efforts can include
• Branding
• Internal and external communications
• Crisis management
• Advertising
• Media relations
• Community relations

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Fundamental Objectives

• Building a reputation
• positioning yourself as the expert
• Leveraging your reputation
• selling products
• obtaining approvals
• solidifying support for a position
• Protecting your reputation
• managing bad news

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Objectives for Schools

• Building community support for your schools
  internal and external target audiences
• Leveraging support for initiatives - capital
  campaigns, construction projects, etc.
• Preparing for a crisis or unwanted media coverage

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In Practice

• A major corporation holds a press conference to
  announce a new product or service
• A not-for-profit organization writes an op-ed for
  the local newspaper
• A citizen advocacy group buys radio ads to
  promote their position
• A parent calls the ACLU to change a school
  discipline decision, then calls the media

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Public Relations Essentials

• Have a winning team and a plan
• Talk to your audiences - before they start
  talking about you
• Build political muscle before you need it
• Be a source before you are the story

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The Foundation Planning
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Planning

• Every communication effort should be based on a
  written plan
• The plan should detail
• Assessment of current situation
• Objectives to be achieved
• Strategies to achieve them
• Tactics to implement strategies
• Expected deliverables

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Assess the Situation

• Take a critical look at your school
• How do communicate today?
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Opportunities and limitations
• Allies and opponents
• Communication resource inventory

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Identify Your Objectives

• Based on a realistic analysis of the situation,
  what do you wish to achieve?
• Objectives define the result of a successful
  communication effort
• Sample objectives
• Secure additional funding for the school budget
• Attract new teachers to the school
• Raise money to build a new sports field
• Engage parents in school activities

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Develop Strategies

• Strategies define the specific pathways to
  achieve a successful result
• Sample Strategies
• develop key messages customized to target
  audiences  
• prepare spokespeople to deliver key messages
  effectively in various situations
• generate earned media coverage to build profile
  of school or district
• continuously evaluate media coverage

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Identify Tactics

• Tactics are activities that implement plan
  strategies
• Organize tactics in a campaign format
• Sample tactics
• by-line articles by faculty in local papers
• press releases on student and faculty achievement
• email newsletters to parents
• special programs to involve local businesses in
  teaching curriculum

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Building Your Reputation
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Your Reputation

• Your audiences have existing opinions about you
• Your reputation is based in large part on what
  they hear or have heard about you
• Build your reputation by communicating your
  messages directly to your audiences
• Communication will change and build your
  reputation over time
• The best promotion is self promotion

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Building Your Reputation

• Communicate, listen, communicate...
• Become a media resource
• Expand your base
• Be accessible to all audiences
• Identify high profile communication opportunities

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Communicate, Listen, Communicate...

• Understand how audiences respond to your
  communications
• Dont just send a newsletter
• Ask what your audience thinks of the newsletter
• Continuously evaluate what you are saying and how
  you are delivering the message

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Be a Media Resource

• Organizations can build their reputations by
  serving as an expert for news stories
• Proactively deliver topical stories
• Pay attention to natural news hooks -
  anniversaries, holidays, trends, etc.
• Provide local reporters with experts from inside
  your school

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Expand your Base

• As your organization communicates look for new
  opportunities
• Look for new audiences
• Look for new ways to engage your audiences

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Be Accessible to All Audiences

• The media doesnt respect fair-weather friends
• Beyond reporters make yourself accessible to
  elected officials, business leaders and other key
  community decision-makers
• Use the interactive power of the internet

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Identify Communication Opportunities

• Monitor national media for trends that your
  school can speak about locally
• Think of innovative ways to communicate with your
  audiences
• Take advantage of high profile networking
  opportunities
• The I.S. factor

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Leveraging Your Reputation
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Use Your Reputation

• School communication efforts cross into the
  political arena
• Your reputation in the community will create a
  base of support
• This support can help with fundraising projects,
  support in budget referenda, or other important
  policy decisions
• This support can also prevent you from being a
  target

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Managing Your Reputation
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Prepare for the Worst

• Create a crisis communications contingency plan
• Practice Makes Perfect
• Media Training
• Mock Drills
• Never Say Never
• If someone thinks it up - it might just happen
• Prepare for the worst cases you never think can
  happen

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When the worst happens...
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10 Tips to Protect Your Reputation

• Respond to all negatives
• Be quick on your feet
• Demonstrate responsibility
• It aint over til its over
• Learn from your mistakes

• Be prepared to tell your side of the story
• First things first
• Speak with one voice
• Talk to the media
• Insist on balance

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Have A Plan - Practice It Often - Sweet Dreams!