Philly PRSA Nancy Bacher Long PR Institute

1. Philly PRSANancy Bacher Long PR Institute April 15, 2014 Writing a Strategic PR Plan

2. Tonight’s Agenda • Meet your Presenters • What a Plan Does • Anatomy of a Plan • Q&A

3. Meet Your Presenters • Blair Kahora Cardinal, MBA, Buchanan PR • 2012 President, PRSA Philly • Specializes in B2B clients—law firm, nonprofit community lenders, investment advisory firm. And also in being awesome. • Mike Gross, Hornercom • 2010 President, PRSA Philly • Specializes in not specializing—oversees all Hornercom PR activities and graphic design traffic management

4. What a Plan Does • Establishes mutually agreed-upon strategic communications framework • Sets expectations, opens discussion between client and agency • Provides action items • Identifies who should be hearing what message, when, where and how • Prepares for a crisis

5. Anatomy of a PR Plan

6. Situation Analysis (aka Executive Summary) • Sets the stage • Outlines the relevant history that has led to the plan • Establishes the need for your solution • But… don’t preach or critique

7. For Example… CLIENT is the national network of community lenders who serve poor communities. The nonprofit recently partnered with Starbucks on an initiative to create jobs across the nation. However, most business leaders and consumers have never heard of the organization. CLIENT wants to generate awareness, and educate and inform key audiences about the organization, its industry and member organizations. It seeks to do that through an aggressive media relations program aimed at generating high-level media coverage.They’d also like to uncover collaborations similar to that with Starbucks.

8. Research • You’d be surprised what you don’t know • Determines what will work, what won’t work • Defines what resonates with your audiences • “Roughly 125,000 people die each year in the U.S. as a result of not adhering to medications.” • “The average adult over age 55 juggles six to eight medications daily.”

9. Objectives • Things you want to accomplish • Measureable goals • Defined by a timeframe • Media is almost always an objective • Behavior change is almost always an objective “Generate ____ positive editorial news about ___ by ___” “Increase event attendance by ___ percent within one year.”

10. For Example… • Secure 50 media placements in national and regional business, financial and trade media (print, television, radio) in 2014. • High-Circulation Business Media – • 10-12 placements • Regional Media – • 20-30 placements • Key Industry Media – • 15-20 placements

11. Strategies • The opportunity to define your position in the marketplace • Defines HOW you’ll achieve objectives “Position ____ as the ___ in the ___ industry.” “Advocate for __ and the associated benefits.” “Mobilize and equip community leaders to engage ___”

12. For Example… • Leverage related issues, trends and policies that are prominently discussed in the news to garner high profile coverage of client • Capitalize on human interest stories of the impact that client has on the community • Coach company executives to deliver consistent key messages during media interviews

13. Audiences • Who you are trying to influence • Introduce? • Educate? • Take action? • Segment and prioritize • Decision-Makers at Financial Institutions • Corporate Leaders • Philanthropic Leaders • Small Business Owners • Key Government Officials

14. Messages • Informed by research • State your unique selling proposition (what sets you apart) • Tailored for audience segments • Establish a unified speaking platform “Rivers Casino is the premier entertainment destination in Western Pa, with exciting gaming, nine bars and restaurants and countless entertainment offerings.”

15. Tactics • The actions you perform to meet your objectives • Must support your strategies • Have execution dates

16. For Example… • Media Interviews • Pitch story about how small businesses along the boardwalks in New Jersey received financial assistance from community lenders to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. Cite a specific example for a human interest angle. Use facts and figures for higher-level analysis. • Desired Headline: “Client Helps NJ Small Businesses Rebuild” • Timing: Early May (Memorial Day story)

17. Supporting Tools • Media Kit • Media Lists and Editorial Calendars • Media Training • Speaking Engagements • Addendum to Plan

18. Measurement: • Evaluates results • Defines success … “Did we meet our objectives?” • May require interim reporting

19. Timeline: • Sequence of events • Keeps you on track January December

21. Budget: • Every plan will have costs • Costs are driven by tactics – “What are you going to do that costs $$?”

22. Alignment Check

23. Mini Plans • Enables you to break out an especially important—or late-arriving / uncharted—area of concentration for the client • As a subset of the overall media relations strategy, we will be managing the major announcement of CLIENT’s billion dollar donation to a national poverty fund.

24. The secret ingredient to every successful PR Plan?

25. The BIG ideas

28. Key Takeaways • You don’t know what you don’t know • Great expectations • Sharpen the pencil • Inspire your client