Better PR
An introduction, a tip, and a successful press event
I’m an anthropologist who has worked in commercial radio news in Iowa for nearly 20 years. I’m getting close to retiring from radio to move on to other adventures. I have bylines in the New York Times, TIME, USA Today, the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the Des Moines Register, and dozens more publications. I’m part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, and write about politics and culture at Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture and my observations on nature and people at the Cedar Bluffs Natural Area, Mahaska County, Iowa, at Cedar Creek Nature Notes.
Now I’m writing Better PR here. I’ve seen tens of thousands of press releases over the years, and as a member of the media, I know which pitches work and those that don’t. My focus here is on nonprofits, but the lessons I share here will work for business and industry as well. I will pull examples from nonprofits, for-profits, and government because there is much to be learned.
There are over 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States. Some are remarkably successful, while others struggle. I know something about the successful ones, but for some reason, I’m oddly drawn to the ones that are less so. Maybe because the less successful nonprofits really need my help. The purpose of this newsletter is to provide those of you who work in the nonprofit industry with some tools to help increase your effectiveness in getting your stories out to your communities.
All of you have taken on immense challenges. Curing cancer. Feeding the hungry. Funding a historic preservation effort in your community. Getting musical instruments into the hands of children, among thousands--actually, 1.5 million great causes. I’m here to help.
You need my help because if you are a small nonprofit, you don’t have anyone doing PR full-time. Maybe the leader of the nonprofit takes on the challenge or a volunteer. Or maybe no one does it at all, which undermines your efforts.
Every post will have a simple tip and a story of one kind or another. I know we are all reading a lot and that we are all busy. After this post, all of the tips will be up top.
Here is my first tip.
Have a media plan on the agenda of every meeting.
Discussion should be about what your next pitch to the media is, who is going to do it, when, and why. Importantly, you also need to assess the success of last month’s (weekly/quarterly/whatever) media plan, i.e., did anyone bite? How far was your reach? What was the impact?
If you don’t have a media plan on your agenda, you aren’t doing PR right. Do PR Better.
A few years ago, I wrote an ebook called Sticky and Easy: a Guide to Marketing Your Nonprofit to the News Media. I wrote it and shared it with friends. Now I am sharing it with you.
Our story in this post will be the very successful announcement that Jay Byers with the Greater Des Moines Partnership is taking the position of President of Simpson College. It was nearly perfect.
The press release was a good one. It had all of the elements for the beginning of a media story if reporters were planning to attend. If reporters weren’t planning to attend, there was enough information to rework it for any media. The release came out on May 15, and it announced there would be a news conference on May 17. The Greater Des Moines Partnership also had a press release that Byers was leaving on May 15, maximizing the impact. The scheduling was a little tight, but I suspect that the big Des Moines media had been given a heads-up.
At the event, Simpson staff were there to help the media in any way they could. There was food and drink. The speeches were tight and powerful, with a number of quote-worthy lines. And short. Short is good.
The media got all of the time it needed with Jay afterward, and below is my quick interview with him. Note that he made his comments to me more about the Simpson team and the Greater Des Moines Partnership than about him. A good leader elevates those around him or her, which is exactly what Jay did.
So did the media avail work?
It sure did. The next day I googled “Jay Byers” “Simpson College,” and there were four pages of results, most of them from Iowa but going well beyond, including one from Yahoo UK! Great public relations for Simpson College, any way you measure it.
Here is KCCI-TV’s coverage, for example.
Even better, on May 19, coverage began of the Greater Des Moines Partnership selection of Tiffany Tauscheck as Byer’s replacement, doubling the media coverage. The timing of the Partnership was impeccable and showed everyone that they really have their act together and are looking to move seamlessly into the future. As is Simpson College.
Perfectly played by Simpson College and the Greater Des Moines Partnership.
Grade: A+