The Value of Public Relations

O’Keeffe PR & Marketing Solutions

PR & the Federation• Goals:

– Communicate value of the Federation and our shared Jewish community

– Engage with community members

– Raise awareness of Israel’s connection to Cincinnati

– Attract Jewish Cincinnatians to return to Cincinnati

– Promote Cincinnati 2020 programs and initiatives

– Maximize charitable giving, community participation

– Promote various Federation and JCRC initiatives

• Audiences:– Greater Cincinnati’s Jewish community

– The Greater Cincinnati community at large

– National and International media

PR: We Can’t Escape It

What is PR?

• Public Relations is…

– The actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.

– The art, technique or profession of promoting such goodwill

PR Tools• Social Media—Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,…

– The use of Internet and mobile-based tools to engage customers, collect consumer data, share information, and generate awareness

• Blog/Newsletter—primary examples of “branded content”

• News Release– Brief, but substantive, document sent to multiple media outlets and/or contacts that

shares the “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” and “why” about an organization’s newsworthy topic or event

• Media Alert

• Story Pitch– Brief message sent to select contacts via email, phone, pitch tool (PitchEngine.com), etc.

– Intended to facilitate requests for more information or offer an “exclusive” story

• Media/Press Kit—fact sheet, bios, FAQs, news releases, contact sheet, etc.

• Video—YouTube, Vine,…

• Media Training—aids spokespersons in controlling the story

• Crisis PR Plan—prepares you for how to respond in times of crisis

Content! Content! Content!

• Content Marketing

– Creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving defined and measurable customer action.

News/Press Release

• O’Keeffe wrote and posted to Cincinnati Business Courier’s “People On the Move”

• Jewish Federation of Cincinnati distributed

Media Alert

Social Media Release Platform

Ways to Measure Success

• Media Coverage

• Website Traffic

• Social Media Following

– E.g., Twitter “Followers,” Facebook “Likes,” etc.

• Calculated Advertising Equivalency (CAD)

– Assumes 30-second ad value

– I.e., A TV story runs 1:30 and the 30-second ad value is $120, the CAD will be $360

• Word of Mouth

Example of PR Success

• Actual email from Cincinnati Business Courierabout Shep Englander’s guest blog article…

– May 16, 2014:Hi Dan, I've posted Shep Englander’s second blog this morning.

I just checked the numbers on his first, and it was very popular. In fact, it was our most popular guest commentary piece that we’ve run so far this year. So big thanks to you for coordinating it!

If possible, itwould be great if you could drum up some social support for this latest one. Remind Shep to push it out through his social channels, etc. I don’t know what kind of following the Jewish Federation has on social, but this particular blog today seems like it could be very sharable.

Thanks a million!

lisa

Suggested PR Trends for 2015

• Back to PR basics– Greater focus on “what” is communicated vs. “how” we’re communicating

• Consolidation of media– Media outlets merging; journalists leaving profession

• Heavier reliance on PR vs. Advertising

• Convergence of PR and Marketing– Examples: Digital; “Generic Top Level Domains”

• Social responsibility

• Visual and experiential storytellling

• Branded, strategic and personalized content

• Greater challenge in getting large audiences to rally around one cause– Continuing shift to individualistic, on-demand culture

• Stronger emphasis on providing meaningful content to the right audiences

Glossary of PR Terms• News/Press Release - An official statement issued to media and posted to websites and/or news/press release platforms that

provides information on a particular matter.

• Media Alert - An alternative format for PR writing used to communicate an event to the media in advance. Think of it as an abbreviated news/press release, or a quick, at-a-glance summary of your event, which gives reporters, editors and producers all the information they need to decide whether or not to cover your story. This lets them know the “Who, What, When, Where and Why.”

• For Immediate Release – Term on a news/press release that denotes that the information in the press release can be published/broadcast as soon as the release is received. Sometimes the entity releasing information will ask the media to hold off on (or “embargo”) releasing information until a press conference is held or until it is closer to the date of whatever it is they want to promote, but just want to get the media alerted that "something big" (in their opinion) is going to occur.

• News Embargo / Press Embargo - Request by a source that the information/news provided by that source not be published until a certain date or until certain conditions have been met. The phrase "For Immediate Release" often found at the top of news/press releases indicates that the information in the release is not embargoed.

• Story Pitch – Concise summary of a newsworthy message sent to targeted journalists that resonates with a client’s customer and matches client objectives and core messaging. A pitch must have a unique, relevant and newsworthy angle. Typical topics include:

– Business milestones (e.g., anniversaries, mergers and acquisitions, new contracts)

– Evergreen stories, and holiday-specific stories, such as New Year’s Day, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Veteran’s Day, or Mother’s Day.

– Award wins

– Human interest – which could include looking at the stories behind a particular business/organization.

• Long Lead Pitching – Long lead outlets are primarily print magazines and those reporters who are working on stories anywhere from 3-6 months in advance. National magazines take a long time to create, edit and publish, so they work months in advance so they have plenty of time to make changes before going to print. Many of these long lead outlets also follow an editorial calendar or publishing schedule, which usually maps out what each edition of the magazine is going to feature for the year (e.g., the July 2015 edition of Food & Wine may feature 4th of July BBQ recipes, but work on that edition might begin as early as December 2014).

• Short Lead Pitching - Short lead outlets are daily/weekly newspapers and magazines, blogs and news websites that do not require pitching that far in advance. Depending on the type of outlet, pitches for short lead publications can usually be done around a month in advance (sometimes even less). However, timing is still important to consider when pitching short lead publications since reporters are most likely on a tighter deadline.

• News Desks - the department of a broadcasting organization or newspaper responsible for collecting and reporting the news. In a broadcast newsroom, the News Desk is comprised of Assignment Editors who share the information they collect with producers and reporters and videographers.

• Call Letters - The identifying letters or numbers of a radio or television transmitting station, assigned by a regulatory body. Example of top local Cincinnati radio/TV call letters: WLWT-TV – Channel 5 News (NBC); 700 WLW – Talk and News Radio

• Blog - a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style. Individuals, organizations and businesses can produce blogs, as well as online media outlets such as WCPO digital (which posts guest blogs) and Cincinnati.com, which features its own bloggers.

• Contributor article - A person who (often regularly) writes an article, story, etc., for a newspaper, magazine or the like.

• Op-ed - A term given to articles that express an opinion or newspaper pages devoted to op-ed articles authored or signed by commentators, essayists, humorists, etc., of varying viewpoints: the Op-Ed of today's New York Times.

• Editorial - An article in a newspaper/periodical or on a website presenting the opinion of the publisher, writer or editor; also, a statement broadcast on radio or television that presents the opinion of the owner or manager of the program or station.

• Advertorial – An advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend of the words "advertisement" and "editorial." In printed publications, the advertisement is usually written in the form of an objective article and designed to look like a legitimate and independent news story.

• Earned media – (AKA free media) refers to publicity gained through promotional efforts other than advertising, as opposed to paid media, which refers to publicity gained through advertising.

• Paid media – (AKA advertising) the act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, service, need, etc., by way of paid announcements in newspapers and magazines, over radio or television, on billboards, etc.

• Photo Model release and Waivers – A model release, known in similar contexts as a liability waiver, is a legal release typically signed by the subject of a photograph granting permission to publish the photograph in one form or another. The legal rights of the signatories in reference to the material is thereafter subject to the allowances and restrictions stated in the release, and also possibly in exchange for compensation paid to the photographed.

• Photo Courtesy - A byline/caption that acknowledges the source of photo that often includes photographer credit.

Glossary of PR Terms

Content is King!

Questions?

“Who’s telling your story?”

O’Keeffe PR & Marketing Solutions513.221.1526; info@okeeffepr.com

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