Managing public affairs requires a kind of intensity that's typically not found in other PR disciplines. Generally, when you're trying to tackle a public-affairs issue, you won't be targeting just the public and the press. You'll also be devoting your resources to woo politicians and solicit support from those in the business sector. But long before that happens, it's crucial that you have business alliances and a brand in place before you begin the laborious task of lobbying legislators. In this piece, PR NEWS looks at how the Internet Content Coalition, which most recently grappled with the issue of online content providers rating their sites, is building the foundation for its public affairs efforts. (ICC is a growing and robust network of online content providers directing a national campaign to support large and small companies producing and distributing original content on the Web.)
The start-up association, which is based in New York and will be moving to Washington, D.C., in the fall, is in the throes of its membership campaign (ICC's founding members are Warner Bros., Sony, Playboy, The Well and MSNBC) - one of its most recent crusades but also one of its most critical.
Until ICC knows what level of industry involvement it's drawn, it won't be able to set its agenda and identify its key messages, according to Maureen Marr, principal with Cerrell Associates, an L.A.-based PR boutique specializing in public affairs, what's evolving as one of the leading growth areas in PR (the Public Affairs Council reported in April that two-thirds of more than 260 businesses it polled last year have centralized public affairs structures).
In recent years, and even in recent months, public affairs has been the cornerstone of some of the most compelling and effective PR campaigns PR NEWS has probed:
- The National Gallery of Art (See PRN, Aug. 11, 1997) used the art of public affairs to keep the much-awaited Johannes Vermeer exhibit open - during the government shutdown in 1996 - by garnering outside funding;
- The Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health (See PRN, May 19, 1997) have long relied on the power of public affairs to manage the AIDS crisis and make sure that the press accurately reports new advances and breakthroughs; and
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA is part of FEMA) have counted on public affairs efforts (See PRN, May 5, 1997) to increase the number of Americans protected by flood insurance and to manage the information in the public domain during the floods that ravaged the Midwest in the spring.
ICC Networking
What organizations like FEMA understand about public affairs is that its worth lies in educating, not entertaining, constituent audiences. If you fail to be an information source or to be seen as a progressive business leader pushing the envelope for the benefit of others as well as for yourself, you're likely to fall short of reaching your goals.
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Bringing Many Voices Into One Voice The Internet Content Coalition is keeping its messages in sync with the following PR approach:
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In addition to building its membership, the ICC has also cemented networking relationships (sharing information and resources) with the Magazine Publishers of America and the Newspaper Association of America and has tapped the Information Industry Association and the Software Publishers Association to gauge what other controversies and issues are being battled in this digital era.
"It's hard for any organization - mature or new - to pick and choose its battles, but that must be done," says Mark Bailey, a consultant in West Chester, Pa., who has helped ICC leaders flesh out business goals for the incorporated non-profit. "You must prioritize according to the needs of the time, and that comes about by reaching a consensus within the group."
At an ICC meeting held right before the Labor Day holiday, attendees (including such deep-pocketed companies as the Associated Press, Reuters and the Times Mirror newspapers) agreed they wouldn't be rating their online content and issued a press release about that stance.
But in addition to issuing press releases to trigger support, Bailey says the group will use its soon-to-be-revamped (now rather meager) Web site, http://www.netcontent.org, to post press releases as well as provide information for members and links to other business or association sites. To propel its cause, it's also relied on two key spokespeople, James Kinsella, GM of MSNBC and Maria Wilhelm, president of The Well, and has attracted ink in Time magazine, The Washington Post and the New York Times.
Although Bailey won't reveal what he's being paid and what the ICC budget is, he did agree with PR NEWS sources who've reported that setting up an association can run between $250,000 and $350,000. (Cerrell, 213/466-3445; Mark Bailey, 610/692-0225)