The attention of many Americans was riveted on the multiple school shootings which occurred throughout the U.S. earlier this year. National news media focused on the events in Pearl, Miss., West Paducah, Ky., Jonesboro, Ark., Edinboro, Pa., and Springfield, Ore., because the tragedies had implications throughout the nation.
PR firm Rosica, Mulhern & Associates, Inc. tapped into this interest, using the concern it generated about school safety as the lead in its press releases and media material for its annual, "State of Our Nation's Youth," campaign. The campaign press conference generated broad media coverage for its client, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.
The campaign combined good timing, strong media contacts and a well-organized press conference to promote the annual "State of Our Nation's Youth" survey sponsored by the association and conducted by the National Family Opinion Research, Inc. The survey polls more than 1,000 kids on topics like relationships, school, drugs and alcohol.
Terese Kelly, account supervisor at the New Jersey-based firm, says they chose the most interesting facets of the survey, including safety in schools, and presented their findings this summer at the National Press Club, in Washington, D.C.
"We try to pick out topics the media is interested in," she says. "Something that is unique or controversial."
This news angle was exactly what the firm needed to turn some media heads.
Enter the Media
The first step was to send out three "teaser" press releases each with a different snappy headline such as, "Kids Don't Feel Safe at School," to give the media a news hook. The poll showed that 60 percent of students are concerned about their safety at school and concluded students feel that crime and violence are the biggest problems facing the U.S. today.
Kelly sent out the press releases and then instructed the staff to "get on the phone." She sought coverage from major news organizations like CNN, C-Span, ABC, NBC and CNBC. The Horatio Alger Association had specified the news mediums in which it wanted the story to appear.
"Our client wanted a wire story," she says, and that's what she gave them. AP, UPI, Sribbs-Howard, and Cox News Service picked up lead. The press conference was held on Aug. 11, and the next day thousands of clips hit a newspaper in every state, Kelly said.
Show Time
The campaign's culmination was the press conference with a panel of six students. The conference was shown live on C-Span, and spun into stories that later ran on CBS, NBC, CNN. Strauss radio news service and a satellite service also covered the event.
At the press conference, the firm ensured that "the client was comfortable," and that the event ran smoothly. Getting organized was the first step to successfully running the conference. But more importantly the firm benefited from having a solid working realtionship with its client at the conference in past years.
"We've been doing this for about three years, so we had a shell of how the press conference should run," Kelly said. She embargoed a press release that day to PR Newswire and US Newswire.
Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without some technical difficulties. But the only problem that arose was from the "satellite guy who lost the first 15 minutes of the conference," Kelly said. "But it was only the introduction, so it wasn't crucial."
All in all, the coverage was successful, as C-Span played the conference several times throughout the day.
Citing timing as one of the reasons for success, Kelly says having the conference in D.C. was effective, as Congress was out of session and the media was more open to story ideas. A "back to school hook" also helped bring out the cameras. Getting coverage means giving journalists a reason to pay attention to your story - making it newsworthy, timely and unique.
The Horatio Alger Foundation is a non-profit educational organization that awards more than $1 million in college scholarships to young people who have overcome obstacles in their lives.
(Kelly, 201/445-7606).
Rosica, Mulhern & Associates
Headquarters: Paramus, N.J.
Employees: 9
Founded: 1980
Billings 1997: $750,000
Clients: Wally Amos, Addison,Wesley, Longman, Revlon Professional, and Pitsco (education company).
Horatio Alger Association
Headquarters: Alexandria, VA
Staff: 9
Founded: 1947
Members: 269
Budget: $1 million allotted every for scholarships and grants to students