The potential audience for Tavis Smiley falls into roughly two camps: There are the devoted listeners, and those who have never heard of the man. When Smiley took his daily,
one-hour news magazine to National Public Radio at the start of 2002, NPR's PR managers knew they would have to reach the latter group, raising awareness of Smiley as a
charismatic, African-American personality eager to bring an alternative perspective to the airwaves.
Specifically, their goals were to draw new black listeners to NPR, and to steer existing NPR listeners to Tavis Smiley. Step one: Find the news hook.
By coincidence, the PR team started gearing up for the launch just after Sept. 11. That meant there was little room for a soft sell. To grab ink at that time they would need a
solid news headline, and they had it in Smiley himself. The man already had made a name for himself: Time called him one of America's 50 most promising young leaders and Buzz has
declared him one of the "100 coolest people in Los Angeles." His move to NPR was considered newsworthy, at least in media precincts. The pitch offered a kind of "odd couple"
story, with the rather mostly-white NPR making room for a black man who did not shy away from race as either a point of identification for himself, or a political issue to be
discussed and debated.
At the same time, the promotional team wanted to make it as easy for NPR member stations to pick up and promote the show. To that end they created on-air promos, a Smiley
Q&A along with his bio, press releases and a glossy photo of Smiley behind a microphone emblazoned with the NPR logo. (Barring microphones with the NPR logo, PR manager Jenny
Lawhorn taped her "NPR" business card to the microphone stand for effect.)
On a grassroots level, the PR team reached out to the black community. It produced promotional direct mail pieces and a CD sampler of Smiley's show, which were both distributed
to more than 6,000 African-American community leaders nationwide. The team also secured exhibit space and speaking time at the NAACP national conference and similar meetings, and
coordinated with Smiley's publisher to put mount a 12-city book tour co-sponsored by local NPR stations.
Once the show hit the air, it was back to the news hook, as Smiley hosted such media heavyweights as Bill Clinton, academic Cornel West and National Security Adviser
Condoleezza Rice. "We used the content of those shows to create a buzz," Lawhorn says. To milk most of these interviews, Lawhorn coordinated with wire services and individual
reporters to ensure that juicy tidbits made the next news cycle or two.
In retrospect, however, Lawhorn describes this as a dicey strategy. Too many times, she says, the PR team would end up putting more energy into these efforts than they were
worth. "Just because someone is on and talking about something, that doesn't make it breaking news," she adds. "I've learned to do my research before I started calling
people."
A bigger challenge involves the sheer number of stakeholders involved in promoting the program. There is the talent, Tavis Smiley, and his firm The Smiley Group; the African
American Consortium (a group of 36 radio station presidents who helped develop the show); mainstream NPR stations and NPR's internal marketing division. Don't forget PBS, which
plans to air Smiley on its stations.
With so many people voicing opinions on how to promote the PR program, "you have to just pick your battles," Lawhorn says. "I have to decide what's the best way to get press
for the show, and I have to focus on that. So if a station needs something changed and it's not a big deal, I will just do that. I have to save my energies for bigger things."
Besides picking her battles, Lawhorn has developed an even more effective strategy: Stay close to the big guy. "I developed a relationship directly with Tavis, who is really
the main decision-maker. I think that really makes things go faster," she says.
She must be doing something right. The show now runs on nearly 80 NPR stations and after the first 18 months on the air, black audience levels in stations that carry the show
were up by 34%.
The show now reaches more African-American listeners than any other program in NPR history; more than 40 million people heard about Tavis and NPR via more than 400 high-quality
media placements in 2002. Significant articles and television coverage include The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and an AP feature that ran in more than 30
publications, including several front page articles.
Contact: Jenny Lawhorn, 202.513.2754, [email protected]
Raising the Dial
In bringing Tavis Smiley to NPR PR Manager Jenny Lawhorn garnered attention in mainstream media and the black community, while answering to a diverse group of stakeholders.
Here's how:
- Look for the news: Lawhorn used every news hook to generate mainstream news stories, from high-profile guests to Smiley's burgeoning career.
- Go grassroots: She went straight to the black community, booking conference appearance for Smiley and sending direct mail to black leaders.
- Follow the leader: To please all stakeholders Lawhorn hedges her bets by maintaining a tight relationship with Smiley, who, naturally, gets the final say.