Planning and executing a smooth PR campaign requires covering all bases and anticipating potential problems, but especially important is knowing your audience.
The newly formed Senior Friends Group branch in San Diego, Calif., a senior citizens discount group supported by and associated with its parent company, Columbia Mission Bay Hospital, wanted some new recruits for its local chapter. Enter the "Batter Up to Receive Free San Diego Padres Tickets" PR effort.
Although Senior Friends did recruit some new members and get widespread publicity for both the hospital and the group, it didn't reach its recruitment goals. But the feedback it received would help SF plan and secure the future of the group and the happiness of its members.
The group's membership benefits, which resemble the American Association of Retired Persons, includes local and national discounts on continuing education, travel, exercise, hotels and personal items. Nationally, there are 300,000 members; the San Diego chapter, created last February, has about 1,080 members, with an average member age of 65.
Columbia Hospital has 350 branches, with 250 Senior Friends chapters, nationwide. The hospital works with the SF members by offering free health screenings such as skin cancer and blood pressure checks, and gives discounts on medicine, mammographies, lab work and physical therapy sessions.
Many doctors employed by Columbia offer one hour a week to give informal lectures to SF members on subjects pertaining tothe elderly. This is excellent PR for the hospital, which naturally hopes that SF's members will use Columbia's medical services.
Despite SF's PR efforts to raise awareness of the group and the hospital. And to attract new members and patients, the hospital recognizes that many people join SF just for the freebies. This includes medical products and service discounts or the extensive mail-order program Columbia has for everything from discounted medicine to books to holiday gifts, all available for home delivery.
Getting the Word Out
SF was approached by KFMB AM radio, San Diego, in May in an effort to get Columbia Hospital's business. Since the majority of the radio's listeners are over 50, the station was the perfect way for SF to promote its services to its target audience.
KFMB had commercial airtime, the Padres tickets and the team's sports newscaster, senior citizen and ex-baseball star Jerry Coleman to offer, while SF provided the $20,000 budget and handle the PR efforts.
The Batter Up promotion invited the first 500 people to join Senior Friends before July 19 to attend a July 21 Padres baseball game. Also included in the deal were a pre-baseball game "tailgate party" where members ate dinner and had the opportunity to meet Coleman.
SF sent eight press releases to local newspapers in late June. SF also reserved air time on KFMB, which ran a 30-second and a 60-second spot, written by SF and spoken by Jerry Coleman, that ran for four weeks.
SF's quarterly newsletter came out on July 1, in which directions to the stadium and the tailgate party were published. It sent a follow-up letter soon afterward to make sure members and their potential-member friends were aware of the promotion.
What They Learned
Senior Friends member Jean Terlow, of San Diego, said that "we had quite a large turnout for the game, especially for those people who aren't that enthusiastic about the team. People have been more interested in the Padres since the game, and many of the seniors were excited about meeting Jerry Coleman."
The office received 200 phone calls inquiring about the promotion right after the radio spots started to air. Of those leads, 120 people signed up. This number, compared to the target 500, was not exactly what SF had expected. Although only about two people join SF a day, the 120 new members it recruited was commendable.
R.J. Becker, Senior Friends director, feels that the group overestimated its response goals, since building membership isn't something that can be done in a day. "We got lots of PR out there, and the radio ads were a great asset to the campaign," said Becker. "It gave us exposure, name recognition and the opportunity to reach a great deal of people who were unfamiliar with the hospital and the SF program." But, she said, many of the members had a few gripes about how the baseball event was designed.
The tailgate party was held behind the Padres' Jack Murphy Stadium, and the members said that it was too far from their seats in the stadium and it was difficult to find. There were no signs pointing to the designated area; directions were posted only in the newsletter. The party was held outside on a hot, sunny day, which posed a problem for the majority of the members who prefer shade. Becker said, "Next time, we'll do it differently. But at least now we know what they need and expect, which is a lot. But that's pretty understandable, considering their age."
Since this was SF's first major PR effort, it wasn't sure exactly how to handle the event. But some good input from the members and useful insight was gained, showing that evaluation is an essential part of any PR program. (Senior Friens Group, 619/274-4 141; Columbia Hospital, 619/274-7721)
The Senior Friends Group and KFMB radio promoted the Batter Up PR campaign by
-Inviting the first 500 people to sign up for membership to a San Diego Padres baseball game;
-Organizing a "tailgate" pre-game party with food, drinks and the opportunity to meet and talk to radio sports newscaster Jerry Coleman;
-Sending out press releases to local newspapers and advertising on KFMB radio, with Coleman doing the commercials.