In the months prior to the birth of the McCaughey septuplets in November 1997 - the calm before the media storm, Iowa Methodist Medical Center's PR department planned for these possible birth scenarios: complete success, partial success and complete failure. When all seven babies were successfully delivered, the media plan involved:
Positioning: Patient care and rights above everything else.
Media Activity: Triaged media interviews (local media first, then national, followed by all others), posted daily updates on Web site that generated 25,000 hits per day, established hotline that received more than 2,000 inquiries.
PR Ranks: At least eight staffers