Selz/Seabolt Presents Community Face By Being 'Streetwise'
When Chicago-based Selz/Seabolt Communications was looking for ways to commemorate its 70th anniversary this year, the PR company balked at the notion of pretentious self-promotion. Instead, it turned to community relations to make an anniversary mark consistent with its low-key image.
Selz/Seabolt opted to work pro bono for "StreetWise," a Chicago-based newspaper sold by homeless vendors, to put out a special anniversary issue. The publication is a maturing biweekly with a monthly circulation of 120,000, 5 percent more than when it broke ground in 1992.
Copies of the paper, with content focusing on social issues and concerns of the impoverished, is sold for $1 and is supported by advertising revenue and donations. The community-relations clincher is that homeless vendors pay 25 cents but get 75 cents for each paper that's sold. StreetWise employs a staff of researchers and writers to produce the paper.
The special issue, which was published in the Fall, resulted in both a jump in advertising revenue and publication sales. Ad sales went from a monthly average of $7,500 to $11,800 and sales of that issue grew from 60,000 to 67,000, according to Executive Director Anthony Oliver.
To spotlight its sixth year, StreetWise viewed 1998 as a gateway to promote its community persona and its growth from a three-person to a 13-person non-profit which seeks to "empower" the homeless by giving them the chance to earn money. Simaltaneously, Selz/Seabolt sought to give something back to the community of which it has been a part since former newspaperman Larry Selz ventured into PR when the field was still in its infancy.
Hitting the Streets
To help launch the 20-page issue, PR executives at Selz/Seabolt put on their thinking caps to pen stories, instead of devise PR strategies. Chad Ritterbusch was among those lending their writing skills. He typically handles media relations for association accounts, but his contribution to the issue included a piece about StreetWise's Director of Advertising, Felicia Townsend, for the anniversary issue.
That kind of contribution was critical to the spirit of the project, which was meant to underscore the Selz/Seabolt brand and the way the company is run.
Since 1997, the 43-person firm has operated under an Employment Stock Owned Plan (ESOP), and the nearly $4 million company prides itself on altruism as much as it does on its blue-chip client list, which includes the National Federation of Independent Business and neutraceuticals company Indena.
"Becoming an employee-owned firm was very important because we believe in strong, independent mid-sized firms," says Selz/Seabolt President and CEO Paul Fullmer. "That's the best idea of empowerment - instead of selling out to a big firm, we sold out to our employees."
In operating as an ESOP, the firm created a Partners in Progress (PIP) committee of seven people to explore issues such as philanthropy. In 1996, for example, the agency produced a video for Operation USA, an international relief organization.
Feedback From the Masses
Because Selz/Seabolt didn't have tangible goals based on traditional measurement, such as a count of impressions and articles, its final analysis was more visceral than bottom line. Feedback from clients who received copies of the paper - chock full of success stories about homeless people getting back on their feet - provided the true impact of its work:
- George Hoff, president of the consumer products division of client Sargento Food Inc., wrote: "The best part was on page 18A as you paid a great tribute to your founders and explained the importance of all of us needing each other to learn, grow and thrive. Your firm and your people...like pitching in to write and produce this anniversary issue, speaks volumes as to the type of organization you have molded and led since 1981"
- K.A. Skopec, president of MidCity Financial Corporation, commented: "I cannot think of a better way to commemorate this wonderful milestone than the one you have chosen. You have achieved wonderful success over the past 70 years."
"We had two goals - one, to come up with an ideal anniversary project to energize our people and bring spirit to our organization," recalls Fullmer. "Two was to come up with something we could send to our clients to celebrate our anniversary. We were able to show how our employees spend quality time giving back the community, which is so different than what you usually get from PR firms - items that end up in the circular file [because they are self serving]."
Although Fullmer admits its efforts were meant to educate outsiders about the firm, it wasn't meant to be a business tool for new business. Nonetheless, "we have never had a mailing that generated such a positive response. We could tell that our clients had read the paper chapter and verse," Fullmer adds. StreetWise's heartfelt appreciation included staffers dropping by Selz/Seabolt's office to personally thank those who work on the issue. In addition providing an estimated $15,000-$20,000 in staff time (calculated by the amount of time spent by staff multiplied by their billable rate), the firm also took out a $1,100 back-page ad. (Selz/Seabolt, 312/372-7090; StreetWise, 312/362-1142)
Selz/Seabolt
Founded: 1928
No. of Employees: 43
No. of Clients: Between 35 and 40
1998 Projected Billings: Close to $4 million