Media Relations Tie for First
Karen Rohde is beaming in a picture next to a story in the Chicago-Sun Times. Her grin, the article points out, is due to a prepaid college tuition plan guaranteeing her 4-year-old daughter gets an education. Her daughter's still daydreaming and playing with dolls, but Rohde's wheels are turning about what her child might become.
Rohde's delight is the result of a media relations campaign that had all the elements of good PR, but mostly had strategy, strategy, strategy.
In October 1998, Chicago-based Dome*Newmark*Wolf Communications was hired to introduce College Illinois! for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to generate awareness about a new prepaid tuition program. The initiative was the result of legislation passed by the Illinois General Assembly in 1997.
But before the firm headed blindly into a campaign heartened solely by legislative buy-in, it conducted independent analysis and research to find out what trends supported the program's existence.
DNW discovered that college tuition had been increasing at a rate of 234 percent, according to the "Consumer Price Index" and the "Statistical Abstract of the United States." It also commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to calculate projected college tuition by the time a newborn in 1998 is grown and enrolls in college. That figure easily exceeds $60,000.
These were perfect messages to leverage to the media. DNW saw potential to interest different kinds of beat reporters, including political, lifestyle, education and business writers.
So the agency turned out pithy pitches and interesting charts to propel its messages. Press releases were tailored for the African-American, Hispanic, Chinese, Japanese and Polish communities.
Over several months, the press churned out more than 700 print stories and 140-plus broadcast pieces. The list of outlets who covered the issue is pages and pages long, but included top-tier pubs such as the Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune and network affiliates. The story peg often was testimonials from program purchasers.
DMW's ROI was solid. To date, more than 11,000 contracts have been purchased and 70 percent are four-year contracts. Consider, though, those numbers were achieved despite a multitude of obstacles, including financial investors who advised against prepaid tuition programs.
The campaign melded different hooks and tactics:
- Its target media list was 920 statewide reporters at a range of mediums.
- Its message was to position the program as a solution for families who had financial concerns about sound investments for their children's college education.
- One of its spokespeople was Gov. Jim Edgar who had a connection with families throughout the state and was instrumental in backing the program.
- The backbone of the campaign was tapping the team's creative juices to develop clever ways to spread the message. Prepaid tuition contracts were even touted as a great Christmas or birthday gift.
The Campaign Matures
With an operating budget under $150,000, it made sense to roll out the campaign in phases, tactic that can help reduce duplicate costs.
Phase one, in October, focused on the launch. Edgar was flanked by children while a plethora of materials (ads, posters, promotional T-shirts) were debuted.
But the second step really tugged at the heart strings. Campaigners unveiled a "What I Want to be When I Grow Up" poster contest with a push for kids in schools to participate.
Phase three had several facets. DNW pitched and convinced the Associated Press to run an exclusive featuring a grandfather's testimonial about purchasing nine four-year contracts. It also included publicity of Illinois grocery chain Dominick's agreement to disseminate information about the program to its customers. DNW also generated guarantees from companies such as Ace Hardware Corp. and Motorola to post electronic information about the program for its employees.
All told, Illinois stands as an example of one of the most successful 19 state-backed prepaid tuition programs - an accomplishment that has nothing to do with luck and everything thing to do with PR.