Philly PRSANancy Bacher Long

PR Institute

April 15, 2014

Writing a Strategic PR Plan

Tonight’s Agenda

• Meet your Presenters

• What a Plan Does

• Anatomy of a Plan

• Q&A

Meet Your Presenters

• Blair Kahora Cardinal, MBA, Buchanan PR– 2012 President, PRSA Philly – Specializes in B2B clients—law firm, nonprofit community

lenders, investment advisory firm. And also in being awesome.

• Mike Gross, Hornercom– 2010 President, PRSA Philly – Specializes in not specializing—oversees all Hornercom PR

activities and graphic design traffic management

What a Plan Does

• Establishes mutually agreed-upon strategic communications framework

• Sets expectations, opens discussion between client and agency

• Provides action items• Identifies who should be hearing what

message, when, where and how• Prepares for a crisis

Anatomy of a PR Plan

Situation Analysis (aka Executive Summary)• Sets the stage• Outlines the relevant history that

has led to the plan• Establishes the need for your

solution• But… don’t preach or critique

For Example…CLIENT is the national network of community lenders who serve poor communities. The nonprofit recently partnered with Starbucks on an initiative to create jobs across the nation.

However, most business leaders and consumers have never heard of the organization.

CLIENT wants to generate awareness, and educate and inform key audiences about the organization, its industry and member organizations. It seeks to do that through an aggressive media relations program aimed at generating high-level media coverage. They’d also like to uncover collaborations similar to that with Starbucks.

• You’d be surprised what you don’t know

• Determines what will work, what won’t work

• Defines what resonates with your audiences

“Roughly 125,000 people die each year in the U.S. as a result of not adhering to medications.”

“The average adult over age 55 juggles six to eight medications daily.”

Research

• Things you want to accomplish• Measureable goals• Defined by a timeframe• Media is almost always an objective• Behavior change is almost always an

objective

“Generate ____ positive editorial news about ___ by ___”

“Increase event attendance by ___ percent within one year.”

Objectives

Secure 50 media placements in national and regional business, financial and trade media (print, television, radio) in 2014.

• High-Circulation Business Media – 10-12 placements

• Regional Media – 20-30 placements

• Key Industry Media – 15-20 placements

For Example…

• The opportunity to define your position in the marketplace

• Defines HOW you’ll achieve objectives

Strategies

“Position ____ as the ___ in the ___ industry.”

“Advocate for __ and the associated benefits.”

“Mobilize and equip community leaders to engage ___”

• Leverage related issues, trends and policies that are prominently discussed in the news to garner high profile coverage of client

• Capitalize on human interest stories of the impact that client has on the community

• Coach company executives to deliver consistent key messages during media interviews

For Example…

• Who you are trying to influenceo Introduce?

o Educate?

o Take action?

• Segment and prioritize

Audiences

• Decision-Makers at Financial Institutions • Corporate Leaders • Philanthropic Leaders• Small Business Owners • Key Government Officials

• Informed by research• State your unique selling proposition

(what sets you apart)• Tailored for audience segments• Establish a unified speaking platform

Messages

“Rivers Casino is the premier entertainment destination in Western Pa, with exciting gaming, nine bars and restaurants and countless entertainment offerings.”

• The actions you perform to meet your objectives

• Must support your strategies• Have execution dates

Tactics

Media Interviews Pitch story about how small businesses along the boardwalks in New Jersey received financial assistance from community lenders to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. Cite a specific example for a human interest angle. Use facts and figures for higher-level analysis. Desired Headline: “Client Helps NJ Small Businesses Rebuild”

Timing: Early May (Memorial Day story)

For Example…

• Media Kit• Media Lists and Editorial

Calendars• Media Training• Speaking Engagements• Addendum to Plan

Supporting Tools

Measurement:• Evaluates results• Defines success … “Did we meet

our objectives?”• May require interim reporting

Timeline:• Sequence of events• Keeps you on track

January December

Budget:• Every plan will have costs • Costs are driven by tactics – “What

are you going to do that costs $$?”

Alignment Check

Org’sMission

Objective

StrategyTactic

Tactic

StrategyTactic

Tactic

StrategyTactic

Tactic

Objective

StrategyTactic

Tactic

StrategyTactic

Tactic

StrategyTactic

Tactic

Objective

StrategyTactic

Tactic

StrategyTactic

Tactic

StrategyTactic

Tactic

Mini Plans

• Enables you to break out an especially important—or late-arriving / uncharted—area of concentration for the client

As a subset of the overall media relations strategy, we will be managing the major announcement of CLIENT’s billion dollar donation to a national poverty fund.

The secret ingredient to every

successful PR Plan?

The BIG ideas

Key Takeaways

• You don’t know what you don’t know• Great expectations• Sharpen the pencil• Inspire your client