COMMUNITY RELATIONS

By Michele Morehouse

COMMUNITY RELATIONS PROCESS

Research

Objectives

Programming

Evaluation

CASE STUDIES

Chapter 6 Community Relations:

1. Puget Sound Energy’s Rock The Bulb Tour

2. The New UTC: Building Community Support for a $1 Billion Shopping Expansion and Revitalization

3. Spike & Biscuit: Rebrand for the Charleston Animal Society

Current & Relevant Community Relations Campaigns:

4. San Diego International Airport Expansion: “The Green Build”

5. Bringing Senior Citizens into the Internet Age: A community relations campaign to connect the disconnected (OAKS)

CASE STUDIES KEY FOCUSES:

Engagement

Outreach Awareness

Advocacy

PUGET SOUND ENERGY’S ROCK THE BULB TOUR

Create a deeper relationship with its customers and become their most trusted energy efficiency resource.

ROCK THE BULB TOUR OBJECTIVES

Distribute

Engage

Recruit Inspire

TARGET MARKETS

Green Idealists

1. Socially Responsible

2. Educated on Environment Issues

Practical Idealists

1. Motivated by practicality

2. Think limiting energy consumption is important

ROCK THE BULB TACTICS

32 Weekend bulb exchange event

Project Porchlight PSE/Non-profit Project Porchlight door-to-door

Be an Energy Rock Star Contest PSE

Campaign Website

Social Media Golden Bulb Promotion

RTB MEDIA RELATIONS

1. Launch Media Event

2. News Advisories and Releases

3. Magicians (MID-campaign event)

4. ENERGY STAR Media Event

5. Culmination Media Event

GRASSROOTS

THE NEW UTC: BUILDING COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR $1 BILLION SHOPPING

EXPANSION AND REVITALIZATION

Develop a community relations program to advocate the public and build support for the

proposed expansion (2003).

4 KEY MESSAGES

Evolution

Environmentally friendly

Jobs and Tax Revenue

Experience

CHALLENGE

Community Concerns:

1. Increased traffic

2. Decrease in quality of life

Opponents argument: Bad precedent for the community

PROJECT SUPPORT

1. Support Cards from San Diegans

2. Securing endorsements (regional organizations)

Strategy:

“Break Even”

TARGET AUDIENCES

Westfield

UTC Shoppers

Key Opinion Leaders

Regional Organizatio

n

San Diego City Staff

San DiegoCity Planning Commission

San Diego City

Council

THE UTC EXPERIENCE

Project Model

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

State of the art transit system

ENDORSEMENTS

“UTC to go Green”

E-BLAST AND LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN

District 1 Distric

t 2

District 3

District 4Distric

t 5

District 6

District 7

District 8

SPIKE & BISCUIT REBRAND CHARLESTON ANIMAL SOCIETY

Redefine image and raise community awareness of its mission and new location

CHALLENGE

1. No name recognition

2. Poor community profile

John Ancrum Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals(JASPCA)

Charleston Animal Society(CAS)

Spay or Neuter Today!

Build

Boost

Educate

MISSION EVOLUTION

“immediate concerns were to combat the rampant cruelty to animals, neglect of work-animals, the inhumane shipping of cattle and to resolve the epidemic of stray dogs.”

1.       Finding homes for homeless animals…through adoptions, return-to-owners and a free roaming cats initiative.2.       Fighting animal cruelty wherever it exists…through assisting law enforcement with investigations and intervention.3.       Helping youth understand science…through a veterinary science initiative.4.       Containing outbreaks of deadly diseases…through a communitywide rabies vaccination strategy.                                                                               5.       Reuniting loved ones with their families…through an in-depth lost and found program.6.       Preventing births of unwanted animals…through a high-volume, high-quality affordable spay/neuter initiative.7.       Saving the lives of abused and abandoned animals…through a medical and behavioral treatment regimen.8.       Guiding children to grow into humanitarians…through a comprehensive humane education initiative.9.       Fighting Hunger When Food Is Unaffordable…through a nonjudgmental pet-focused food bank.

Charleston Animal Society, Mission 2015

 

Local Animal Lovers

Pet-relate

d Businesses

Veterinarians

Media

OBJECTIVES

Messaging/Build Excitement

Public Engagements

Media Placements

Grand Opening event

Networking Partnerships

PARTNERSHIP

The American Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

AWARENESS STRATEGY

Adoption &

Animal Rights

Healthcare&

Owner Education

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT EXPANSION: “THE GREEN BUILD”

Build support for airport expansion and raise awareness of economic impact

KEY MESSAGES

“Green” Eco Friendly building design

Economic Growth

Small Business Outreach

AUDIENCES

CommunityAirlines

PassengersSan Diego Planning Commission

San Diego City CouncilMedia

CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Traffic Congestion

Quality of Life

ADVOCACY

SMALL BUSINESS OUTREACH

OLDER ADULT TECHNOLOGY SERVICES (OATS):BRINGING SENIOR CITIZENS INTO THE INTERNET AGE

Build community awareness and relationships with local and national organizations for support and partnerships.

SENIOR PLANET EXPLORATION CENTER

KEY MESSAGES

Build SupportEducate CommunityIncrease Funds

AUDIENCE

Senior Citizens National Organizations Media

COALITION & TRADE ASSOCIATIONSSUPPORTING PARTNERSCORPORATE PARTNERS

PARTNERSHIPS

MEDIA OUTLETS

AWARD

Community Relations Campaign of the Year 2014

RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS

Have a solid outline of objective and key messages. No tactic or planning can be done on empty objectives.

Ensure that the goals are somehow measurable for when evaluating the success of a campaign to examine what worked and what didn’t work. This can provide an

organization and practitioner with feedback on the success of a tactic.

When gathering media materials for distribution create a media kit, its efficient and organized. Especially prior to distributing news releases, press releases and

advisories ensure that they are an appropriate length. Overly wordy news releases and press releases can be ignored if the audience or media outlets have to dig for

information.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Doorley, J. & Garcia, H.F. (2007). Community Relations. Reputation Management: The Key to Successful Public Relations and Corporate Communications. (188-205). New York, NY: Routledge.

2. Doorley, J. & Garcia, H.F. (2007). Government Relations. Reputation Management: The Key to Successful Public Relations and Corporate Communications. (175-177). New York, NY: Routledge.

3. Hayes, D., Hendrix, J. & Kumar, P. (2013). Community Relations. Public Relations Cases. (160-192). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.

4. (2009). PSE Launches Rock the Bulb Campaign to Give Away 400,000 Free CFL Bulbs. First of Its Kind Utility Campaign Features 16 Local Weekend Events This Summer and Fall, and Neighborhood Outreach and Prizes to Help Consumers Save Energy, Money and the Environment. Puget Sound Energy, News Room. Retrieved April 21, 2015 from http://pse.com/aboutpse/PseNewsroom/NewsReleases/Pages/PSE-Launches-Rock-the-Bulb-Campaign-to-Give-Away-400,000-Free-CFL-Bulbs.aspx

5. (2010). Charleston Area Chosen as a Partner Community by the ASPCA. Charleston Animal Society. Retrieved April 22, 2015 from http://ww3.charlestonanimalsociety.org/page.aspx?pid=522

6. (2010). Charleston Animal Society Mission. Charleston Animal Society. Retrieved April 22, 2015 from http://ww3.charlestonanimalsociety.org/page.aspx?pid=358

BIBLIOGRAPHY

7. (2013). Historic $900 Million Green Build Expansion Opens at San Diego International Airport. San Diego International Airport, Porter Novelli. Retrieved April 22, 2015 from http://sandiegoairport.porternovelli.com/

8. (2013). The Green Build. San Diego International Airport. Retrieved April 21, 2015 from http://www.san.org/Airport-Projects/The-Green-Build

9. (2013). The Green Build Fact Sheet. San Diego International Airport, Porter Novelli. Retrieved April 22, 2015 from http://sandiegoairport.porternovelli.com/SDIA%20Green%20Build%20Fact%20Sheet_FINAL.pdf

10. (2014). Bringing senior citizens into the Internet Age: a community relations campaign to connect the disconnected. PR Week Awards. Retrieved April 23, 2015 from http://awards.prweekus.com/bringing-senior-citizens-internet-age-community-relations-campaign-connect-disconnected

11. (2014). OATS (Older Adult Technology Services). Spector PR. Retrieved April 21, 2015 from http://www.spectorpr.com/oats/

BIBLIOGRAPHY

12. (2015). About. Senior Planet. Retrieved April 22, 2015 from http://seniorplanet.org/about/

13. (2015). Client Projects. OATS. Retrieved April 21, 2015 from http://oats.org/client-projects/

14. (2015). Partners. OATS. Retrieved April 21, 2015 from http://oats.org/partners/

15. (2015). San Diego City Council. The City of San Diego. Retrieved April 21, 2015 from http://www.sandiego.gov/citycouncil/

16. (2015). San Diego. Station Index, Broadcasting. Retrieved April 22, 2015 from http://www.stationindex.com/tv/markets/san+diego