With the upcoming PR Boost on Aug. 15th, PRSA Colorado is doing a series of blog posts on nonprofit public relations. At PR Boost, each volunteer, who must have a minimum of three years experience, will consult with two nonprofit organizations during two separate 60-minute sessions. If you’re interested in contributing a blog post, please contact Liz Pope at evpope@gmail.com.
Posted by Kathryn Marshall, 104 West Partners
Often times when it comes to marketing and PR campaigns for nonprofits, many of the ideas or campaigns are developed out of the organization’s headquarters and are then handed out to regional chapters who are then expected to make it work in their city or district. Many people can feel hampered when the creative reins are held outside of their control yet they are still expected to get results.
However, the March of Dimes (MOD) Colorado Chapter together with 104 West Partners (their PR agency partner) recently demonstrated that with a little ingenuity and perseverance, PR campaigns can successfully be localized with amazing results.
The MOD is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. Its mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality through awareness, volunteerism, research and advocacy.
The MOD Colorado Chapter is one of 51 chapters across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In 2008, the organization’s headquarters office sought to mobilize volunteers and parents across the country by drawing attention to the seriousness of premature birth. They decided to issue the first Premature Birth Report Card (PBRC) grading each state’s rate of preterm birth. Each state, including Colorado, would be provided with their scores and the individual chapters were asked to locally promote the campaign. The PBRC also served as a call to action asking for supporters to sign a Petition for Preemies which would drive additional legislative action.
To raise the broadest awareness of the seriousness of prematurity by publicizing the PBRC, the MOD Colorado Chapter and 104 West focused on major media hubs including Denver, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction based on viewership and local MOD resources.
To maximize interest from the media, we quickly went to work customizing the information provided by the MOD national chapter in media pitches to increase its appeal to the local media. Using local statics and fast facts, we made sure the local media understood the significance of how this news impacted Colorado.
In addition to pitching hard news stories to shed light on the devastating facts associated with preterm birth, we aimed to visually capture prospective new supporters with images and real-life stories of heartbreak and survival from Colorado families that have been impacted by prematurity. To accommodate as many opportunities as possible, we also offered ties into a satellite radio and media tour featuring national MOD spokespeople.
We mobilized and prepared a team of local Colorado-based spokespeople with FAQs and internal messaging documents, and ensured they could cover different aspects of the news including the PBRC, medical reasons behind prematurity and what can be done to help reduce the rate of preterm birth. We also compiled an electronic media kit complete with a press release, PBRC, technical notes, a state map of grades, background on MOD, images and B-roll.
Our efforts to localize this national MOD campaign paid off as we were able to meet and exceed our goals as evidenced by the following results:
- Garnered a total of 17 broadcast segments across every major TV station in Denver (KWGN, KCNC, KMGH, KUSA, KTVD, KDVR), KKTV in Colo. and KKCO in Grand Junction (exceeded goal by 240%); included six on-camera interviews (exceeded goal by 250%).
- Secured four print articles in top Colorado newspapers (exceeded goal by 33%)
- Secured two radio spots (exceeded goal by 100%)
- Secured 10 online stories (exceeded goal by 43%)
- Placed 88 key messages in all media placements, averaging 3 per placement (exceeding the program goal)
- Secured 2,840,117 media impressions in Colorado (exceeded goal by 184%)
- Additional results included: 89% increase in website traffic in November; 15% increase in donations collected during a late November MOD event; collected 1,510 signatures (the most of any Rocky Mountain State) on the Petition for Preemies
- Achieved the second highest media results among 51 nationwide MOD chapters behind NYC
Check out these sample stories on KUSA and Colorado Springs Gazette.
Don’t forget that with a little ingenuity and perseverance, you too can localize your nonprofit PR campaign with success.
Kathryn Marshall is a partner and chief operating officer for 104 West Partners, a strategic communications firm.
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