Transcript Slide 1

The MALPH Marketing Project
Challenges and Opportunities
for Communicators
Gray R. Reynolds, MA
Communications Manager/PIO
Washtenaw County Public Health Department
My Background
 BA, Journalism; MA, English/Communications.
 22+ years in for-profit, corporate:
 Communications
 Public relations
 Media relations
 Investor relations
 Director of Corporate Communications for two large
Detroit-based corporations.
 Adjunct Professor at EMU.
 Limited not-for-profit experience.
 <1 Year in Public Health!
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My Vantage Point
 As I wasn’t involved in the development of
the marketing toolkit, I can be objective.
 As a former journalist, I can judge and
comment on the receptivity of the media to
this material.
 As a former private sector (public company)
employee, I can juxtapose corporate best
practices with these marketing activities.
 As a new, yet experienced employee, I can
offer suggestions for future improvements.
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What Works1
 This is a best practices strategy for
marketing communications, and it is
particularly effective when:
 A larger, central entity desires to orchestrate a
unified, multi-unit communication campaign.
 Units/departments are geographically dispersed.
 Units/departments have uneven talent and the
capability to produce and distribute professionallevel communications.
 A centralized web infrastructure already exists
from which to distribute communications.
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What Works2
 As a message-centric strategy, it’s
effective, because:
 Each health department is delivering the same
set of messages in a similar timeframe;
everyone stays on topic.
 Units/departments benefit from the synergy of
dealing with the same topic in the same
timeframe; they can collaborate with one
another, if necessary.
 The collateral has the same look and feel,
creating a recognizable brand for the media;
creates a monthly relationship between the
LPHD and the media.
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Words of Wisdom
“It’s a lot easier to throw grenades than to catch them.”
--President Lyndon B. Johnson
“Critics are like eunuchs in a harem. They’re there every
night, they see how it should be done every night, but
they can’t do it themselves.”
--Brendan Francis Behan
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Issues and Obstacles1
 Discordant subjects intermingled.
 Too many topics to cover with any level of
depth.
 Low or no news value for larger media
outlets, unless hooked to national stories or
localized to compelling countywide
statistics.
 Shifts us backwards from a two-way
symmetrical model to a press agentry
public relations model.
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Issues and Obstacles2
 Can be perceived as health department
propaganda, resulting in low/no coverage.
 Usually doesn’t fill news holes.
 This information is easily obtainable elsewhere.
 Alters our relationship with the media.
 Are we creating an expectation of “free ink?”
 Should/does the media feel an obligation to
comply?
 The large amount of information makes
surveillance difficult.
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Issues and Obstacles3
 Creates news “clutter.”
 Press release + 4-5 fact sheets per
e-mail/fax/snail mail, is a lot of information.
 Too much information overwhelms reporters
with deadlines. The more concise the better.
 Will “real news” get lost?
 Each contact with the media should be a
win-win; is it, when we try to control the
agenda?
 Will they respect us in the morning?
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Suggestions for Improvement
 Make it:
a Win-Win
Credible
Accessible
Relevant
Simple
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Suggestions for Improvement1
 Make it Simple:
 Focus press releases on a single issue with
highly related components.
 Don’t overwhelm reporters with endless detail.
Use a sniper rifle, not a shotgun. If they need
more detail, they’ll ask.
 Make it a two-way transaction with reporters.
Listen for what they need first, give it to them,
then volunteer additional information.
 Prepare information that is even more concise
for radio and TV media.
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Suggestions for Improvement2
 Make it Relevant:
 Tie the MALPH information to national or local
events/statistics or news for your reporters to
demonstrate its relevancy/newsworthiness.
 Look for every opportunity to localize, localize,
and localize the information to the reader- or
listener-ship of your local media.
 Open a dialogue with reporters/editors to
discuss their needs in regard to the subject
matter expertise your LPHD can provide.
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Suggestions for Improvement3
 Make it Accessible:
 Create electronic pitch letters with links to this
information on your website. Prospect for news
directors.
 Distribute press releases with links to fact
sheets. Create an electronic archive of useful
fact sheets and advertise its availability to
reporters.
 Audit your media distribution list to determine
how members of the media prefer to receive
their information. Customize your distribution
accordingly.
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Suggestions for Improvement4
 Make it Credible:
 Brand your LPHD as the subject matter expert
on specific topics. Communicate your expertise
to the media. Consider establishing formal
media partnerships.
 Volunteer you LPHD’s expertise in situations that
warrant it.
 Choose your “hill to die on” and pass up
opportunities to push low-value, easily
accessible information. Be the go-to source for
health expertise and tough questions.
 Develop techniques to distinguish your hard
news from your soft news so the media won’t be
confused.
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Suggestions for Improvement5
 Make it a Win-Win:
 Use the MALPH marketing project to
introduce the media to your LPHD and its
expertise. Build roads where none
previously existed.
 In smaller or remote markets without
daily periodicals, your LPHD may become
the health information provider/reporter.
 Develop relationships based on trust to
establish a truly symbiotic partnership.
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Food for Thought
 Additional Considerations:
 Surveillance: Consider using “media listening
posts” when you can’t afford to monitor your
coverage.
 Entrée: Think short-term first. Use the MALPH
marketing project to establish contacts where
none existed before. Parlay these contacts into
fruitful relationships.
 Modification: Consider a more drastic
alteration of the press release to localize
information up-front.
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Final Thoughts
 It’s only a tool, and it won’t make or
break your public/media relations
efforts. Treat it accordingly.
 As a tool, consider the many different
ways you can use the prepackaged
information.
 Have fun with it! If you use it wisely,
it can only improve your efforts.
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The MALPH Marketing Project
Q&A