Publicity for Advocates Why is publicity important Publicity

Publicity for Advocates

Why is publicity important? Publicity is free media exposure for your group or cause (as opposed to advertising) n It can generate donations, grants and volunteers n It helps raise awareness about your issue or cause n It can focus attention and lead to reform n

How to get started What is your situation and why is publicity important? n Who is your target audience and what is your message to them? n What are your publicity goals? n What strategy will help you reach them? n What tactics fit that strategy best? n

Message Design your message to motivate your audience. n Keep it clear, simple, direct and emotional. n Define what you want to tell your audience and what you want them to do. n Media often likes negative messages better. n Repeat. n

Feel the Tone We need to provide health care coverage to all children in America now.

Basic Publicity Strategies Educate n Make It Personal n Create News n Show Strength n

Educate n Educate the public in plain language about the details of the issue, your message, why it’s time for action, and what the best action is.

Nine million children—one in nine—have no health insurance coverage. Almost 90 percent of uninsured children live in a home where at least one parent works and a majority of those children live in two-parent households. Congress should pass laws to provide health care to all children in America.

Make it personal Find stories of real people who can humanize the message. n Break down statistics to fit family budget comparisons or tradeoff costs. n Find statistics or examples that affect specific local communities or target audiences. n

The Children's Defense Fund recently reported the story of 13 -yearold Devante Johnson, whose life- saving treatment for kidney cancer was delayed for four months after he was mistakenly dropped from a state-run, federally subsidized low-income children's health plan. Devante was lucky to survive long enough for his state representative to intervene and force the government to reinstate his coverage. While Devante's case is a reminder of the moral imperative for universal health care in the U. S. , it is also a reminder that we can't put the plight of our nation's 9 million uninsured children on hold while we wait for such a legislative remedy. Indeed, inaction would contravene what should be Congress's Hippocratic Oath of first doing no harm. -- Bloomberg News, February 23, 2007

Create News The media is interested in the unexpected and the controversial, for example: n Joining with unexpected allies n Taking a surprising stand on an issue n Publicly criticizing or praising specific people or groups

Little Voice: 'Susie Flynn' Launches Presidential Bid To Highlight Uninsured Children National. Journal. com Tuesday, April 10, 2007 There's a fresh new face on the White House campaign trail, and it's not the smiling visage of junior Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D). Susie Flynn, the latest presidential contender to hit the airwaves, is a Washington outsider whose frustration with the government's handling of one major issue -- children's health care -- has moved her to enter the race. There's only one problem: She's 10 years old.

Show strength Demonstrate why the media should take you seriously: n Highlight prominent or unusual endorsements or alliances. n Quantify and demonstrate your grassroots strength n Provide examples of your group’s or campaign’s influence making a difference

TEN-YEAR-OLD SUSIE FLYNN BECOMES FIRST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO LAUNCH NATIONAL TELEVISION ADS Children’s Defense Fund Begins National CNN Ad Buy WASHINGTON, DC – Ten year old Susie Flynn, who launched her “presidential campaign” last month to help the nine million uninsured children in America, today became the first candidate to launch national television ads with a buy on CNN this week. The ads, part of the Children’s Defense Fund’s (CDF) campaign to insure all children now, will be aired on high profile CNN programming, including Headline News, CNN American Morning, and the Situation Room.

Track Media n n n Radio: listen to the morning shows to get an idea of the issues they care about and think about how to pitch your issue. Call in to comment or mobilize others to call in. Print: track stories related to your issue. Note the reporters name and add them to your network of press to contact and build relationships. TV: note the names of people who speak about your issues and consider recruiting them as local surrogates.

Call-in to Talk Radio Shows n n Prepare a short list of talking points, two to three sentences and phrases that emphasize your message. You will only have a few seconds on the air, so make sure to re-iterate the talking points as much as possible. Distribute these talking points to supporters and have them all flood the lines at the same time. This will help ensure that your calls make it past the producer and onto the air.

Write Op-Eds n n n If possible, peg them to a recent relevant news item – the more timely it seems the better your chances Draft an op-ed piece, 750 -800 words in length, for yourself or on behalf of a local leader in your community to submit to your local newspaper. Call the Editorial Page Editor at least one week in advance of your target placement date. Sunday and Wednesday editions are read the most.

Write Letters to the Editor n n If they respond to a recent news story or editorial, or to current events, they are more likely to get picked up LTE’s are easier to get published than op-eds Draft a letter to the editor – 250 words on why you think a specific issue is important and not getting enough attention in the media/culture today. Distribute key points to your network of grass roots supporters. Encourage them to each make personal alterations and coordinate sending the letters on the same day.

Hold a Public Event n n n All events should be designed with TV in mind. Ask yourself what the picture will look like. If there is no good picture – rethink whether an event is the best form to get your news out. Always be aware of backdrops and the space below the speaker. One or both should convey your message or logo. Bring handouts with the facts so reporters can focus on watching the event, not taking notes.

Tap into Third Party Events When another group is hosting an event on your topic (pro or con), attend and distribute your group’s press materials. n Track the reporters in attendance and provide them with a comment on your group’s point of view or reaction. n

CHILDREN’S DEFENSE FUND WELCOMES HEALTH COALITION’S COMMITMENT TO COVERING CHILDREN FIRST Proposal Falls Short of Covering All Children WASHINGTON, DC – The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) welcomed a proposal announced today by the Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured (HCCU), consisting of health insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, and health advocates, that put forward the goal of covering children first as part of an overarching effort to reduce the number of uninsured Americans. While applauding HCCU’s stated goal to cover all children, CDF President Marian Wright Edelman noted that the details of the HCCU proposal fall significantly short of achieving this goal. By contrast, the proposal released by CDF last week does provide health care coverage to all children.

Press Releases n n n A press release must announce something newsworthy. If it doesn’t, it will be ignored. Start with the news, follow with the facts. Be sure your release only conveys one main message and one main piece of news. Convoluted releases are less appealing and give reporters, not you, control over what gets in the story. Include at least one quote (1 -2 sentences) that gets across both the news and your message. Catchy headlines do matter

*** PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE *** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date Contact: Name (###) ###-#### HEADLINE City, State – Lead sentence. This paragraph is the teaser paragraph that quickly summarizes the who, what, where, why of the story. This helps the reporter identify the key issue and what to expect from the following paragraphs. “Key message quote, ” said Title, Name of Spokesperson. “Two to three quotes expanding on theme of key message quote. ” Paragraph providing details relate to key message quote. Sentence identifying sub-theme. Paragraph providing details supporting sub-theme. “Quote tying sub-theme to key message, ” said Last name of Spokesperson. “Two or three sentences with concluding thought and a call to action. ” ###

Other written materials n n Top 10 lists, tip sheets, polling or survey results, report cards can be good “hooks” for coverage Piggy back off of existing news when you can: comment on relevant current events, tie news to seasonal stories and holidays, comment on relevant movie or TV storylines Pitch letters sell ideas for stories Backgrounders/press kits give basic information about your group or issue, but not necessarily news

Each Day in the Life of America’s Children 1 mother dies in childbirth. 4 children are killed by abuse or neglect. 5 children or teens commit suicide. 8 children or teens are killed by firearms. 33 children or teens die from accidents. 77 babies die before their first birthdays. 192 children are arrested for violent crimes. 383 children are arrested for drug abuse. 906 babies are born at low birthweight. 1, 153 babies are born to teen mothers.

Interview tips n n n Assume you are on the record unless you specifically state otherwise BEFORE the interview. Taping is often helpful to pushback if you are misquoted. Jot down your message and a couple of key points ahead of time If on a call-in TV or radio show, plan to have supporters flooding the lines On TV: You never know when the camera is going to be on you – keep good posture, smile and be an attentive listener. No grimacing, eye rolling, hand gestures, etc. TV Colors - stripes and checks make people dizzy, reds “bleed”, whites “glow”