Module 5: Public and Community Relations - Chapter 8

On-line Lesson

GOALS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public and community relations are a fundamental component for every recreation and leisure service organization. The ability to communicate to the public, specific target markets, and other community organizations an agencies purpose and services will determine its overall success. 

Public Relations: a two-way relationship between organizations of various types and the public they serve.

Public relation campaigns need to continually promote the benefits and opportunities offered through parks, recreation and leisure service organizations.

Customer Service Orientation

The intent of public relations is to build support for your organization with the community. If your customers are dissatisfied with the organizations programs or services it makes the public relations process even more difficult. A positive customer relations orientation will provide a year round public relations campaign.

Public Relations

To promote your agency with the community a continuing effort must be made to create and support a positive agency image. Successful techniques in promoting a strong positive public image, including:

1) create a community advisory board of prominent community leaders or business owners

2) use volunteers in your agency

3) create an adopt-a- program 

4) create a "Friends Association," a non-profit group which will promote your agencies interests and provide fundraising.

Goals of Public Relations

The specific goals of a public relations program may be listed as follows:

1. To provide accurate information regarding the overall program and offerings of the agency or organization;

2. To inform the your target market specifically about the services, facilities, and programs offered by the agency or organization which will encourage attendance and involvement;

3. To emphasize to you r target market the values and benefits achieved by the agency or organization;

4. To keep consumers informed of all major plans or policies of the agency or organization;

5. To focus public attention to a specific project or program;

6. To encourage public involvement in the agency or organization's programs through volunteering,  leadership, advisory groups, or fund raising.

7. To educate their consumers and the public of the values of recreation and leisure (health and fitness, social relationships, stress reductions, economic benefits, and overall quality of life).

Responsibility for Public Relations

Audiences

Leisure-service managers must determine which audiences they are trying to reach. Generally, public relations may involve either a shotgun or a rifle approach. 

Internal: employees, business partners, or peer groups.

External: includes the public at large, specific target markets, special needs populations, and special interest groups.

CHANNELS FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

Media Types

Print Media: newspapers, magazines, brochures, and reports: this is the easiest and most effective means of communicating with a large number of people. To get a program or event media coverage:

1) Prepare a news release and fax it to the editor.

2) Call the newspaper and talk to the appropriate editor or reporter about the event. Provide any additional written details promptly to the news agency. Offer to meet with the reporter before or during the event.

3) For special announcements you may use a news conference. Set a date and time that is convenient for the news agencies to cover the news conference and have ample time to meet their deadlines.

Fact Sheet the Next Generation of Media (News) Releases

Fact sheets and Media Releases are prepared by the agency marketing staff and sent, faxed, delivered to selected media organizations. This information is used as is, or edited for use.

Fact Sheet Guidelines:

1) It must be visually attractive, and DYNAMIC!

2) Double Spaced

3) Single Sided (not front and back)

4) Maximum of two pages

5) No fluff, keep to the raw information in a magnetizing manner.

6) Use exciting, creative and tantalizing headings sized to be read from five feet away.

7) Include the "who," "what," "when," "where," and "how," information but use CREATIVE headings!

8) ALWAYS include the name, phone, fax and e-mail for a person in your agency the media can contact for more information.

Sedona St. Patrick's Day Parade Press Release

Media Contact List

Newsletters and Brochures

Newsletters are brief informational pieces that are usually sent to past or current consumers. They may be sent out monthly, bi-monthly, semi-annually, or annually. A newsletter is more of an internal marketing strategy.

Brochures are more expensive publicity pieces. They are prepared on an annual or bi-annual basis or as needed. A brochure is an external marketing strategy.

Information should include the following:

1. Name of the sponsoring department, its administrator or key staff, board members, and key municipal officials;

2. Primary contact information addresses, phone numbers, e-mail address, web site address;

3. Listings and brief descriptions and maps of recreation areas and facilities;

4. A directory of programs, activities, and/or services offered;

5. A listing of activity, rental or admission fees and/or charges;

6. The agency or organization's  mission statement.

Television

Television is a real opportunity for publicity. For better results:

1) use opportunities with movement and color.

2) let the television stations cover the event with their own staff instead of trying to produce a segment yourself.

Televised Programs may include:

Web Sites

On-line Media: A web presence is no longer a luxury but a necessity for any public, commercial, and non-profit recreation and leisure service organization. Over 50 % of the U.S. population has a home computer. Over 5,000 web sites a day are being added to the millions already on the Internet. On-line commerce will be a daily occurrence in the next decade. A web site may offer information on programs, hours of operation, special events, facility locations, activity and program registration, reservations, and retail sales.

Sample web sites:

Slide Shows

Every agency and organization needs a prepared slide presentation for community group meetings. The slides should be of high quality and reflect the mission, programs, and services of the agency or organization. The text needs to be large enough to read and bulleted lists are better than paragraphs.

Speakers

Community groups will regularly invite staff members from your agency to speak to them on various subjects. It is a good idea to keep a list of staff members who are willing to make presentations to these groups and a list of subjects they can speak to.

Exhibits and Displays

Many opportunities will be available to promote your agency or organization at local events, trade shows, or professional conferences. A high quality display is critical to creating a positive image to the public. Types of displays include:

1. exhibit

2. special event

3. display or demonstration

Media Advisory

Must present a subject with true media appeal.

1) Keep to one page, use large headings and lots of white space (don't fill up the page with text).

2) Send TWO advisories; the first one 3-5 days ahead of the event, the second one goes out the day before.

Media Conferences

A media conference invites all the major news organizations to a specific place at a specific time for an important announcement. How to determine if your event requires a media conference.

1) is it something of major significance?

2) is the subject too detailed to be handled in a fact sheet, or one-on-one interview.

3) does it require the credibility of an on-site quote from a spokesperson?

4) does it need to be demonstrated, explained by an expert, unveiled or "handled" to be understood by the media?

5) are face-to-face questions and answer sessions necessary to clarify points and avoid confusion?

6) is the photo-op so great that the media should cover it with their own cameras?

Note: Preferred media conference times are Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday between 9:30 am and 11:30 am.

Media at your Event

It is preferred to have the media attend your event. To make this more successful:

1) have a knowledgeable media host available for the media staffers.

2) take the media to the best sources of information (people).

3) have fresh material available for the media to select from.

4) if the media give you a question you cannot answer, either find someone who can ASAP or tell them you will research it and get the information to them.

5) offer an "information buffet" tables with releases, fact sheets, photos, schedules, biographies, maps etc. in a location reserved just for the media. Also accommodate the family and friends of the media at your event.

Note: Media deserves special attention and should receive it at all costs.

Annual Reports

A majority of all public, private, and non-profit agencies publish an annual report. The annual report can be a comprehensive compilation of the years programs or a more general public relations communication tool. All annual reports follow a similar content:

Sample Annual Reports:

Coeur d'Alene Parks and Recreation Department Annual Report

National Association for Down Syndrome 1998 Annual Report (requires Adobe Reader)

Reynoldsburg Parks and Recreation Department Annual Report

Creating Other Public Relations Opportunities

1. Carrying out beautification projects.

2. Making special awards with newspaper or other media coverage.

3. Sponsor a special Family Day/Kids Day once a year, when any family group may enter recreation facilities or programs without charge.

4. Issue important statements (warnings, suggestions, offers of help, etc.) to the public.

5. Tours and Open Houses are forms of interpersonal contact that provide a useful way of showing public officials, parents, local residents, service clubs, PTA members, newspaper your agencies programs/services, staff members and operations.

PARTNERSHIPS AND COSPONSORED PROGRAMS

A very positive trend in the 1990's is the growth of partnerships among different agencies and organizations in the recreation, parks, and leisure-service industry. Partnerships may range from:

Selin and Chavez (1994) define partnerships as:

     ..the voluntary pooling of resources (labor, money, information, etc.) between two or more parties to accomplish collaborative goals. Partnerships range from situations where two agencies interact briefly around a common problem to those where multiple organizations are represented in an ongoing venture. Partnerships may be highly structured, characterized by legally binding agreements, or they may be quite unstructured verbal agreements between participating parties. (p.52)

Public Agencies and Community Sports Groups

Public recreation and park departments rely heavily on their relationships with volunteer community sports groups, such as Little League, Biddy Basketball, American Youth Soccer Organization or other youth-serving organizations. Many of these relationships may result in formal partnership opportunities.

Guidelines for Partnerships

Anytime two organizations combine resources misunderstandings and issues related to the partnership will arise. To avoid serious problems clear guidelines need to be developed and agreed upon by both organizations. Examples of these guidelines are:

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT v. PRIVATIZATION     

Even though this is a public relations issue the decision to use either of the approaches below are usually driven by budget considerations of the public agency. In many cases a private, commercial, or non-profit organization can offer a service or program more inexpensively than an public agency or organization. Under these conditions, a choice is made to partner using one of the approaches described below.

Community development approach: This approach engages residents or businesses to take responsibility for initiating or managing recreation programs or facilities. The value of recreation, parks, and leisure are promoted as a vital aspects in community life. This approach is often implemented with the help of public department coordinators, usually the Community Development director.

Privatization approach: This approach is based on subcontracting, concessions, and/or lease arrangements. Where the public agency has run the operation in question in the past, now it will be run by a commercial or non-profit organization. Essentially, a private operator is using or managing publicly owned property.

Both of these approaches reduce the demands on public recreation agencies and offer new revenue generating and publicity opportunities for both the subcontractor and the public agency.

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