Events

Confronting Tough Talk for Tender Causes: Publicity, Profile and the Press Meets the Vancouver Board of Trade

by LOT Student, Marisa Woodham

In the fast-paced world we live in, attracting and maintaining the media’s attention – as well as the public’s interest – is becoming more challenging than ever, especially for not-for-profit organizations and particularly in the time period leading up to the 2010 Olympic Games. On January 20th, the Spirit of Vancouver welcomed an engaging panel of media, public relations and not-for-profit experts who shared advice on the best ways to remain newsworthy and boost an organization’s profile.

Each speaker of the well-rounded panel approached publicity and public relations issues from a unique angle. Starting off the discussion was Stephen Miller, President and CEO of the British Columbia Lions Society for Children with Disabilities, who spoke from the not-for-profit perspective. Drawing from his organization’s own publicity endeavors (most notably, their Eagles in the City campaign), he encouraged audience professionals to seek out elements within their organization that have the foundation for a great story. Everything from ‘creative’ to ‘gimmick’ to ‘photo op’ was emphasized.

Next up was Wayne Moriarty, Editor-in-Chief of The Province newspaper, who encouraged organizations to build relationships with people in the press, “helping them to help you.” He indicated that building exclusive relationships with different news sources can go a long way in getting your message into the public’s eye. On a personal note, he mentioned that if you’re getting nowhere with grabbing his feedback for an event, feel free to call his boss!

Rebecca Scott, Producer and Correspondent for The Bill Good Show, then took a tough love approach. As an opening comment, she noted that out of the 2 – 3 dozen e-mails that her production team receives from not-for-profits on a daily basis, 95 – 99% are immediately disregarded. This is because organizations often do not take the proper approach to engaging audiences. She gave 4 simple rules to aid not-for-profits: 1) Know the type of audience you’re pitching to; 2) Be aware of the day-to-day of the news and how events can relate to your organization; 3) Know your organization inside and out: have real-life issues and personal anecdotes relay your message instead of relying on notes from your executive director; 4) Deliver what you promised: don’t be late or high maintenance if you manage to snag an appearance!

Valerie Wan, Manager at National Public Relations, rounded off the discussion with simple but important steps to developing a smart PR plan. She emphasized clarifying your organization’s message; putting together a core media kit and having a spokesperson; and making sure all your publicity endeavors adhere to the 4 C’s: be catchy, creative, compelling, and keep connections. It’s all about how you tell the story.

Although each speaker had their own views on how to remain current and relevant, they all agreed on one piece of advice for not-for-profits: be proactive and be persistent with your story and if the passion is there, it will get heard.