Public Relations Manual

Chapter 2. Public Relations Implementation

Publicity and Promotion

Planned activities can be the source of considerable attention by the news media Your community, professionals in the graphic arts industry and others may be very interested in your activities. Promotion of those activities can generate a considerable amount of publicity that will benefit your club and the entire industry.

The following are just a few examples of what can be done to enhance your communication effort:

1. Participate in local community events. Try to participate in a unique and interesting fashion. Often local parades, events or shows need participants who can add color or interest to these events. Be creative.
   
2. Seek opportunities to address pertinent associations , schools or other community organizations. Before addressing any such group, release a news story announcing the event and your club's participation, if the host organization is not doing so. Send an advance copy of the talk to appropriate editors and/or radio and television broadcasters. Publication deadlines will vary, so be sure to give advance notice appropriate to each publication's specific requirements. Radio and television also need as much advance notice as you can give them, even if they typically deal with fast breaking news.
   
3. Participate in college and high school career days by setting up an exhibit or a booth. Announce such an event in a news story well in advance and don't forget to issue personal invitations to graphic arts instructors, students and appropriate editors.
   
4. Don't overlook newsworthy events which may be a regular part of your club's activities, such as:
   

News About People:

* Appointment of new officers
* Retirements
* Participation in community activities
* Club-sponsored scholarship recipients
* Award winners, such as "Member of the Year'

News About Club Activities

* Special events/meetings
* Scholarship sponsorship/availability
* Education support, donations, presentations
* Annual National Convention
* Social events

Editors and Newscasters have hundreds of news items competing for their attention and limited time and space to fill. Nevertheless, a legitimate local or industry news story can catch their attention. The following guidelines, along with the sample news release section in this manual, will help you in your efforts.

Publicity Guidelines

1. Use samples to guide your writing.

In the samples provided in this manual, you will notice:

The source (you) is clearly identified in the upper-left hand comer and includes a name and phone number of a person to contact for further information. Use club letterhead if you have it.

The stories are brief. They tell who, what, where, when, why and how. They tell it quickly, but with sufficient detail to satisfy reader interest.

Language is plain, everyday English. Avoid using industry terms which may not be commonly known. Even when submitting information to the trade publications, you should not become overly technical in your language.

The most important information should always be at the beginning of the story -- this is known as the "lead."

Stories should be typed and double-spaced on one side of 8-1/2" x 11" paper. Use club stationery for the top page, if it's available.

Include black and white glossy photos when appropriate. Avoid the "grip and grin" handshake poses and sedentary group shots. Always try to show some action in photographs. Never write on a photo -- front or back! Provide captions on a separate piece of paper, attached with removable tape, which explain the photo subject.

2. Call on local editors and media people. Research indicates that when an editor can connect a face and name with a news release, the chance that it will be used greatly increases. You might want to personally deliver an important news release. Some words of advice:

You might need to request a brief appointment in the case of daily newspaper editors. Early mornings or early afternoons are the best time to call or meet an editor because those times avoid deadline periods. Avoid calling on weekly newspapers the day before the paper goes to press; they'll be too busy to talk to you.

If you have cause to place advertisements with a publication or station, do not presume or suggest in any way that this gives you the right to have your news releases used. That is the surest way to guarantee that nothing you submit will be used.

Be sure to provide copies of stories to all appropriate media outlets.

Observe deadlines! Get "events" stories in the mail as much as two weeks to a month in advance, depending on the publication. Magazines may require as much as two to three months lead time.

If you write a story during or after an event, be sure to deliver it promptly while it is still timely.

Chapter 3. Rules for Working With the News Media

Public Relations Manual Table of Contents

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