Publicity

Carefully plan your publicity strategy to involve and impact as many people as possible.

Effective publicity is essential to the success of any event or campaign. Since the power of community groups depends on people, getting the word out to the public is one of the most important things you can do. It requires a well-thought-out strategy based on the following guidelines:

Publicity Ideas

There are effective ways to publicize without depending on the media.

Personal Contact and Word of Mouth -Personal contact is one of the best (and cheapest) means of publicity. Each of your members should be encouraged to bring at least a half dozen people to an event. Practice by telling each other, in three easy sentences, what the event is and what it is supposed to accomplish. This also helps in writing up calendar announcements, leaflets and posters.

Posters -Keep it short, simple, loud, and eye-catching. Make your main message BIG-- people should be able to see it from 20 feet away. Make the rest of your text short-- people should be able to read it in less than one minute. Use just one type of lettering and no more than two colors. Don't make it too crowded -- leave white space on the page. Clear and powerful pictures and graphics can really add to a poster. Don't forget to state the time, date, and place of the event. Include a telephone number for further information. Put up posters in areas where a lot of people hang out. Re-poster high traffic areas again before an event.

Leaflets - Leaflets are good for publicizing an immediate and urgent event, like an emergency rally, and for distributing information to passersby at demonstrations, tablings, vigils, or actions. One person can distribute several hundred leaflets in an hour. Smile and be cheerfully unthreatening when handing them out and thank people who show an interest. Be ready for rejection, as many people will ignore you, or make unfriendly remarks. Do an internet version of the flyer to be sent out via email networks.

Rapid Response Networks -When you want to mobilize your supporters for an emergency action or lobbying effort, a phone and email tree is an extremely useful and efficient tool. You can start a rapid response committee and select a coordinator who is responsible for initiating the network. The coordinator organizes the information to be given out and contacts the committee members, who each have a list of people to notify. Keep the message to two or three sentences; if phoning, ask each person to write it down as you give it. If you can't reach the next person on the tree, go on down the list until you do reach someone. The last person on the network should contact the first person to make sure the circle has been completed. Email is less personal but allows you to contact a larger number of people quickly.

Using the Media

Use the media thoughtfully to increase the impact of your message.

The impact of any event or action your group plans can be greatly increased by media attention. Larger events can reach an audience of hundreds or thousands if covered by a radio or TV station or newspaper. Media attention can put you in contact with people in your community working on similar issues.

One guideline is to spend 10% of your organizing time on attracting the press. You can form an on-going media committee or an ad hoc (short term) one to handle a specific event. A group often needs a well-spoken, informed spokesperson to make public statements and do interviews. Although this role can and should be shared, it is best to use members who have been most active, who know the details of the issues thoroughly so that they can respond accurately to spontaneous questions, and who know the history of the group.

At your event, include a table marked "PRESS." Hand each reporter printed information and get their names so that you can find out later if they ran a story.

Press Advisories and Releases

Send press advisories well in advance and press releases just before an event.

Press Advisories are notices to the press about an upcoming event and should go out six to ten days in advance. For weeklies, send your material two weeks in advance of the deadline. Always use the group's logo or letterhead and clearly list the name and telephone number of your contact person on the upper right corner. At the top of the page, write "To: News Assignment Desk and Photo Desk (if there is a photo opportunity). Beneath this write " Press Advisory " and "To Be Released for (date)," then write a brief statement of the coming event, key people involved, purpose, and contact persons, with telephone numbers for further information. Follow up with a phone call in 3 days - this will greatly increase your chances of getting coverage.

Press advisories are always followed by a Press Release just before the event. Use the same layout as for the Advisory, but under your logo write "For Immediate Release" with the date of the event under this. The first sentence should describe the whole event. The body of a press release should be written in clear, simple language, with short sentences. Remember that reporters may use the exact text of your release, so include your strongest facts or opinions. The usual length is one page. Anything about your event that ties in with local issues or relates to current news will attract attention.

Mail your press release to the Managing Editor, City Editor or Assignment Editor for each media outlet on the list so that it will arrive three or four business days before your event. In the case of weeklies, send it a week in advance of the deadline. Call the media two days before the event, weeklies two days before the deadline. Call each media outlet (except weeklies) on the day of the event in their first hour of business. If they don't know about the event, offer to fax them the press release (make sure you have access to a fax machine). Write down those you expect to come.

If possible, designate one person to follow up with reporters who seemed particularly receptive. It's important to make friends with the media and build good relationships over time.

• Time your event for good media coverage - when some big story related to your cause is in the news, when TV crews have slow news days, or when newspapers aren't tied up with their final deadlines. Fridays and Mondays are not usually as good for event coverage. Often "big name" reporters schedule their assignments as much as two weeks in advance.
• Keep an updated list of names, addresses, fax and telephone numbers, and email addresses of editors, reporters, and other contacts at newspapers, television stations, and radio stations, along with their usual deadlines. Lists of statewide media are often available through larger organizations that deal with the media on a regular basis.
• Include the Assignment Editor and City Desk for all local TV news stations (including cable) and daily newspapers. Include the News Editor at key publications, local weekly papers, and radio stations with news departments. Also include the News Desk at the nearest offices of Associated Press (AP) and other press services. When talking to the AP or other press service reporter for your area, ask that the event be listed in the "day book," which is a list that other media refer to for scheduled events.
• Get the names of any journalists specifically assigned to cover your topic (environment, business, foreign affairs) or your geographic area. Get to know reporters who have covered your group accurately or positively in the past; keep in contact with them and build a relationship with them when possible.
• For calendar listings in print media, send announcements at least three weeks in advance. Most television stations, except for cable TV stations, don't do calendar listings or public service announcements (PSA's ). Send announcements for radio or cable TV PSA's two or more weeks in advance of the event and follow it up in a couple of days to see when and how often they can run it. By making personal contact and impressing the station with the importance of the event, you may be invited to do an interview.

Press Conferences

Time a press conference to coincide with a big event or story.

A press conference is a formal presentation of your case designed exclusively for the press. The key question to ask when deciding whether to have a press conference is, "Will reporters come?" You will be most successful if there is some other big event that you are responding to with a different point of view, or when a big story that has been brewing for weeks or months finally breaks, such as the results of a referendum. A press conference announcement only needs to be one page long, usually with the information about time, location, topic, participants, etc. spelled out in outline form. Make sure reporters receive it at least two days before the event. Make follow-up calls to key reporters immediately and on the morning of the event.

Research

Research gives us valuable information; that information can be difficult or easy to obtain; information is power so use whenever possible.

Much of what we see in the media is written and controlled by those with money and power. How we perceive the world is largely determined by how the media present it. It is difficult to call attention to problems when the people responsible for them are able to control the discussions about them.

One essential tool of activists is research. Through research we can expose what's going on behind closed doors and pressure those in power. We can also build support for our cause by showing people the facts they wouldn't otherwise see.

Research can be as simple as going to the library for news reports, town offices for public records, state or federal agencies for studies, or browsing the web. You can get an amazing amount of information just by asking institutions for data. Alternative press reports are some of the best sources for research in the media. By doing and publicizing such research, your movement can gain both confidence and members. The right piece of information can change public attitudes and policies; activists have used these facts and figures to help win successful campaigns in the past.

Information is power, and being able to access information is an essential democratic right. However, getting it can be very difficult. People who benefit from withholding certain facts will often try to keep you from them, such as by ignoring your requests. Most people do not realize that they may be legally entitled to records and data through the Freedom of Information Act and other laws.

You may need to file Freedom of Information Act requests (FOIA's) to get certain documents. Filing FOIA's can be a long process but can have important results. For instance, you may find out how much money certain corporations are putting into research, what pesticides and chemicals are used on roadsides, what animal testing certain labs are doing, who are on the boards of the regulatory agencies, etc. There are several manuals that will help you understand the investigative process; see the Resources section for more information.