Why Bother

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• Public Relations
• Media Training
• Message Development
• Community Relations

272 Brookwood Drive South, York, PA 17403
[phone]
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Developing aCommunications Strategy

• Anytown, USA

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What can a Communications Strategy do?

• Create Awareness of Goals
• Establish Credibility
• Educate Target Audience
• Build Positive Relationships
• Motivate Current Team Members
• Sustain Program Funding
• Positive Impact on Outcomes
• Recruit New Team Members
• Increase Participation in Programs

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Goals

• Consensus on messages
• Strategy how, when who will
• deliver messages
• What do YOU want
• the community to know?
• How to disseminate
• the information
• Press conference, flyers,
• press release, meetings, ads?

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Why Involve the Media?

• Best method to reach community broad reach
  of target audience
• Credible (most people believe what they read as
  being the absolute truth)
• Controlled messages
• Influence key supporters
• Visibility for leaders good works
• FREE

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Who Does the Media Influence?

• Current Team Members
• Potential Funding Sources
• Local Government Leaders
• State Federal Leaders
• Target Audience for Programs
• Potential New Team Members
• Influential Decision Makers

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Strategic Steps

• Who is your target audience?
• Determine Key Messages for Audience
• Establish which 3-5 points you want to make
• Which points impact your audience most?
• When will they be most receptive?
• What is the best method to reach them?
• Who has most influence over this audience?

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A Little More Difficult

• Identify PROSPER Spokespersons
• Put yourself in your audiences shoes
• Who would they consider credible who do they
  respect?
• Cross Section of the Community NOT just schools
• Someone who is a good public speaker
• Which public figures can impact long term
  sustainability and would appreciate visibility?

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Key MessagesWhy, What, Who, How, When?

• Community Leaders/schools are taking a proactive
  approach for positive change
• Utilizing a science-based, proven effective
  approach we know works in this state
• Leverage the ISU Connection!
• Prevention is the smart investment measurable
  results, long-term savings
• GOOD News!
• Actions Steps for Community

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Scheduling Events/Meetings

• Availability of Key Spokespeople
• Location
• Other Community Events?
• Time of Day
• Day of the Week
• Targeted Audience who to invite?
• Who will make calls to speakers?
• Who will make calls to media?

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Why Share Report Information?

• Community needs to know and understand WHY
  programs are important
• Reports are a measure of the Community NOT the
  school and must be positioned as such
• People/reporters pay attention to statistics
• Good way to see and celebrate progress
• Good way for everyone to understand where there
  is room for improvement

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Building the Dream Team

• Most effective community initiatives have a cross
  section of community leaders with varied
  perspectives
• Affects fundraising ability
• Affects cooperation of schools
• Affects ability to obtain positive publicity and
  gain awareness
• Affects ability to recruit families
• Can change the way your community approaches
  prevention
• Provides opportunities for YOU to be viewed as a
  leading and important organization within the
  community

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Funding Sustainability

• Understand who holds the purse strings
• Understand who influences the purse strings
• Understand the most important goals and
  objectives of potential funders how does what
  you are doing positively impact their goals?
• Is your program perceived as being effective as
  well as cost-effective?