Public Relations

Public Relations

Public Relations is • A management function that creates, develops, and carries out policies and programs to influence public opinion or public reaction about an idea, a product, or an organization. • The field of public relations includes advertising, publicity, promotional activities, and press contact. • Public relations coexists with marketing and merchandising to create the climate in which all selling functions occur. • At NARFE, Public Relations coexists with our Membership and Legislative efforts Public Relations

Why Public Relations is important for NARFE? • NARFE needs to gain and maintainpublic understanding and support for NARFE as the primary advocate for federal workers and retirees and their dependents • NARFE needs to maintain and increase its member base to be most effective • Public Relations = Reach and Teach Public Relations

Each Chapter must have a PR Director • Each Chapter should designate a PR Chair who works with the Membership and Legislative Officer on their initiatives • If no one wants to be the PR Chair, then the Chapter President assumes that responsibility • Your DVP and the Federation PR Chair can help in your PR efforts Public Relations

Chapter PR Director Duties • Making personal contact with the newspapers of general circulation in your area so that, when you have a press release, or event, the local press will be able to put a face behind the message • If local TV and radio stations will provide coverage through public service announcements, that is worth a try, too • When press contact names and emails are obtained, use the on-line access point on www.narfefl.net, so the statewide email database of press contacts can be kept up-to-date. Public Relations

Know your press contacts • The manner in which you keep the press informed needs to be specialized for the each recipient • To be successful, you must know reporters on a first name basis, so • Make personal visits to introduce yourself and provide a Media Kit or other form of briefing material Public Relations

In order to improve knowledge of NARFE • You need to know your audiences and create, develop and carry out public relations efforts targeted to each audience • NARFE has five audiences • One Internal • Four External Public Relations

Internal Audience • Our internal audience is, obviously, NARFEmembers. • We need to assure that: • We provide members with important information on legislative positions, developments and initiatives, and • Promote public service activities and fellowship, and • In short, we need to ensure NARFE members know what we are doing and why we are doing it, and work together to achieve our goals and objectives • The best ways to do this is to communicate through newsletters, emails, websites and meetings. • Our PR efforts must complement each other in communicating NARFE messages. Public Relations

Four External AudiencesAudience One • Audience One - Potential members. We need to constantly and consistently get our message out so they know: • We exist • NARFE is the primary advocate for federal workers and retirees and their dependents, and • What we have achieved in the past, and what we can do in the future • The value of membership Public Relations

When explaining our value, stress • NARFE is the only organization that watches out for our interests • NARFE’s award winning Magazine • Receiving direct assistance on CSRS and FERS questions on annuities, health benefits, Medicare, life insurance, tax withholding, survivor benefits, social security, etc. • The fellowship and social interchange Chapters afford • Being informed on local, state, and national issues affecting NARFE members through Chapter meetings, newsletters, emails, etc. • Access to grants up to $500 from the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund, and annual Scholarships available to members children, grandchildren, stepchildren and great grandchildren • NARFE Perks, which provide quality products and services like insurance, travel, emergency services, hotels, car rentals, credit cards Public Relations

The 3 other external audiences • The public, elected officials, and groups and organizations with shared concerns and interests • We need to inform them that • NARFE is the primary advocate for federal workers and retirees and their dependents, and • We intend to continue to work to influence legislation and policies that impact active and retired federal employees and their families Public Relations

Maintain media contact list • Keep a media contact list and inform the local press regarding: • Monthly meeting times and locations • Guest speakers • Past and continuing community service provided by members, etc. Public Relations

Press releases • PR Chairs should prepare short, one page email Press Releases and assure they get to the press • There are many formats for Press Releases • Use the format that works for you and your media contacts • If possible, include a picture, with the NARFE seal/Chapter Banner in it, and individuals former/current federal affiliation, in all press releases • Email copies of your Press Releases to and the Federation webmaster to share with others • Sample Press Releases are available on the Public Relations section of www.narfefl.net and the NARFE PR Handbook Public Relations

Media Kit • A vital tool in Public Relations is a Media Kit. • It provides a background and focus on the association, • one or more specific issues or public service activities, and • a host of other subjects. • A sample is available on www.narfefl.net that was developed for the Federation Convention • It should be modified for use for visits to local elected officials and for the press. Public Relations

Great public service stories make great public relations • Spotlight the public service activities of NARFE members • Public service increases respect for NARFE, its members and its message Public Relations

Newsletter • Each Chapter should have a periodic newsletter • It is one of the best means to enhance communications among your members • It must be designed not only for current members, but also potential members • Lots of models are available Public Relations

Email • Each Chapter should keep an up-to-date email list of members and • Use email frequently Public Relations

Websites • In order to be accessible to potential new members, each chapter should have a website • Websites should: • Update and inform members • Provide administrative information • Keep the public informed and thus attract potential members and public support • Include items of interest for CSRS and FERS • In order to best keep the public and potential members informed of who NARFE is and our objectives • Please do not reinvent the wheel • Websites should include links to the info in www.narfe.org, not restate them! Public Relations

How do you start a website? • If you can put a Word document together, you can do a website • NARFE National can host a chapter website for about $30 per year • Other companies can host your website for a minimal monthly charge, and offer more flexibility in layout Public Relations

No money for PR? • You can do PR even if you have little $$$ • Sell space in newsletters & websites to raise $$ • Apply to the Federation for up to $200 every 6 months in CAP Funds, and Matching Funds in even greater amounts are available from National • For info on how to obtain CAP & Matching Funds, and the limitations for each, check www.narfefl.net • Federation PR Chair may have $$ available to assist Chapters and Districts • If you need $$ from the PR Chair, contact the PR Chair Public Relations

Federation PR Team • Federation PR Team • The Federation PR Chair maintains an email database of all PR Chairs • DVPs part of the team • The Federation PR Chair • Uses email and www.narfefl.net to keep the PR Team informed of activities and issues that may be used by the PR Chairs • Has posted sample Press Releases on www.narfefl.net. • The Federation does not send Press Releases to the media statewide. • Distribution by Chapters to their media contacts is preferred • NARFE National issues Press Release periodically, but they do not go to any of the media in Florida • When these are received by the PR Chair, they are often emailed to the PR Team for local distribution to local media contacts • Chapter officials should consider piggy backing a message onto these press releases to reflect their impact on the locality Public Relations

Some additional PR ideas • Issue Press Releases highlighting the past and current community achievements of NARFE members • Host NARFE Red Hat Society events • Provide free tickets to local theater rehearsals • Sponsor golf tournaments or other events to fund ALZ, FEEA or scholarships to seniors at local high schools • Honor couples with golden anniversaries (50 years) with a free dinner • Give away certificates for free turkeys • Have joint meetings with teachers and state and city employees on common issues Public Relations

More ideas • Enter a float into a parade • Work with a local large grocery store to set up a booth where the chapter can sell hot dogs and soft drinks • Give baskets at the holidays to those with disabilities • Obtain local sports team tickets at a reduced price and sell them • Have a progressive cash drawing where the winner must be present to win Public Relations

And even more ideas • Distribute NARFE Magazines at highly visible places – dentists, doctors, senior centers • Advertise meeting notices, noting, if possible, speakers if they will be of interest to a large audience than just NARFE members • Participate in local conventions of federal employee organizations • Set up a Chapter/District “Speakers Bureau”, making members available to speak to other organizations • Set up a NARFE table at fairs - health, county, state or community events • Place a NARFE welcoming sign on the roads into your town Public Relations

Branding

Branding • A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes products and services • A brand which is widely known acquires brand recognition • National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association is as much a part of our brand as • NARFE and • The NARFE seal • In order for NARFE to achieve brand recognition, • It is imperative that we use the word NARFE and the NARFE seal in all our recruiting, retention and public relations efforts, newsletters, websites, letterhead, etc. • Copies of the NARFE seal are available at www.narfe.org and www.narfefl.net • When needed, write out the entire name of the Association (and please get it all) Public Relations

Need more PR info? • More information on Public Relations can be found in the PR section of www.narfefl.net, and • NARFE National has an excellent PR Handbook (FH-9) which can be ordered and/or downloaded from www.narfe.org • Contact your DVP • Contact the Federation PR Chair Public Relations

Florida Federation of Chapterswww.narfefl.net NARFE works to protect and enhance the earned health and retirement benefits of federal employees and retirees If NARFE did not exist, it would be created! Public Relations

Ten Tips for Better Pictures A picture is worth a thousand words. If you are preparing a Press Release, for your newsletter or website, include one or more pictures. The following is excerpted and edited from www.kodak.com and should help you in taking great pictures.

1. Look your subject in the eye • Direct eye contact can be as engaging in a picture as it is in real life • When taking a picture of someone, hold the camera at the person's eye level to unleash the power of those magnetic gazes and mesmerizing smiles • Your subject need not always stare at the camera • An eye level angle will create a personal and inviting feeling that pulls you into the picture Public Relations

2. Use a plain background • A plain background shows off the subject you are photographing • When you look through the camera viewfinder, force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject • Make sure no poles grow from anyone’s head and that nothing seems to dangle from their ears Public Relations

3. Outdoors • Bright sun can create unattractive deep facial shadows • Eliminate the shadows by using your flash to lighten the face • When taking people pictures on sunny days, turn your flash on • You may have a choice of fill-flash mode or full-flash mode • If the person is within five feet, use the fill-flash mode • Beyond five feet, the full-power mode may be required • With a digital camera, use the picture display panel to review the results • On cloudy days, use the camera's fill-flash mode if it has one • The flash will brighten up people's faces and make them stand out • Also take a picture without the flash, because the soft light of overcast days sometimes gives quite pleasing results by itself Public Relations

4. Move in close • If your subject is smaller than a car, take a step or two closer before taking the picture and zoom in on your subject • Your goal is to fill the picture area with the subject you are photographing • But don't get too close or your pictures will be blurry • The closest focusing distance for most cameras is about three feet, or about one step away from your camera • If you get closer than the closest focusing distance of your camera (see your manual to be sure), your pictures will be blurry Public Relations

5. Move it from the middle • Center-stage is a great place for a performer to be, however • The middle of your picture may not always be the best place for your subject • Bring your picture to life by simply moving your subject away from the middle of your picture • Start by playing tick-tack-toe with subject position Imagine a tick-tack-toe grid in your viewfinder • Now place your important subject at one of the intersections of lines • You'll need to lock the focus if you have an auto-focus camera because most of them focus on whatever is in the center of the viewfinder Public Relations

6. Lock the focus • If your subject is not in the center of the picture, you need to lock the focus to create a sharp picture • Most auto-focus cameras focus on whatever is in the center of the picture • But to improve pictures, you will often want to move the subject away from the center of the picture • If you don't want a blurred picture, you'll need to first lock the focus with the subject in the middle and then recompose the picture so the subject is away from the middle • Usually you can lock the focus in three steps • First, center the subject and press and hold the shutter button halfway down • Second, reposition your camera (while still holding the shutter button) so the subject is away from the center • Third, finish by pressing the shutter button all the way down to take the picture Public Relations

7. Know your flash's range • The number one flash mistake is taking pictures beyond the flash's range • Why is this a mistake? • Because pictures taken beyond the maximum flash range will be too dark • For many cameras, the maximum flash range is less than fifteen (15) feet—about five (5) steps away • What is your camera's flash range? • Look it up in your camera manual • Can't find it? Then don't take a chance. Position yourself so subjects are no farther than ten (10) feet away Public Relations

8. Watch the light • Next to the subject, the most important part of every picture is the light • It affects the appearance of everything photographed • On a great-grandmother, bright sunlight from the side can enhance wrinkles • But the soft light of a cloudy day can subdue those same wrinkles • Don't like the light on your subject? • Then move yourself or your subject • For landscapes, try to take pictures early or late in the day when the light is orangish and rakes across the land Public Relations

9. Take some vertical pictures • Is your camera vertically challenged? • It is if you never turn it sideways to take a vertical picture • All sorts of things look better in a vertical picture • From a lighthouse near a cliff to the Eiffel Tower to your four-year-old niece jumping in a puddle Public Relations

10. Be a picture director • Take control of your picture-taking and watch your pictures dramatically improve • Become a picture director, not just a passive picture-taker • A picture director takes charge • A picture director picks the location: "Everybody go outside to the backyard" • A picture director adds props: "Girls, put on your pink sunglasses" • A picture director arranges people: "Now move in close, and lean toward the camera" • Most pictures won't be that involved, but you get the idea: Take charge of your pictures and win your own best picture awards Public Relations

Florida Federation of Chapterswww.narfefl.net NARFE works to protect and enhance the earned health and retirement benefits of federal employees and retirees If NARFE did not exist, it would be created! Public Relations

Public Relations