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PUBLIC RELATIONS. Rotary Shares July 2007 Gretchen Cochran, Rotary District 6360 cochranpr@acd.net , district 6360@cablespeed.com. Why share Rotary’s story ?. Grow membership Increase loyalty Leverage power Partnerships Services Money. Where to begin ?. First step: make a p.r. plan
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PUBLIC RELATIONS Rotary Shares July 2007 Gretchen Cochran, Rotary District 6360 cochranpr@acd.net, district 6360@cablespeed.com
Why share Rotary’s story ? • Grow membership • Increase loyalty • Leverage power • Partnerships • Services • Money
Where to begin ? • First step: make a p.r. plan • Base plan on club objectives for year • Then target activities, based on those objectives • If you don’t have a website, get one. Print it on everything
Create a p.r. calendar • Consider most-newsworthy efforts • Put dates on a calendar • Consider media news cycle • September school starts, UN International Literacy Day Sept. 8 • Promote Rotary literacy project
What is news? • Making grants to the community. • Group study exchange visit • Think in terms of outcomes, benefits: Hundreds of Dowagiac families will enjoy dining in the park, thanks to a $1,000 Rotary donation for picnic tables.
Target marketing • Get the right people rather than more people. • Who do you want to reach? • How do you reach them?
Calendar entire year • Budgets manpower, media attention • Work backwards to plan workload • Assign tasks • Designate club photographer with a digital camera
Be redundant • It takes 7 to 13 impressions to get someone off his or her couch to do something • People respond differently to different media. Use all forms at once.
Get Help • Go to rotary.org • Click on Club-District Support • Scroll listing for Effective Public Relations • Check menu bar at left for tools • See right hand box to subscribe to bi-weekly PR Tips newsletter • E-mail Gretchen Cochran, cochranpr@acd.net • Check District6360@cablespeed.com for tips
A sample event: LiteracyDo Dah • Does it meet one of Club’s objectives for year (Increase visibility to increase membership) • Leverage partnership • Make a deal with the school administration, include what it will do in return for what you will do
Hosting a press conference • Commonly forgotten: • Prepare a press packet • Have Rotary logo prominently displayed • Rotarians identified wearing ID • Designate spokesperson • Create a catchy slogan, e.g. “Readers are Leaders”