earned media process and case study

Appendix D: Earned Media Process and Work Samples

Earned Media Process The development of the earned media plan will take place concurrently with paid media campaign development. During this phase, we will determine key messages and positioning statements to be communicated to the public and the media. We will coordinate with the Public Awareness Workgroup to gain insight about which talking points should be prioritized.

The next step in the earned media process is to set up a timeline for news releases. Our success will come from having key components ready for the press:

o Up-‐to-‐date data and messages o Key spokespeople who are trained and prepared to give media interviews o Personal stories from people directly impacted by the issues addressed in our campaign

Human interest stories increase the chance of strong press coverage, and tend to help audiences more closely relate the subject matter to their own lives.

While some of our earned media efforts will come from news releases, we can also bring attention to the topic when current events related to the concerns over prescription drugs might spark media attention. This type of work requires a quick-‐thinking and nimble communications team like Evolution. We are skilled at turning “breaking news” stories into opportunities for our clients while always ensuring key messages are reinforced in the process. Some ideas for attracting local earned media attention include:

o Campaign launch (Paid Media) o Website launch o Updated stats or data on Colorado rankings o Sharing evaluation findings

In addition, we will track national stories and endeavor tie in’s with our local campaign. Some ideas that may come from national stories include:

o High profile death or overdose from prescription drugs o New or pending legislation pertaining to prescription drugs o National take-‐back initiatives

Please see below for some examples of Evolution’s most recent earned media and public relations campaigns.


Client: Colorado Immunization Section (CDPHE) Budget: $120,000/ Annual Timing: June 2008-‐June 2014 Demo: English-‐Adults 25-‐54, Spanish-‐Adults 18-‐49 Project Overview Evolution and its Principals have maintained the general communications contract for the Colorado Immunization Section (CIS) at CDPHE for the past six years. Because of the many diverse responsibilities in the Scope of Work for this contract, a paid media campaign was outside the budget. Instead we focused on public relations and earned media. Our main goal was to educate the public about the importance of vaccinations to prevent disease. Our efforts addressed a wide range of topics from the need for annual flu vaccinations, to recommended vaccines for children, adolescents and adults, as well as the 2009 H1N1 epidemic, and clarifying misinformation about the safety and efficacy of vaccinations. Evolution worked closely with Denver Mayor, then Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper on PSA messages that focused on the need for childhood vaccinations. The compelling spots allowed the governor to describe how his then infant son Teddy was hospitalized due to a whooping cough infection he contracted through contact with an under-‐vaccinated peer. The key to our success has been making the most of any and all opportunities as they might arise i.e. an increase in the number of hospitalizations due to flu, the on-‐going pertussis (whooping cough) epidemic in Colorado, and even the near death of the sister of a local woman from the H1N1 influenza virus. We expect the Rx Public Awareness Campaign will have similar needs in terms of public relations and earned media efforts.


Scope of Work

o Educate the public about the need for vaccinations to prevent disease. o Educate the public about the safety of vaccinations. o Counteract negative messages from the anti-‐vaccination movement, including the now de-‐

bunked British study linking vaccinations to autism. o Create a social media campaign to reinforce the above messages. o Maintain monthly social media calendar and postings. o Work with other stakeholders/partners on related messages/projects. o Create and disseminate collateral to educate the public and health care workers. o Train CIS and other CDPHE experts on how to conduct interviews and work with the media to

ensure key messages are clearly communicated and reinforced. o Execute media buys for unique opportunities when funding was available.

Results for Contract Year 2013-‐2014

o Total Publicity Value $524,174 (+156% vs. last contract) o Total Impressions 68,002,610 (+456% vs. last contract)

Print Coverage Impressions 7,601,327 Publicity Value $41,390

Web Coverage Impressions 56,382,128 TV/Radio Impressions 4,019,155 Publicity Value $482,784


Case Study: 2014 Dress in Blue/Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Client: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Budget: $24,000 Timing: February-‐March 2014 Demo: English and Spanish Adults 50+ Project Overview Evolution has been working with CDPHE and the Colorado Cancer Center on messaging campaigns and media buys since 2007. For 2014, the team employed a comprehensive strategy that included earned, paid and social media to raise awareness of March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the annual Dress in Blue fundraiser. Paid media included a TV and radio campaign in English and Spanish in the metro area and in northern and southern Colorado where colon cancer screening resources had been identified. Our usual paid media plan was enhanced in 2014 with the addition of public relations and social media, which extended our reach considerably and provided the client with a wraparound campaign on a minimal budget. Scope of Work

o Execute paid media campaign in English and Spanish using TV, radio, and online promotion to encourage audience to get screened for colorectal cancer.

o Reinforce paid efforts with robust earned media campaign. o Develop social media campaign. Design social media posts and social media press kit.

Results

o TV campaign reach: 54,774 o Radio campaign reach: 385,000 (this is under-‐reach, as our markets in northern/southern

Colorado are non-‐rated and cannot report actual reach. o Earned media reach: Statewide, with publicity valued at a 3:1 Return on Investment o In addition to paid spots, as added value, campaign spokespeople trained by Evolution were

invited to conduct four radio interviews to discuss the impact of colorectal cancer on their personal lives, including a cancer survivor and the mother of a colorectal cancer patient.

o Univision (Spanish language partner) produced a :15 second pre-‐roll video that aired before news videos on their website with our campaign call to action. 100,146 people clicked on our video, and 77% of them watched the entire thing (despite having the option to skip after 5 seconds)

o Earned media efforts generated five television news stories about the campaign on KUSA, KDVR and KWGN and a radio story about Dress In Blue aired on KOA, KRFX and KBCO .

o Local TV news anchors were asked to dress in blue to raise awareness of March the week leading up to the Dress in Blue event on Thursday, March 6 2014. Anchors from KUSA, KMGH, KDVR and KWGN participated in this effort on air, and shared images via social media.

o The Evolution team used our strong media relationships to recruit three different emcees for the 2014 Dress in Blue fundraiser, KUSA’s Kim Christiansen, KJMN’s Mary “Cha-‐Cha” Chavez and


media personality Gloria Neale. In addition, Christiansen and Chavez discussed the event on air during their shifts.

Client: Food and Drink Resources (FDR) Budget: $60,000/annual Timing: March 2014-‐ present Project Overview One of Evolution’s newest clients is the group of chefs behind Food and Drink Resources Inc. (FDR); a consulting agency that works with restaurants and food manufacturers/distributors in developing new, trendy menu items or adjusting current offerings to make them more relevant to consumers and increase sales. Most recently, our goal has been to generate publicity of the grand opening of the new FDR “Innovation Center” in Centennial, CO. The facility includes a state-‐of-‐the-‐art kitchen and bar, as well as a high-‐tech focus group testing area, so restaurants and other clients can immediately test new food or beverage creations to gauge consumer reaction. Scope of Work

o Increase publicity for FDR in the community, specifically within the food and drink industry. o Raise awareness about the existence of the FDR Innovation Center for potential clients. o Raise awareness of the expertise of the FDR chef team.

Results The Innovation Center opened at the end of May 2014. To date, we have secured several high profile earned media opportunities for FDR:

o Denver Business Journal – Impressions 14,084 o Westword – Impressions 347,900 o On-‐Line Article in Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) – Impressions 463,901 o Live appearance on FOX/KDVR and Channel 2/KWGN (Airs July 2, 2014) o National Public Radio (Interviews have been conducted. Air Date TBD)

o Story for “All Things Considered” – Impressions – 12.2 million o Blog


About Evolution A communications agency based in Littleton, Colorado, Evolution creates message-‐driven campaigns for media buys, digital marketing and advertising for non-‐profit and for-‐profit organizations throughout Colorado. We build rock solid message-‐based campaigns for our clients that include PR consulting, media buying and digital marketing to get the message across the first time. Visit us at becausemessagematters.com.

earned media process and case study

Health & Medicine