The Dream Team

1
Council for Advancement and Support of
Education District VI Conference St.
Louis Tuesday, January 24, 2006
2
Barbara Pierce, President and Founder Millennium
Communications, Inc. St. Louis Springfield,
Mo. www.millenniumcom.com
3
The Dream Team

• Building a fast response team for your next big
  news event

4
Failing to plan is planning to fail.

• -Anonymous (Chinese Proverb)

5
Why Crisis Planning Is Important

• Crisis can propel a person, organization or
  university forward or backward.

6
Why Crisis Planning Is Important

• Examples
• Enron
• Arthur Andersen (gone)
• Boeing
• TWA (gone)

7
Why Crisis Planning Is Important

• Examples
• WorldCom
• Tylenol
• Tulane University
• Martha Stewart (shes back!)

8
Why Crisis Planning Is Important

• Majority of people no longer get their news from
  daily newspapers (The days of a nice, long slow
  read are gone!)
• The Golden Hour 3-4 hour window to respond or
  get control of the story
• Major media and online blogging control early
  spin of story
• Tabloid journalism/competitive journalism is a
  factor
• The blogs are hard at work, even while you are
  sleeping

9
Truth is a casualty in the Internet age.

• -Sam Smith, columnist, Chicago Tribune
• August 2000

10
Sample University/Education Related Crises

• Employee/student incident
• Terrorism/bioterrorism threat/situation on campus
• Fraud, theft or ethics violation
• Storage/mishandling of hazardous materials
• Controversial/animal research

11
Sample University/Education Related Crises

• Legislative action/funding crisis
• Controversial statements by faculty/guest speaker
• Act of God (Tulane!)
• Death/accident of top university officer

12
How a small university-affiliated theatre group
performance turned into a BIG national story
13
Major Media Crisis

• Protests by Catholic constituents and
  legislator over scheduled performances of Sister
  Mary Tells It All for You on UM-St. Louis campus.

14
Major Media Crisis

• Nationwide press coverage
• State representative threatened to pull all state
  funding
• Became Freedom of Speech issue among
  chancellor, faculty and legislator
• End Game 20-minute segment on CBS Sunday Morning

15
Crisis 101 You May Be Sitting On A Powder Keg!

• Prepare
• Ownership
• Work Together
• Decide
• Encourage
• Remember
• Key
• Employees
• Great Communication

16
Your Audiences

• Media
• Local/Regional/National
• Higher Education Publications/ Stringers/ Trade
  Publications
• Print
• TV
• Radio
• Online (the growing force)

17
Your Audiences

• Internal/External
• Current/potential students
• Faculty
• Employees
• Alumni
• School counselors/referral sources

18
Your Audiences

• Internal/External
• Donors (alumni and corporate)
• Funding agencies
• Legislators/political leadership
• Neighbors/municipalities/chamber, etc.

19
Building Your A-Team

• Essential Building Blocks
• Real-time media databases
• Clip/monitoring service
• Facts, biographies and boilerplate information
• Banked photography/video/audio
• Dark Site Online newsroom

20
Building Your A-Team

• Essential Building Blocks
• 24/7 contact information (cells, e-mail, home,
  office)
• Media training completed!
• Emergency, toll-free number or phone bank
  capability
• Technology/space/tools to work
• Logistics support for communications team

21
Building Your A-Team

• Examples
• Millennium A-team for Extreme Makeover at Camp
  Barnabas, mid-August, Purdy, Mo.
• On-site
• Logistics Leader
• Media Response Manager
• St. Louis
• Database Manager
• Web site support
• Administrative support
• Media monitoring
• Day-of
• 5 staffers on site

22
Building Your A-Team

• Critical Team Members
• Team Leader (with direct access to decision
  maker)
• News Writers (preferably 2, at least one former
  journalist) news releases, opinion pieces, Web
  copy
• Media Response Team (experienced media relations
  professionals who are committed 24/7)
• Database management/media research

23
Building Your A-Team

• Critical Team Members
• Web production/IT support (You need a Geek
  Squad!)
• Bloggers (24/7)
• Logistics Manager Phone bank/support services
• Graphic Design Support
• Media Monitor (start early a.m. w/reports by 7
  a.m.)
• Online Newsroom Manager
• Administrative Support

24
Building Your A-Team

• Critical Connections
• Presidents Chief of Staff or other key person
• Universitys Legal Counsel
• Emergency Response Officials
• Security
• Facility Manager
• Student Body/Faculty Representatives
• HR Director
• VP, Institutional Advancement or Alumni Director
• Outside PR Counsel (establish relationship up
  front)

25
Remember the Golden Hour
26
How You Measure Up with the Media

• Always tell the truth. Always.
• Return all media calls within 2-3 hours.
• Find out reporters deadline and beat it.
• Use pyramid style and keep media alerts to one
  page.

27
How You Measure Up with the Media

• Avoid jargon use plain English/AP style.
• Provide 24-hour contact name(s)/numbers.
• ID photos/spokesperson with correct
  titles/spellings.
• Deliver your own bad news, as well as the good.

28
How You Measure Up with the Media

• Dont argue with reporters. Always try to get
  them what they need.
• Never go Off the Record or say, No Comment.
• Dont waste the medias time. (Familiarize
  yourself with their medium.)
• Keep your promises and youll keep your
  credibility.

29
Building Your A-Team

• Examples
• Millennium A-team for defeat of Missouris
  Amendment 1
• Proposed Gambling in Rockaway Beach
• Situation Polls taken by Penn, Schoen Berland
  showed the amendment passing, with 47 percent
  voting yes, 44 percent voting no and 10 percent
  undecided.

30
Building Your A-Team
31
Building Your A-Team

• Examples
• Millennium A-team for defeat of Missouris
  Amendment 1
• Proposed Gambling in Rockaway Beach

32
Building Your A-Team

• Outcome Amendment 1 was defeated by a 12
  percent margin 56 percent against, 44 percent
  for Amendment 1.

33
Building Your A-Team

• First Steps
• Do your research.
• Consider all ways the story could play.
• Identify key media that will lead coverage.
• Determine early-on messaging and outline ongoing
  messaging.
• Hold news conference/early-on media event, or
  issue statement.
• Get entire A-Team involved
• in brainstorming possibilities!

34
Building Your A-Team

• Next Steps
• Closely monitor first wave of coverage, map out
  future response.
• Schedule ongoing news events/releases
• Pitch one-on-one interviews
• Spokesperson
• Schedule ongoing news events/releases
• Create Op. Ed. pieces/Letters to the Editor
• Determine need for editorial board meetings

35
Building Your A-Team

• Example
• Missouri Amendment 1
• - Monitored early-morning Google reports and
  third-party activity
• - Created news points off those actions
• - Moved to education beat and opinion pages

36
Building Your A-Team
37
Building Your A-Team

• Online Newsroom/A Key Member of A-Team!
• News/Press Releases
• FAQs
• Photos
• Administration Biographies
• Audio/Video
• Post Interviews
• Downloadable Podcasts
• Events Calendar
• Press Kits
• Media Request Form
• Contacts

38
Measure Outcome

• Monitor how your institution is managing the
  crisis.
• View clip and broadcast monitoring services as
  your allies.
• Do informal (and possibly formal) opinion
  polling.
• Create daily reports.
• Provide broadcast feedback to participants.
• Report successes to employees, students and
  friends.

39
How to Assemble Your A-Team

• First -- Get Administration Buy-In
• Assess threats
• Develop plan
• Commit resources
• Build materials
• Establish relationships
• Meet regularly/keep issue Top of Mind
• Practice scenarios
• Regularly refresh

Remain Flexible
40
QA
41
For more information contactBarbara Pierce
Millennium Communications314-569-7100bpierce_at_mi
llenniumcom.com