In order to run a successful PR campaign in today’s world, it is important to be up to date with the new and emerging technologies. In order to get the word out about the Community Plate, we need to figure out how to get the biggest audience at the lowest price. Katie Conroy’s white paper had some very good ideas that I think we need to use in order to get this program going. Below are five strategies that I think will help our cause.
1. From Conroy’s paper, a Facebook promotion/fan page. As Conroy stated, there is an expanding community on Facebook that isn’t going to wait for the Community Plate to catch on. They are just going to go elsewhere. Because of this, we need to get in touch with the Facebook audience, target businesses, colleges, and even people who would be willing to help, and get them the information. This provides a free and easy way to let people know about upcoming events, when people can help out whether it is working or donating, and it will also provide what Kelleher calls functional and contingency interactivity. By setting up discussions, email links, and other valuable information on the Facebook page, we will be able to get a much larger audience.
2. Hyper Targeting: By using the sources available on Facebook, MySpace, and other social media websites, it is free and easy to target only the people who we know will be willing to help. By doing this, we can start a solid fan base that is bound to spread by word of mouth. Hyper-Targeting is a great way to advertise to people of the Rochester area in order to make this a successful operation. Our ads will be sent to only the people we choose. For example, we can narrow it down to location, age, gender, or even interests. This Link shows how MySpace is starting a self-serve hyper targeting advertising network. Below, a video of how Facebook targets their ads and how it could help us at the Community Plate.
3. A Community Plate blog: By creating our own webpage on the Internet, and allowing anybody to post to it will give this operation a lot more recognition. One of the main parts of a successful public relations campaign is understanding what the public thinks about what we are doing. The best way to find out is to set up a public domain where anybody can talk about what we are doing. By allowing the public to post, we will form better relations between personnel running the Community Plate and the public. If anybody has any questions, we will be able to answer them. There are plenty of free websites that would allow us to create a free blog which would be fairly easy to find with a simple search engine. For example, WordPress.com provides fantastic blog features including themes, allowing users to upload pictures, video, and many more things that would catch the attention. All of this is free and exactly what we need for this operation.
4. Viral Video: I cannot stress enough how much we need to take advantage of the new media technologies. By making a video that is easily shared on the Internet, we will quickly and effectively gain popularity. By making a commercial about what we are hoping to accomplish, we can post it on sites such as YouTube and allow anybody to watch and get more information about us. By including email links, links to our blog, and any other contact information, we are sure to attract more people and more awareness for our overall project.
5. The Sandwich Mobile: Everybody knows about Oscar Meyer’s Weiner-Mobile. Whenever a big hot dog on wheels is driving down the street, people know what that is about. It was one of the greatest PR campaigns ever. One of the main things for our project is picking up the leftover food and taking it to our facility. Why not make a creative vehicle to do so? If we transformed a normal vehicle into a sandwich on wheels, it will no doubt spark interest. People will be asking about the sandwich mobile which will lead them to our website, and get them more information. This link is an entire website about the weinermobile and how it came to exist. A recognizable vehicle could work wonders for our project.
