The Importance of PR (Animal Welfare) - Charlotte Speedy, Dogs Trust

The Importance of PR 8 th October 2009 Charlotte Speedy Director of Communications – Dogs Trust

Today
Applying big business PR principles to animal welfare
Background to PR
The differences between PR and advertising
The changing media landscape
What makes the news
Examples of recent Dogs Trust PR campaigns

My background 11 Years working in PR At leading London PR agencies for a wide range of commercial, entertainment and public sector clients

Big Business Approach
With PR you can apply the same strategies for a charitable organisation as a commercial brand
Unlike with other marketing disciplines you don’t need big budgets or huge teams of people to conduct similarly effective PR campaigns
During a recession smart businesses scale back their advertising and focus on their PR campaigns
This presentation demonstrates how big brand PR thinking can be applied to animal welfare
PR IS ONE OF THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE AND IMPACTFUL MARKETING TOOLS AVAILABLE TO EVERY ORGANISATION – IF DONE CORRECTLY

PR – Some Background

How much of what you read in the papers and see on the news is PR generated?
66%

What Is PR?
PR stands for Public Relations
This means managing how a brand, individual, product or organisation is viewed.
It can be done well…

But it can also be done really really badly…

“ There is no such thing as bad publicity” Whoever said… Should speak to the ex brand manager of Dasani…

The PR Mix
Media relations
Public information
Internal communications
Crisis management
Public Affairs
Events
Investor/Member relations
Publications
ABOVE ALL IT IS BRAND BUILDING

Good PR Good Brand Ambassadors

The Role Of PR
To inform and educate people about a brand
To help spread the message about the positive benefits of a brand
To promote the messages that a brand stands for
To help correct people’s opinions of a brand
To ensure EVERYONE who works for that organisation is a ‘brand ambassador’

There Is No Off Switch

How Does PR Fit In? Events PR Advertising Direct Mail Fundraising Sponsorship Marketing Brand licensing

PR -v- Advertising
PR & Advertising – What is the difference?
Advertising
Paid for content
You have complete control over what appears
PR
Editorial – your supply the information, the journalist writes the feature or article
Very little control over what appears
Limited cost required
Much more effective

PR -v- Advertising
Advertising says:
‘I’m wonderful’
PR says:
‘I hear you’re wonderful’

Advert Overload
The average person is exposed to 237 adverts in print, online, on radio or on TV every day
This is 86,500 every year
Increase by 4 for active people working and commuting in urban areas
So - I am probably exposed to 1,185 advertisements every day

The Power Of PR
Recent marketing successes have been down to PR not advertising; to name a few:
Starbucks
The Body Shop
Amazon.com
Yahoo!
eBay
Palm
Google
PlayStation
Harry Potter
Botox
Red Bull
Microsoft
BlackBerry
Viagra
Prozac
Pokemon

The Power Of Influence
The power of influence starts young – think of children playing with a ‘must have toy’ in the playground
They are influenced by adverts but far more likely to pester their parents to buy something if a friend sings its praises

Business Example
Zoloft
Cialis

PR Cost – a pack of biscuits and a key ring Advertising cost – £19,000 Dogs Trust Examples

PR Cost – a telephone call Advertising cost – £36,104

PR Cost – a telephone call and dog treats for Charlie the dog Advertising cost – over £700,000 3.15 minutes of TV coverage

PR Results
4 th most read story on BBC Online on the day it appeared
Over 65 press articles in national and regional newspapers
Over 100 online articles reporting the news
3,000 extra hits to the Dogs Trust website on the day the news broke
1,000 click-throughs to our press release when posted on Twitter and Facebook
An ongoing relationship with a key children’s TV programme

The Changing Media Landscape

20 Years Ago
People consumed the news through newspapers, scheduled TV and radio bulletins and by talking to friends and family
National newsrooms were staffed with hundreds of staff

Today
The day of the roving reporter chasing down a story by running around interviewing people is long gone
People expect instant news and journalists can’t afford time out of the office
Journalists are now reliant on new stories coming to them - rather than them finding the story
This is a great opportunity that businesses are fully exploiting and charities must too

24/7 News Culture
In the UK there are over 3,200 different consumer magazines
There are ten different national daily newspapers – each with weekend editions
There are over 200 radio stations
TV news programmes roll 24 hrs of the day every day of the week
But the main difference is the rise of online media channels which are instant – people can consume news and information at the click of a button whenever they want

Instant News
Instant news means both instant opportunities and instant issues
A positive brand story can be shared with world in seconds BUT a negative piece of information can also be spread to a global audience with the same ease
Online websites are now far more likely to break a news story than a traditional media outlet – i.e. the death of Michael Jackson

Online Reputation Matters
In a recent survey 91% of companies believe the online perception of their brand was important to their business
BUT
56% admit no one manages their online reputation
Who is monitoring what is said about your organisation online 24/7?

A News Story Can Live Forever
Before writing a story a journalist will often check to see what has already been written on the subject – the computer and the internet has made this a far simpler process
Once a story is established in the media it can be very hard to reverse – so it is important to get it right or correct it the first time
Nobody ever checks old advertisements!

What Makes The News?

CONFLICT ENTERTAINMENT INFORMATION

Scandal
Royals
Cute and fluffy
Celebrity & soaps
Sex
Money
Public safety
People power
Local interest
Media friendly company
Above All – Human Interest

Google Zeitgeist
This can be exemplified by looking at the 2008 Google Zeitgeist…

UK Google Zeitgeist
2008 Global Fastest Rising Search terms
Sarah Palin
Beijing 2008
Facebook login
Tuenti [Spanish Facebook]
Heath Ledger
Obama
Nasza Llasa [Polish Facebook]
wer kennt wen [German Facebook]
Euro 2008
Jonas Brothers

News: if you don’t have it, you have to create it

Getting Dogs Trust in the Media

Our Audience?
Supporters
Future supporters
Future rehomers
The media
Opinion formers
Politicians
Fundraisers
Internal staff members
Online
National newspapers
Local papers
Local TV
National TV
Magazines
Radio
Friends & family

How Do We Reach The Media?
Re-active
Journalists call us for a quote, a story, or information
Pro-active
We think up ideas, stories, and campaigns and persuade journalists to cover it

Parts Of The Puzzle At Dogs Trust Post Dogs Trust Pre Dogs Trust

Details of dramatic rescue E.g. how was the dog rescued, were members of the public involved, what did Centre staff do? Asking for help E.g. Centre urgently needs bedding, volunteers, extra food, toys etc. Area Related Dog ‘ London’s prettiest / ugliest/friendliest/ biggest/smallest/cutest dog’ The health benefit of dogs Dogs with health conditions E.g. 3 legged or deaf dogs who are doing well despite their ailment Link to Topical Events E.g. Sports, films, award ceremonies Support from Corporate/ Celebrity Partners Unusual breeds, sizes colours, crosses, weight E.g. The smallest dog next to the largest dog Litters of Puppies E.g. Do they an unusual story, funny names, are they being hand reared, is it a very large litter? Old Dogs E.g. Longer term residents, The oldest dog at the centre, older dogs with older people Funny/Topical Dog Names E.g. Named after things linked to the seasons & events [Noel & Holly at Christmas] Famous singers, celebrities, sports stars Cute /Brave Stories E.g. Dogs who are best friends with other dogs or other animals, loyalty to owner, bravery, Anniversaries/ Reasons to Celebrate E.g.. Staff member celebrating long service, 1000 th dog rehomed Centre Events E.g. Open days, bring a dog a Christmas dinner Link back to the work of Dogs Trust Sponsor a dog, microchipping, neutering, education, responsible dog ownership, fundraising Educating Dog Owners of Tomorrow PR IDEAS

Seasonal

Link to topical event

Support from Corporate Partners

Topical or Interesting Names

Name Changes
What has more impact…
Drumpf Towers or Trump Towers?
Polo by Ralph Lifshitz or Polo by Ralph Lauren?
Businesses constantly rebrand to make more impact as do humans…

Allan Konigsberg
Tom Mapother
Margaret Hyra
Frances Gumm
Reginald White
Maurice Micklewhite
Woody Allen
Tom Cruise
Meg Ryan
Judy Garland
Elton John
Michael Caine

Chrissie & Evie

Cranbury

Bjorn & Borg

Sven, Goran and Erickson

Dogs with health conditions

Snowball & Meg

Weasel

Unusual Dogs

Britain’s Ugliest Dog

Results
Over 500 phone calls on the day Hubble appeared on TV
Over 100 offers of a new home as far afield as the US and Switzerland
Hubble has a new home and is settling in well with his owner – good follow up story too

Piglet

Charlie & Barney

The Walking Mat - Matherson After…. Before…

Fundraising

My Life As A Dog Three opportunities for coverage

Unusual Size

Staff News

Life after Dogs Trust

Health Benefits

Events

Centre Focused
Summer Open Days
Christmas Fayres
Education workshops
Visits from celebrities or dignitaries
Agility events
Dog training and behaviour workshops or talks
Fundraising events or large donations to the RC

Public Affairs Campaigns

What is Public Affairs?

Compulsory Microchipping

Internal Communications

Internal Comms

Dogs Trust Messaging

Dogs Trust Key Messages
We never put a healthy dog to sleep
A dog is for life, not just for Christmas is our slogan
Dogs Trust is Europe’s largest dog welfare charity
We have 18 Rehoming Centres across the UK and Ireland
We look after over 16,000 stray and abandoned dogs each year
All our dogs are fully vaccinated, microchipped and neutered
We help educate the dog owners of tomorrow with responsible dog ownership workshops
We are not government funded and all our income is donated
Our kennels are world leading
We are heavily involved with lobbying and work closely with the Government to improve animal welfare standards
We carry out microchipping and neutering campaigns in key areas

Our Approach
We do
Celebrate man’s relationship with dogs and the wonderful things they do for their owners
Focus on their ‘Dogs Trust’ story
We don’t
Show distressing ‘before’ pictures of mistreated or dogs in pain
Use shock tactics to get press coverage
Show dogs behind bars

Thank You For Listening Any Questions?

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