filter by tag: local

Anyone living in the Northeast during the last month knows it was a month of non-stop rain reaching unprecedented proportions. Two storms brought record amounts of rain and flooding within weeks of each other, dumping water that not only flooded basements but brought heart-breaking destruction to New England.

So how does this natural disaster bring to mind a public/private community relations case study? In my opinion, it does in the form of an unlikely community relations hero – The Boston Duck Tours Company.

The best public/private community relations efforts are exemplified when a company creatively uses its resources to help those around it versus solely throwing money at a particular situation. During the last two storms, the Boston Duck Tours Company did exactly that.

Iconic to Boston since they were introduced in 1994, the amphibious boats (first used in World War II) have long shuttled tourists and Bostonians through the historic streets of the city only to then plunge into the waters of the Charles River. They have become so synonymous with the city that even the Celtics rode the boats during their 2008 victory parade down Boylston Street.

So how did Duck Boats become the community hero during the storm of the century? As the waters were rising around homes, and the desperate request for help came from trapped area residents during both storms, the Boston Duck Tours Company answered the call-to-action and used its vehicles to reach and rescue trapped residents.

The simplicity and purity of this action by Boston Duck Tours Company is the gold standard of what the true meaning of “community relations” is all about. Making this action even more powerful, this small company did this for the right reason – to help the community that supports its business.

Spring is here, the weather is getting better and tourists are coming back to the city. Maybe it’s time to say thank you by taking a ride on the Boston Duck Tour!

--Mark Malinowski, Vice President

Many of us probably remember this popular bumper sticker from the 1990s, urging people to do their part for the environment in their community. These days, for me, the slogan speaks to how brands should practice the art of media relations in the communities in which they do business.

The “Think Globally” piece is easy. Think about all of the things going on in the world – the economic crisis, the explosion of social media, drivers keeping their vehicles longer, swine flu (the list goes on and on) – and how you can leverage these trends and topics to insert your brand into the conversation. The media are fragmented – it’s more challenging than ever to get press for your company, product or service. So, find a way to hitch your wagon to something they are already interested in. Before you pitch, think about how you can link your story to a broader trend.

What brands still need to master is the “Act Locally” piece. Despite the proliferation of online media, including the presence of even local newspapers on the Internet (in a way, making all news global), it’s more important than ever to localize your story. A generic pitch simply won’t fly 99 percent of the time, even if the story is compelling and timely. Many local media outlets are understaffed, and they just don’t have the time to localize your story for their readers, viewers and listeners. Don’t bother pitching the Des Moines Register (Iowa), the local ABC affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts or the news talk radio station in Waco, Texas if you don’t make the story relevant to their communities.

Here are a few ways you can do it:

• Localize your materials – Make sure your pitch, press release, media alert and any other tools you use make the story relevant to the community you are pitching. For instance, reference a local statistic that supports the story you’re pitching.
• Provide a local twist – Offer the media an opportunity to speak with a company representative in their market – a store manager, a district manager or a franchisee.
• Let them hear from your customers – Media want to put a human face on a story. Provide the name of a local customer they can interview to bring the story to life.
• Use a local “pitcher” – When possible, have a local company representative send out the pitch, press release, etc. Local media are often more receptive to contact from local people rather than someone at national HQ. That doesn’t mean you can’t help manage the communication – for national initiatives, create press material templates that local representatives can fill in and distribute to local media.

Sure, localizing your story does take more time. But, it’s all about getting the best results. A well-researched, customized pitch to 10 outlets will yield more results – and better stories – than a generic pitch that’s blasted out to hundreds of outlets.

--Marc Berliner, Director

“We grow potatoes in Florida, and Lays makes potato chips in Florida…It’s a pretty good fit,” says Hastings, FL farmer Steve Singleton in a new Frito-Lay ad heralding Lay’s potato chips as a “local food.” Although a seemingly sound argument, long-time followers of the local food movement, “locavores,” fear the claim will dilute what it means to truly be a local food—which “is about an ethic of food that values reviving small scale, ecological, place-based, and relationship-based food systems.”

With increased consumer demand for environmentally friendly products—our own research shows that 35 percent of consumers have higher expectations of companies to make and sell environmentally responsible products during economic downturns—it’s no wonder Lay’s is joining the local food movement, even if it isn’t a perfect fit. The association, however, may seem disingenuous to some. Especially for a mass-market product that gets shipped all over the country, not just Hastings, FL.

We can’t fault Frito-Lay for wanting to reach new audiences, and the company's committment to envrionmental responsibility appears authentic, but this latest product claim risks alienating more people than it attracts. It’s important for CPGs to understand that they can’t be all things to all people. Riding the coattails of a fast-growing movement when it doesn’t suit your product not only damages the credibility of the movement and invites unwanted criticism from true-believers, but could ultimately leave consumers scratching their heads.