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101 North Main Street Oxford, Ohio 45056 Phone: 513.523.6364 Fax: 513.523.8215 www.oxfordpresbychurch.org Introduction Presby PR Guide Spread the word! At Oxford Presbyterian Church there is a lot going on! Sharing news of events, work and mission projects, special worship, Christian Education programs, and so much more, creates awareness and encourages participation. As we strive to Seek God, Serve Others, and Share Christ's Love With All we want to stretch beyond the boundaries of our walls and invite others to join us in worship and go about doing God's work...the first step is creating awareness by getting the word out to the community. The following guide is for Session, Deacons, Committees and Staff and includes information about public relations strategies. Useful planning tools, media resources and local media contact information have been collected in one document. Using the Guide How does this work? As your group is planning a project or event that you want to publicize, use the Presby PR Guide to develop a communication plan, select media resources and contacts. Determine if you wish communication to go just to the congregation, to the community, or hopefully to both. Your group will be in charge of gathering the copy, artwork, photography and/or other necessary material. Use the OPC logo and Mission Statement wherever possible to continue our "branding" and identification process. Internal communications for Minute for Mission, bulletin, e-mails, website etc. should be sent to the Church Secretary ([email protected]), information for the newsletter should be sent to the Editor (see Contacts for Newsletter Editor). The Pastors review the bulletins and newsletter. You might also consider follow-up communication – pictures and a summary of the event or project. Content for external communication, (information going out to the community), such as press releases, flyers to post in the community, Facebook ads, handouts for community consumption, or event announcements, should also be sent to [email protected]. The Secretary will then forward to the Pastor(s) for review and approval. External communication should not go out until the Pastor(s) have confirmed. The Communications Go Team is available for advice and consulting as needed (see Contacts for Communications Go Team). On occasion, the Pastors may initiate external communication, a press release, for example, by contacting a Committee Chairperson or member of a group connected to the event or program and request that the appropriate communications be prepared. The committee/group might then consider assigning an individual to coordinate the communication, using the Presby PR Guide to gather and prepare all the necessary materials. As with all external communication representing OPC, content should be sent to [email protected]. The Secretary will then forward to the Pastor(s) for review and approval. External communication should not go out until the Pastor(s) have confirmed. The Communications Go Team will also act as a resource for the Pastors. We are grateful to PR Visions from Miami's Public Relations Student Society of America for the assistance in preparation of this guide. – Communications Go Team May, 2012 Revised April, 2012 Table of Contents Planning ........................................................... 1 Contacts ........................................................ 17 Plan ............................................................... 1 Important OPC Contacts ............................. 17 Produce ......................................................... 1 Presbytery Contact Information .................. 17 Execute ......................................................... 1 Printers ........................................................ 17 Timeline ........................................................... 3 Miami University Print Center .................. 17 Budget ............................................................. 5 Oxford Copy Shop ................................... 17 Tools ................................................................ 7 Lebowski Tees & Design ......................... 17 Press Release ............................................... 7 Newspaper editors ...................................... 18 Newspaper ads ........................................... 10 Cox Media Group Ohio ............................ 18 Fliers ........................................................... 10 Cincinnati Enquirer .................................. 18 Brochures .................................................... 11 The Miami Student .................................. 18 Minute for Mission ....................................... 12 Newspaper advertising representatives ...... 19 Church Bulletin ............................................ 12 Cox Media Group .................................... 19 Newsletters ................................................. 12 Cincinnati Enquirer .................................. 19 OPC Website .............................................. 13 The Miami Student .................................. 19 Email blasts ................................................. 13 Radio Stations: ............................................ 19 Oxford Convention and Visitor’s Bureau ..... 13 88.5/91.7 WMUB ..................................... 19 Social Media ................................................ 13 Q102 Cincinnati ....................................... 19 Facebook ................................................. 14 Kiss 107 Cincinnati .................................. 19 Pass outs/Giveaways .................................. 15 B105 Cincinnati ....................................... 19 Radio ads .................................................... 16 Miami University’s WMSR ....................... 19 Television ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Oxford Convention & Visitor’s Bureau ........ 19 Local Church Contact Information .............. 20 Revised April, 2012 Planning Congratulations! You’re on your way to planning a successful event to help Oxford Presbyterian Church seek God, serve others and share Christ’s love with all. Once you have an event in mind, there are several steps you’ll want to think about: Plan − WHO: Who are you reaching out to in promoting your event? Who is the target audience? It is important to identify the group or groups of people who will have interest in attending your event. Also, who on the committee will be responsible for which tasks? Designate a contact person who can effectively and professionally communicate the details of the event. − WHAT: What is the number one message you want to convey to your audience about your event? All public relations efforts will center around this message. − WHERE: Where do you plan on publicizing the event? Examples: The church building, Oxford, surrounding communities, etc. − WHEN: Decide how far in advance you want the key messages to reach your audience. Then, consider how much time will be needed to produce, revise and distribute your materials. − WHY: Giving thought to these questions in advance will allow the planning process to run smoothly and successfully. Produce − Once you have answered the planning questions above, consider which tools will best fit the needs of your event. Keep in mind the budget, how many individuals you want to reach and the overall goal of the public relations efforts. − Within the “Tools” section, more details are included about different options and how much time is necessary for each option. Execute − Distribute materials accordingly. The “Contact” section includes contact information for various media outlets in the area. Don’t forget to consider your Timeline! − Successfully seek God, serve others and share Christ’s love with all using the Presby PR Plan! Revised April, 2012 1 Timeline − The timeline is a key component to planning an event and one must keep in mind the resources and time commitment of the team members working on the project. − Hold weekly meetings (or as needed) with key participants or committee members to discuss plans for the event/activity/task at hand. Take “Minutes.” These are notes summarizing the meeting, what was discussed, who is involved, assigning tasks and plans for next time. − In addition to taking “Minutes,” decide which people are to be assigned to each task and estimate how long each task will take to complete. Once you have a set plan and assigned tasks, recap the plan in written form and send to all team members. − Keep in mind all the communication tools and leave enough time for your message to be widely distributed. − Allow time for review and/or approval of all materials by the Pastors and/or Session. External communication for review is due to Mark & Barbara on Monday, so they can review before the staff meeting Tuesday. If Session approval is needed, keep in mind the meeting schedule to ensure materials are presented with enough time to review. − Distribute materials close enough to the event so that it will remain fresh in people’s minds. − Be sure to evaluate your event/activity at the conclusion in order discuss its goals and effectiveness. Revised April, 2012 3 Budget A detailed report of the specific costs associated with each communication tool is included in its description in the “Tools” section of this guide. To keep track of costs, utilize a simple budget chart like the one shown here: Topic Breakdown Hours or Amount Cost/Hour or Cost/Item Total Cost X X X Subtotal Revised April, 2012 5 Tools