Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
How can you counter "daily stories and blog entries that portray the negative aspects of joining the military"? That was PR firm Weber Shandwick's job in the lead-up to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January 2008. For the 11 month, $342,000 PR campaign, Weber Shandwick paired "athletes with local Army members for bowl-watching parties and football and Army skills competitions, creating feature-story opportunities." Weber Shandwick and the Army "contacted Army bases in the regions where the players are from. The Army also named a soldier as an All-American Bowl hero for every player selected for the game and honored them during the pre-game ceremony. ... The Army also released practice footage of the players to local media in regions where they reside, and profiled players to publications targeted at specific multicultural demographics." The Army was happy enough with the resulting 3,600 media hits and high message penetration -- "partially due to a successful radio news release" -- that it hired Weber Shandwick to promote its 2009 All-American Bowl.
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Jonathan Carey replied on Permalink
The military shouldn't need good PR - it's a shame
I live in the UK and I feel that our military doesn't receive good praise like it deserves. There are so many brave men and women risking their lives to keep our countries safe - we should all be extremely greatful for what they do.
I am considering organising a PR day for a close friend of mine and some of his fellow troops when they next come home to visit. I'm going to treat the Navy boys and a few civvies to an Army Skills day out which I found on Gift Picker it looks like it should be fun!
I've already got a local newspaper interested in the story - so hopefully our fun day out with get a column.
Great blog by the way, I'll keep on reading.
Jon