As scary as a Saturday night Zoom meeting sounds, there are some tricks to holding a lively and successful virtual event.

Team Judy Wine Night

As a familiar fundraiser celebrated its 10th anniversary, it would also be the first year of the event without its namesake, Judy Erdahl. An advocate and fundraiser for Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Research at the UMN Masonic Cancer, Judy passed away last August after living with MBC for eight years. She brought friendship, joy and gratitude to every interaction, and Team Judy wanted to honor her legacy and make Team Judy Wine Night something special. Interactivity and engagement were key, so, how’d they do that?

• To give the event a personal touch and keep some traditions going, the event-host greeted everyone live from her front door (via Zoom and Facebook LIve) just as she had always done. Even though people couldn’t gather in her beautiful backyard, they had the opportunity to experience her hospitality virtually.
• To keep people engaged, the event was a balanced combination of pre-produced videos of remembrance and live conversations and reflections on Judy’s impact and progress in Metastatic Breast Cancer research, including a live conversation with Dr. Douglas Yee, the Center’s Director. We partnered with our friends at Captivate Media to pull this off.
• To spark interactivity, we recommended 5 minutes of small group breakout rooms for all participants to meet new people or reminisce with friends about how much Judy meant to each of us. The breakouts were a high-point of the event, creating a space for authentic engagement and conversations.
• Increasing accessibility and reach, the team broadcasted the whole event to Facebook Live (a more familiar platform for many who didn’t feel comfortable with Zoom). The Facebook Live video is a forever memory on the group’s Facebook page to be revisited whenever friends seek Judy’s inspiration or gratitude.

Saint Louis Art Fair

The Saint Louis Art Fair, one of the top art fairs in the country, discovered just how creative they could be this year. With over 120 juried artists virtually participating in this year’s fair, the Art Fair had one goal, to support artists and the local community.

• To bring beloved fair festivities forward with a new twist of virtual flare, the Saint Louis Art Fair team kicked-off its promotions by sending VIP boxes to media and VIP guests and engaging artists and the community in conversation and FAQs.
• Generating talk and excitement are essential for creating a successful virtual event. We recommended that on opening night, the team host an Artist After-Party, bringing together virtual fair-goers and artists for a night of lively conversation and drinks.
• To drive participation, virtual fair attendants could visit a variety of live performances and pre-recorded events, right from their living rooms or offices all weekend.
  • Activities ranged from virtual musical performances, to live Q&As with juried artists, to browsing a virtual Art Gallery and buying juried art, to enjoying specials and fair deals from local businesses, to art activities and performances for the entire family to enjoy.

Park Nicollet Spotlight Gala

This year marks the 40th Annual Park Nicollet Spotlight Gala. As one of the largest providers of pediatric health care in the region, Park Nicollet’s commitment is to help families and children thrive and reach their full potential. So, to engage attendees, the Spotlight Gala has combined tradition with innovation.

• To promote such an important cause, the team has reimagined marketing efforts and is working to blend successful past, promotional strategies with a new wave of creativity.
  • Printed out invitations and sent them to traditional audiences, as they’d done in the past for the live, in-person events. Re-created content to be even more captivating, enchanting audiences to join this year’s Spotlight Gala and celebrate its 40th anniversary in serving the community.
  • Used electronic billboards and advertised on various media channels to reach wider audiences.
• To keep the event’s vibrancy and prestige, they are using Zoom to their advantage. The event is no longer limited in capacity, allowing them to invite traditional audiences as well as new participants from across the region. Go to parknicolletfoundationgala.com and join the October 3rd festivities including premier and silent online auction and inspiring stories of hope from children, parents and professionals.

Engagement and interactivity are at the center of a successful event. Zoom fatigue is real but is avoidable. Identify what makes your event special and use that as the foundation for your plans moving forward. Give those special event traditions a spotlight, utilize breakout rooms for increased engagement and reimagine strategies to bring beloved traditions forward in a virtual world.

10 Pro Tips for a Successful Zoom Event

1. Before starting Zoom, change your account name to the event name and upload a brand logo or event logo as a profile picture.

2. Soundcheck presenters, unmute mics; instruct and practice having presenters control their own mics.

3. Turn off video & sound for Zoom operator.

4. Make one or more presenters co-host with full access controls (a back-up for any one system in the event of internet capacity or disruption).

5. Before the presenter shares their screen; instruct all to turn off all emails and other alerts on the presenter’s computer; silence cell phones.

6. Zoom operators may choose to pin a speaker to full screen if they are speaking without visuals for a long time. Especially during a Q & A. This avoids capturing any disengaged participants.

7. When using visuals, use full presentation mode for the best effect.

8. Mute all other participants.

9. Provide Warning when Zoom operator Shares to Facebook Live

10. Prewrite your FB Live description to quickly drop it into the Facebook Live interface. Pause for about 10 seconds on the opening screen before the speaker starts speaking to give the audience a chance to get settled.

With more than a dozen live sessions and 30+ on-demanded sessions to view, educators and communicators flocked into the virtual chat rooms. Participants learned about how to create successful referenda campaigns, the important work of equity and inclusion, how communication evolves during a pandemic, and more.  Throughout all of the sessions, there was one overarching theme: how strategic communications engage the public and your stakeholders in conversations about our public schools.

At CEL, we were incredibly honored to present one live presentation about referenda and community engagement and another on-demand presentation featuring our award-winning Richfield Public Schools rebranding journey.

SUCCESSFUL REFERENDUMS

“You have to have a plan that is acceptable for the community it can’t just be the superintendent’s pipedream.”

Our Vice President Janet Swiecichowski, APR presented a live session, “Millions at Stake: A Guide to Referendum Success.” With co-presenter Annette Eyman, APR, the two shared research, and Top Ten Tips from NSPRA Gold Medallion referenda campaigns. The primary focus was on the importance of engaging the public in conversations from the beginning. It’s about asking questions and listening with the intent to find consensus.

“Love me suddenly doesn’t work!” – Brian Woodland, APR

Janet reminded us, “The public owns our public schools. So, the public needs enough information to make informed decisions about the schools.” It takes time, outreach and transparency to build relationships with community members prior to a referendum. When looking for support, start by listening. Concentrate your energy and time on building a relationship with your public. You want to get an accurate sense of what they value and hope for their kids and their schools.

 “Communities make decisions for their schools.”

A successful referendum campaign follows the 4-step process:

1. Research
2. Planning
3. Implementation
4. Evaluation

Once you have conducted your research, set goals, define targeted audiences and set specific objectives by audience. Think broadly about strategies. Begin with your messaging strategy. Give people a reason to vote for the initiative; create a compelling narrative focused on children, the future and learning. Your research should have revealed your community’s hopes and dreams for its children. Align your narrative accordingly.

Leverage all your existing strategic communication channels in support of the campaign.

EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Naomi Sigler Hunter, APR; Stephen Nichols, APR and Donna Elam, Ed.D. presented a session on “Data, Disruption and Demographics: How School Ratings are Contributing to Racial Isolation in Our Schools.” The presenters dove deep into how school ratings and choice perpetuate racial and economic segregation.

Rating sites like GreatSchools.org partner with real estate firms—firms whose primary goal is to sell more expensive houses, and they use rating sites that drive customers away from largely diverse neighborhoods. The result: our schools are more segregated today than they were in the 1970s. Most parents want their children to be prepared for a diverse and changing world, but using existing rating sites will only serve to more racially isolate students, as documented in this Harvard School of Education report.

Diversity, equity and inclusion begin with your brand. How do your stakeholders describe your brand? Is it welcoming and inclusive?

CEL was honored to work with the Richfield Public Schools through a community engagement process to redefine its brand. The Richfield team listened intently and put energy into relationships with students, alumni and other community members. Now, they have a brand and a logo that communicates a more unified, welcoming community for all students and staff. Richfield Public Schools Superintendent Steven Unowsky discusses just how impactful brands and logos can be on students and how important open communication with your stakeholders is for a school’s culture.

COMMUNICATING THROUGH A PANDEMIC

School communicators have never been busier! Communicating and engaging stakeholders is especially important during the pandemic. A few key take-aways from this year’s presentations:

1. Frequency: People need to hear from school leaders often, even if you do not have new information. Regular updates communicate that you are continuously working on a complex situation.
2. Focus on three messages: Safety. Social-emotional health. Relationships and quality learning. Learning is about meeting every child where they are at and keeping them engaged. This school year will be different and learning still matters.
3. Equity drives decisions: COVID-19 has revealed disparities that exist in our society. How are we reaching all families and meeting the needs of all students? Access for all needs to be a priority for every district.

The same is true for the health and well-being of your business. When you give potential clients a high-level business experience with your physical location, environmental culture, mental perception, emotional experience, and social interaction, you create the optimal customer experience that leads to a solid, loyal relationship.

Webster defines public relations as the business of generating goodwill toward an individual, cause, company, or product. At C.E.L., we do this by telling our client stories with a multi-platform approach to public relations; utilizing well-written content, graphic design, web applications, media relations, social engagement, community relations, and search engine optimization. When done right, the story and brand become infectious as it is shared by word of mouth and across traditional and digital platforms.

Cotter Schools, an international learning community in Winona, Minnesota, felt that they were not effectively capturing the essence of the “Cotter family” and the subsequent loyalty that emerges from their educational experience. So, they turned to C.E.L. to tell their story that began in 1911, and update their brand, messaging and marketing materials to better reflect their work in guiding students to reach their full potential in a nurturing environment.

Our holistic approach to this challenge has improved internal and external marketing and public relations, leading to consistency of brand and messaging. Leadership, staff, and students at Cotter Schools are now embracing their brand and their story, confidently telling it across multiple communication platforms. The holistic approach is resulting in optimal health for Cotter Schools.

How are you earning your PR? Ask yourself these questions:

1. Why should someone do business with me? With my company?

2. What client service story best defines what makes us different?

3. What is your business story?

4. What hurdles have you overcome to reach your level of success?

5. How will you utilize the lessons you’ve learned moving into the future?

Today, you have more opportunities and vehicles for earning positive PR than ever before. In addition to telling your story on paper and by word of mouth, you can shout it out on your website and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms. It’s time to take note and document it so you can utilize it for positive PR that gives a boost to your business. How do you do it?

1. Write your business story

Define your passion for what you do. Document the hurdles you have you overcome to reach your level of success, professionally and personally. Define your greatest assets and how the work you have done has impacted your customers’ work and personal lives.

2. Request customer feedback

When you go out to share your story, it’s critical to include customer testimonials and personal experiences that support your statements of achievement and success. Simply stated, it’s the proof in the pudding.

3. Package it all up for distribution

Creatively combine your story with customer testimonials and place the words within a creatively designed document with photos and images that support and enhance it.

4. Share your story

Go out and tell your public relations story. Print the document. Share it with customers and ask them to share it with others. Upload it to the ABOUT section of your website. Share pieces of it within a blog post and on your Facebook page. Share it with the media.

You’ve earned your story, paid in sweat and sacrifice, so take some time to define it, tell it through positive public relations and excel from it!

Whether launching an innovative new product, expanding on an already successful enterprise or recovering from a crisis situation – needed changes to communications frames usually fall into three categories: creating a frame, strengthening a frame and changing a frame.

In a letter published by Sports Illustrated in July 2014, LeBron James announced he was returning to Cleveland to play basketball, thus completing the communications framing cycle and making him a perfect example for this story.

Creating a Frame: Not many people find themselves in the position of creating a frame where one does not already exist. This is the realm of innovative new ideas, unknown start-ups and first-of-its-kind products, or perhaps a 17 year-old basketball prodigy from Akron, Ohio. Hype is in abundance in sports, but James was positioned as destined superstar and inevitable NBA great – before he even graduated high school.

Strengthening a Frame: If growth is your goal and you generally feel good about your communications approach, strengthening your frame means reaching out to new audiences and re-establishing yourself with existing ones. After four years in Cleveland, LeBron James was anxious to win a championship, so he got a better team and made a national spectacle of the decision. He alienated his base, but gained national attention and won two titles.

Rebuilding a Frame: Whether it’s post-crisis recovery, bringing new life to a lagging brand or a new approach after an unsuccessful marketing campaign, sometimes it’s necessary to make a change to your message, brand and approach. Knowing what to build on and what to leave behind is crucial. Which brings us back to that letter in Sports Illustrated announcing James’ return to Cleveland in a humble and heartfelt way. The media rejoiced at having a story about a benevolent “king” for several days.

We aren’t all superstars. Creating a strategic communications plan that is effective and lasting can often times become overwhelming without the right experience and guidance. Understanding the existing frame and the change that is needed to accomplish your goals will help to guide and inform the planning process.

How does it happen? Hits to your reputation can come from a pattern of unsatisfactory service, an unhappy customer who takes to the Internet to share his or her frustration, a disgruntled employee who calls the local paper to complain about you, a product recall, and more. And, when news coverage ensues from any or all of the above, you could have a damaging media crisis on your hands.

What steps can you take to protect your business reputation?

1. Contracts
Contracts with customers and employees create clarity and set expectations, preventing miscommunication, conflict, and frustration in the future.

2. Internal and External Public Relations
Internal and external public relations initiatives are critical to building and maintaining your brand and reputation. Internally, media policies, employee handbooks, and other written and documented communication are essential for stating company regulations and expectations. Utilizing these tools now will positively support your business reputation and prevent conflict and potential legal problems down the road.

3. Public Relations Support and Coaching
An on-going relationship with a seasoned and reputable public relations firm can be an asset to managing your reputation. Proactive and positive PR will position you as a leader in your industry and extenuate your assets. So, if an unforeseen crisis happens, you’re given the benefit of the doubt. Most importantly, they will be there to jump into action and support you in protecting your business, your employees, and your reputation.

Take these three steps to lay the groundwork for protecting your business reputation, and continue to review and improve your systems on a quarterly basis.

Branding and Graphic Design

1. Invest in your brand – Hire a good designer to create or update your logo and public relations professional to help you write your brand message. It’s the face of your business, so make it look good!

2. Protect your brand – Search to make sure it’s not already being used, trademark it, write guidelines for using it, monitor it, and keep it fresh.

3. More design isn’t always the best design – More isn’t always better and sometimes less is more. Be creative, but concise with your design. Share your message clearly and concisely with color and style.

4. Pantone Matching System colors matter! – Select a good, reputable printer and demand a press check. Make sure your colors are right and consistent before hitting the presses.

5. Pay attention to detail – Always get a second set of eyes on your design and on the copy to catch errors.

From our humble beginnings in a home office with a Mac Plus II computer and no Internet access to a staff of six, laptops, iPads and wireless, we’ve enjoyed the journey. We continue to be proud to help our clients bring their message to the marketplace in a Creative, Effective and Lasting way.

Author Sherokee Isle was our first client in 1988 and together, we increased awareness of the impact of pregnancy and infant loss on mothers, fathers and families. Sherokee has now written 17 books and continues to support families on a national level.

We have branded and rebranded businesses, helped non-profits raise millions, designed websites and marketing materials, secured local and national media coverage and produced a national television special called Faded Photographs – The Faces of Alzheimer’s.

Our passion for making a difference fueled our success with taking Alzheimer’s disease out of the closet and helping the public and the media realize that it strikes young and old and has a devastating impact on families.

We have also helped educate and influence military leaders and politicians to protect service men and women from sexual assault in the military.

As social media opened the door to new marketing opportunities, we greeted it by launching The Social Media Incubator (SMI). SMI gives small to midsize businesses affordable access to communities of prospective buyers and helps them manage the execution of their social media in a way that is relevant, measurable and effective.

CEL continues to help businesses and organizations get their message to markets across the country with strategic public relations, marketing, branding, graphic and web design, media relations and social media.

We look towards the next 25 years with gratitude to each one of you for the role you have played in bringing us to this milestone and we look forward to continuing to serve and celebrate success together!

In an effort to help business owners evaluate what’s working and what’s not, CEL created an easy assessment tool. It’s a Marketing and Public Relations Scorecard that helps you define your strengths and weaknesses within your marketing plan. If you would like us to share it with you, simply email a request to info@celpr.com.

Throughout the year, the marketing and PR professionals at CEL tune into attention-getting strategies with documented ROI. Here are three marketing hot buttons that we recommend focusing on.

Button #1 – Be Succinct and Consistent

•Speak clear, concise and consistent marketing messages to strengthen your brand.

•Create a marketing schedule and stick to it.

•Reel them in with repetition! Stay in front of your customers for best results.

Button #2 – Tune into Technology

Your potential customers are gathering information in many ways and with multiple devices, so think about speaking to them wherever they’re tuning in. Market in print, on the Internet and the smart phone, and engage customers in conversation through social media.

Button #3 – Tell a Verbal and Visual Story

What grabs your attention within your stack of mail, on websites, Facebook or on TV? Crazy videos are going viral and so are photos of babies and animals, so use your creativity and get a piece of the action!

Flip the switch on writing your marketing strategy and push the hot buttons of success!

For our clients, the most immediate way to measure the success of a marketing or public relations tactic is through visible public and media response. Let’s use the 2013 Saint Louis Art Fair as an example.

CEL and Cultural Festivals Executive Director Cindy Lerick worked together to build and implement a marketing and public relations strategy for their event, based on clearly defined goals of reaching two target markets: art enthusiasts and the media.

The theme, You’re a Piece of the Puzzle, sparked a lot of creativity and strategic tasks to implement to reach the target market and accomplish the following goals:

Goal No. 1 – Draw media coverage to help attract qualified buyers

Accomplished! We took the 2013 Commemorative Print, a collectable Art Fair highlight, made a puzzle out of it, and sent one to every contact on our media list with the message: You’re a Piece of the Puzzle. We invited newspapers, television and radio stations to promote and cover the Puzzle Hunt across Saint Louis. We also asked them to feature artists in the news, prior to and during the event and highlight their work and passion for creating it.

Results:

Seven radio interviews

21 newspaper and magazine articles

54 television segments

84 online placements

Goal No. 2 – Draw target market, i.e. qualified art buyers to the event

Accomplished! Numbered puzzle pieces were hidden inside and out across Saint Louis and clues to their whereabouts were given on Facebook. Residents were invited to find the pieces, log on to Facebook and share their Art Fair story along with the number of the puzzle piece. As the pieces were found, the puzzle visually came together. This activity showed residents that they were an important piece of the puzzle, so they should attend the event!

More than 130,000 art enthusiasts attended the event!

The results of marketing to the target market of the Saint Louis Art Fair were award-winning! The international Festival & Events Association awarded Cultural Festivals five Gold Awards, six Silver Awards, two Bronze Award and one Silver Grand Pinnacle Award for marketing, public relations, sponsorship and operations!

Have you measured your success with your target market?

A crisis media plan is designed to prepare yourself and your employees to respond to the media in time of crisis. A clear plan will protect your company and help things move more smoothly internally during a stressful situation, while sending an external message of preparedness.

Your plan should include a media policy that clearly documents who is authorized to speak with the press, in order of point of contact. Include business and cell phone numbers for all contacts within the policy, so a prompt connection can be made (within 30 minutes). Distribute your plan and review it with your staff. Assure them that it is not a “gag order,” but rather a policy designed for everyone’s protection.

Our CEL team has experience on the other side, working as news editors and television producers assigned to dispatching news crews to cover breaking news stories. We know that if your company/organization does not provide answers, it often frustrates the media and they become more determined to get them from someone else, like a disgruntled employee or customer.

If you have a public relations partner, it is important to call them as soon as the crisis hits, so they can help you through it. When you have a little time to prepare, it’s always best to write a media statement or press release with your key messages and share it with your attorney for review. Once approved, distribute the statement to your spokesperson/s and if you choose to do so, email it to the media.

If the media calls and catches you off guard, it’s okay to catch your breath and say, “Give me a moment to collect my thoughts and I’ll call you back in 15 minutes.” Now, if they show up at your door and stick a camera in your face, that’s not possible, so it’s best to say, “We don’t have anything to report at this time, but we’re looking into it.” And then, state your company’s overall commitment to good business practices. We NEVER recommend saying, “No comment,” because it implies guilt, whether guilty or not.

When interviewing with the media, it is essential that you deliver a quick, accurate and complete response, while still maintaining concern for individual privacy and legal responsibility.

Follow these 5 tips for meeting the press:

1. Let your concerns show

2. Be responsive, but don’t give more information than necessary

3. Do not argue or become critical

4. Listen and choose your words wisely before you speak

5. Stick you your key messages to avoid saying the wrong thing

Whether you decide to talk to the press or not, if you think your clients/customers are hearing negative things about your business, it’s important to communicate with them, give assurance and protect your brand. Acknowledge that they may be hearing things in the press and that they are unconfirmed. Send customers an email or e-blast that reiterates your key business messages pertaining to your ethics, values and commitment to customer service.

The best way to avoid a media crisis is to remain true to your business values and practices, but be prepared for the unexpected with a crisis media plan.