10 to 1 Blog

How to Leverage Community Outreach Initiatives for Positive Brand Awareness

by Erica

How to Leverage Community Outreach Initiatives for Positive Brand Awareness

Written by Annie Appleton, PR Executive at 10 to 1 Public Relations

Corporate social responsibility, such as community outreach and charitable work from a business, has long been a tool used by public relations professionals to help bolster an organization’s reputation. There are a lot more benefits that can come from performing community outreach projects other than being a positive story to feed to the media. We’ll run through some of those benefits, plus how to turn a community outreach initiative into a PR win.

Why Community Outreach Matters

Performing community outreach is a great building block for positive brand reputation and recognition. Having strong community outreach initiatives also helps build trust between the business and the community. It shows that the business cares about its community and the people in it, thus helping to create a more loyal customer base. This also reigns true internally for the business or organization.

“Roughly 82% of U.S. consumers actually consider corporate social responsibility when deciding what services and products to buy and from where. Similarly, a survey of millennials’ work habits indicates that 86% of Generation Y workers greatly value their companies’ corporate social responsibility programs and would quit their jobs if those programs started to slip.”

Forbes

We are seeing more and more from both an external and internal standpoint that people care about what values a business stands on. People are choosing where to work and shop in businesses that align with their own core beliefs. With the rise of social media, audiences can determine by one post if they will support a business or not.

How to Identify Relevant and Timely Causes

The first thing we look at when start to think about a community outreach initiative is the calendar. We review what holidays are coming up, what time of year it is, and what is timely. For example, in June, a community outreach effort could be centered around Father’s Day, Pride Month, or summertime.

The next thing to consider is the who, what, and why:

  • Who in the community needs help
  • What are we going to do to help
  • Why we chose this particular problem to solve

Finding a cause or organization that is relevant to your business is a good place to start when it comes to deciding the “who.” Here in Phoenix, AZ, it gets hot in the summer. For those who haven’t experienced it, imagine walking into an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven. It is like that, only hotter, from May – October. Homelessness is a big issue here, caused in part by not enough affordable housing and an unstable economy. Here is why the who, what, and why come into play:

  • Who: People with little to no access to shelter from the heat
  • What: We will host a water drive by donating cases of water to an organization
  • Why: According to reports at least 130 people experiencing homelessness died from heat-related deaths in 2021

Getting PR Recognition for Your Community Support

Our client Air Pros collaborated with their local Big Brothers Big Sisters organization on a donation to support kids in the community.

Once you have identified your cause and how you are going to help, there are several things you can do to leverage the work you are doing for positive public relations. Consider:

  • Creating an event around your community outreach project.
  • Make sure to take photos with your company’s logo visible
  • Invite the media to your event and offer interviews about the cause
  • Send a post-event story (along with your photos) to the media
  • Add how your company practices corporate social responsibility to the company website
  • Post your photos and community outreach projects on social media

The Big Picture: Impacting the Community

We worked with our client FirstBank to create the ‘Give it Forward’ campaign to raise awareness for donating to local nonprofits for Coachella Valley Giving Day and Arizona Gives Day. For this year’s campaign, FirstBank surprised local residents by covering their gas bills and encouraging them to ‘give it forward’ by donating to a nonprofit of their choice.

Most importantly, community involvement helps the community at large. When performing acts of service there are real people in real need that are the most important beneficiaries. Think about a back-to-school supply drive. Those who benefit the most will be the teachers that often have to buy supplies for their classrooms out of their own pockets, and the children who will have the supplies they need to learn. That should always be the main focus of a community outreach project, not how it benefits the business doing the service, but how it benefits the community.

The internal benefits of community involvement are vast. These programs and projects are wonderful for team building and unifying employees. They get the whole team to work on one goal – helping others. It can help raise employees’ morale as well. If employees are given a voice on what projects and issues are important to them, it can leave them feeling not only more professionally fulfilled but also fulfilled on a personal level. Many businesses and organizations choose to schedule volunteer days where, instead of going to work, they volunteer at an organization for the day. This gives the employee more control to choose a cause close to their heart.

Takeaways

Taking part in community outreach programs is a wonderful way to practice corporate social responsibility. Community outreach can help to build brand recognition and reputation, foster trust with customers and the community, and bring a team closer together. But when we look at the bigger picture practicing corporate social responsibility by helping the community around us is invaluable to the community and the individuals that are at the receiving end.

We should all try to leave the world a little better than when we arrived. Companies are no exception. There is so much good that can be done in the world, so many people that could use a helping hand, and not enough people that are willing to extend that helping hand. I encourage you to go out and be involved in your communities, and strive to be the good in the world, you will be surprised how even the smallest of things can make an enormous difference in the lives of others.

10 to 1 News

10 to 1 Public Relations Wins Three Hermes Creative Awards

by Erica

10 to 1 Public Relations Wins Three Hermes Creative Awards

10 to 1 Public Relations was recently recognized with three Hermes Creative Awards. The three awards recognize 10 to 1 Public Relations’ expertise in public relations campaigns, managing and recovering from crisis scenarios, and event-based public relations.

According to the awards organization:

Hermes Creative Awards is one of the oldest and largest creative competitions in the world. Winners range in size from individuals to media conglomerates, and Fortune 500 companies. Hermes Creative Awards honors the messengers and creators of the information revolution. Armed with their imaginations and computers, Hermes winners bring their ideas to life through traditional and digital platforms.

As a firm focused on creating the highest caliber PR campaigns and results for our clients, it’s especially rewarding when independent third-party organizations recognize our strategy creation and implementation efforts as among the best they’ve seen compared to our industry peers. I’m most proud that these three Hermes Creative Awards recognize our team’s hard work and dedication to serving our clients’ needs and achieving their goals.

Josh Weiss, Founder and President of 10 to 1 Public Relations

Here’s a recap of the winning campaigns that were recognized:  

Platinum Winner: “Establishing Worzalla as a Top Local Employer” – Strategic Campaigns/PR Communications/PR

Worzalla, a leading book printer, enlisted the agency’s help to strengthen its employer brand and attract top talent. Through a comprehensive PR strategy, 10 to 1 Public Relations crafted a compelling narrative that highlighted Worzalla’s positive work environment, employee benefits, and commitment to the local community. The campaign’s success in enhancing Worzalla’s reputation as a desirable employer contributed to its well-deserved recognition.

Platinum Winner: “Intel’s Groundbreaking” – Strategic Campaigns, PR Communications/Live or Virtual Event

Faced with the challenge of introducing a groundbreaking product, Intel turned to 10 to 1 Public Relations to devise a PR campaign that would captivate local audiences in Arizona. 10 to 1 Public Relations orchestrated an unforgettable experience that showcased Intel’s revolutionary technology. The campaign’s exceptional execution and ability to generate excitement surrounding the announcement made it a resounding success.

Gold Winner: “Preserving Risas’ Reputation” – Strategic Campaigns, PR Communications/PR Campaign

Risas, a prominent dental company, faced a reputational challenge that required expert handling. 10 to 1 Public Relations devised a comprehensive PR campaign focused on transparency, proactive communication, and stakeholder engagement. Through strategic messaging and meticulous crisis management, 10 to 1 Public Relations successfully safeguarded Risas’ reputation, earning the admiration of both industry experts and the public.

10 to 1 Public Relations adds these Hermes awards to its extensive roster of awards recognizing the firm’s outstanding work over the last decade.

10 to 1 Blog

How to craft a compelling holiday campaign

by Erica

How to craft a compelling holiday campaign

Written by Katie Geraghty, PR Executive at 10 to 1 Public Relations

It feels like each day in our calendar year has been deemed a holiday in some capacity, allowing a perfect opportunity for your company to capitalize. Whether it be celebrating Veterans Day or Talk Like Shakespeare Day, holidays come in all forms each with its own potential audiences.

Identifying and amplifying holidays that relate to your organization’s mission or values allow for meaningful, relevant, and strategic media opportunities. As media relations experts, holidays of any kind give our team an opportunity to showcase clients through local promotions or events. Planning and executing these media campaigns keeps our creative juices flowing while gaining positive, local media attention for our clients.

Try it for yourself, here are 5 tips for your next holiday-based media stunt:

1. Identify campaign goals

Identifying the solid goals of the campaign as well as the target audiences are the key first steps to planning a successful campaign. Meeting with your team and all involved to clearly identify the goal for the holiday campaign is essential to its success. What’s that overused saying, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. Go ahead and apply that logic here. Laying a solid foundation will allow you to reach new heights, heights being audiences of course.

2. Research, research, research

Investing quality time into understanding what the holiday represents is essential to avoiding any PR blunders. Identifying the true meaning of the holiday will better allow creativity to flow throughout the process of developing the holiday event.

After identifying an appropriate holiday to center a media event around, it’s important to identify how this ties directly to your client’s business goals and PR strategy. The final component of researching for the event involves identifying the appropriate markets and audiences, without the appropriate targets, the event will carry less impact and relevance!

3. Collaborate

Working together with your team to identify a few tie-ins to the holiday provides a great springboard to create better, more relevant ideas. In a creative field such as PR, we see the benefits of collaborating every day.

Bringing together a diverse team for a brainstorming session can be extremely helpful to hear various perspectives and develop an idea everyone can support.

4. Plan every detail

For every media event you coordinate, planning is truly at the core of ensuring the success of a campaign. Establishing clear timelines, deliverables, and roles will allow everyone involved to feel much more relaxed and comfortable throughout the process.

Nailing down the nitty gritty ahead of time will relieve stress points. We recommend working with your team to identify potential roadblocks and develop solutions ahead of time, so everyone feels prepared.

5. Evaluate the Results

Execution is a direct result of your planning efforts, but you’ll need to be flexible in case something doesn’t work as expected. Each event is a great opportunity to learn about the needs of the media and community, so allow yourself to be present and observant!

Taking the time to reflect on the event directly after will allow your team to better understand the successes and identify any missed opportunities. Reflecting, adjusting, and implementing these ideas will make your next event even easier.

If you ever need help, the team at 10 to 1 PR would love to help!

10 to 1 Blog

5 Public Relations Tips for Nonprofits

by Erica

5 Public Relations Tips for Nonprofits

This article was originally published in Entrepreneur. Click here to read the entire article.

Should public relations for charities and nonprofits be implemented differently compared to for-profit businesses?

For nearly 20 years, I’ve been asked a variation of this question by nonprofit leaders. Since I launched my PR firm about a decade ago, the question comes even more frequently. While most of our clients are for-profit businesses that are national or in several markets, we have also worked with a handful of charities and nonprofits over the years, some that are nationally focused and others local only to a single media market.

When it comes to PR tactics, it doesn’t matter if you’re a for-profit or nonprofit. Sure, a nonprofit might be focused on specifically promoting its fundraising or education efforts, but when you boil it down, it’s really promoting a service, product or idea just like a for-profit business.

I’m constantly impressed by the mission-driven focus of the many nonprofit leaders that I’ve worked with, and I believe business leaders can learn a lot from their passion and commitment to achieving an end goal. The challenge is that some nonprofit leaders fail to understand that their organization is a type of business too and that public relations is a key ingredient to achieving success for their overall mission. Many times, and for various reasons, nonprofit leaders have the wrong mindset and don’t recognize or believe they should adhere to the proven PR recipe that many businesses follow…

Click here to read the 5 tips for nonprofits.