advertising first : politicians and media patricia depra, first regional director – western pa...
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Advertising FIRST: Politicians and Media
Patricia DePra, FIRST Regional Director – Western PA
November 20, 2010
Advertising FIRST: Politicians
Why? – the cause
What? – the message
When? – how early is early
How? – email, call, letter, in-person
Who? – levels, aides, schedulers
A note about lobbying and FIRST
Contacting Politicians Why do politicians want to hear from you?
To learn about what’s happening in their areas
To learn more about what issues are important to voters
*http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/content.aspx?id=5574&terms=government
Contacting Politicians Why?
To raise awareness of FIRST and the impact of FIRST programs on students
“to invite them to attend FIRST events because ‘the best way is to show them, not tell them.’” – Dean’s homework, 2007*
To increase support of FIRST, and to increase the number of students that have access to FIRST
To influence legislation (this is lobbying – more on this later)
*http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/content.aspx?id=5574&terms=government
Advertising FIRST: Politicians What? – to ask for:
Invite to FIRST events
Request a Meeting
If you get an aide or an assistant – they are he eyes and ears of your legislator –
Advertising FIRST: Politicians What? – the message
How FIRST is unique Positive impact of FIRST in your
school, in your community Challenges overcome, what team
members have learned Be positive – For example, talk about
what more the program could do with more support
Be as specific as possible – tell your stories
Advertising FIRST: Politicians
When? – how early is early
Schedules are set far in advance
Invitations to regional events should go out in mid-January at the latest, with follow-up reminders
mid-January = mid-build season; plan & write them now
Advertising FIRST: Politicians
How? – email, call, fax, in-person
State legislators also have district offices – call them first
Who writes letters (emails!)? – they make a difference (yes letter are read!)
Advertising FIRST: Politicians Who? – levels, aides, schedulers
Find elected officials in your region – constituency
Internet resources for finding officials
Check with your team members – who do they know? Who do their parents know?
Schedulers: they do the obvious…
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
About lobbying
Lobbying by Board Members, Management staff, field personnel members and local committee members on behalf of FIRST and STEM education is encouraged.
FIRST is required by US Federal and State laws to monitor and report lobbying efforts carried out on its behalf.
Lobbying at the State and local level requires compliance with regulations unique to each locale.
More about lobbying
http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/content.aspx?id=6358&terms=regional+planning+guide
Political Campaign Activities – not allowed at FIRST events,
websites, etc. Political Campaign Activities carried out on
behalf of FIRST or using its resources could result in the loss of its Not-for-Profit status and are not allowed.
This includes any activity that supports or opposes any candidate for any office, and includes links on websites to any such material, any biased or partisan comments on any FIRST website, handing out leaflets at FIRST events…
If in doubt, call me or FIRST
Advertising FIRST: Media
Why? – the cause (same as above)
What? – the message
When? – how early is early
How? – email, call, in-person; press releases; inverted pyramids
Who? – tap into your organization’s resources
Advertising FIRST: Media
How? – email, call, in-person; press releases
Always follow an email or faxed press release with a phone call
Invite reporters to visit your team; prepare the team
Press releases: inverted pyramid; contact your friendly RD
Advertising FIRST: Media
Who? Tap into your organization’s resources Also - Look at smaller, local publications
Longer lead times; more in-depth articlesFree-lance reporters
Who writes similar articles?
Advertising FIRST: Media
Why didn’t we get media coverage? lots of reasons – but be
prepared and do the up-front work to increase your chances -
Potential Sources of Publicity beyond the media
Team Website
Blog
Vlog, YouTube
Social Networking sites like Facebook, Twitter
Publicizing through alumni
Economic development councils
Chamber of Commerce
Demonstrations
Attending off-season events
Volunteering
Community Events
Chamber of CommerceNeighborhood FestivalsSchool Events
Consider inviting your Regional Director who can provide FIRST brochures/displays, (or provide them with brochures if they like), a monitor / slide show, and be available to answer questions about FIRST. Note: My roles at things like this are to help with team promotion first and regional promotion second (i.e. I stand back and let the students and mentors promote the team, and will talk about FIRST when asked).
The FIRST Logo/Brand/ID
Why is this important?
Help protect the FIRST Corporate ID FIRST is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Branding Check the proper use of the logo
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