The McRae Agency
STRIVE San Diego
Summary
STRIVE, originally conceived in East Harlem to combat chronic unemployment rates, was coming to San Diego to make its West Coast debut as a division of Second Chance, an established San Diego nonprofit organization dedicated to providing jobs for the homeless and long-term unemployed. STRIVE’s no-nonsense curriculum aims to help hard-to-employ people find – and keep – jobs. STRIVE’s job readiness program in Harlem, which was featured on CBS’ “60 Minutes” program, has achieved an 80 percent retention rate two years after graduation. STRIVE was hoping those success stories would continue on the West Coast, starting with San Diego. The program is totally free and is underwritten by grants, corporations and private donations. We were brought on board to handle media relations (pro bono) less than two weeks before the event.
Because nonprofits typically do not have the money to conduct formal market research, we conducted our own research on the STRIVE operation. We viewed the “60 Minutes” segment, reviewed the website and all major press clips, and read every existing piece of material on the program. We interviewed the executive director of STRIVE San Diego, board members and key employees. We got information of the demographics of prospective participants in the program. We contacted the headquarters in Harlem for information. We did everything we could in a very short period of time to get up to speed on the revolutionary new program.
After meeting with STRIVE management and board members, we identified the following objectives for the grand opening media relations:
Our primary audience included all local television stations, radio stations with local newscasts, the San Diego Union-Tribune and various community newspapers. Since San Diego has a large Hispanic community, we also included Hispanic media. Additional media to be reached through the media included prospective participants for future classes and local companies willing to hire the graduates.
We developed a press kit with the following components:
We knew that we needed to create a media advisory that would really grab the attention of the various news media, including TV assignment editors, who were at the top of our wish list. Since STRIVE uses a “tough love” approach in its training, we opened the media advisory with “SMILE DAMN IT!” Although this was an unconventional media advisory, it conveyed the essence of this remarkably effective program.
We also developed a post-event release which announced STRIVE’s first graduating class of 13 participants from its three-week program. We incorporated compelling information, including this quote from a participant: “The only thing I have ever accomplished in life was detox. I got my self esteem back through STRIVE.” For many of the participants, graduating from STRIVE was one of the biggest accomplishments of their lives. The release was sent out to targeted local media with a photo of the graduating class.
Results
In spite of the time constraints and lack of budget, the grand opening was a tremendous success. Four television stations covered the event, including one Hispanic station. A number of the stations continued coverage throughout the three-week training program, even covering the first graduation. The cameraman for the ABC affiliate was so moved by the experience, that he joined the STRIVE marketing committee, which we set up after the grand opening to provide ongoing assistance to the organization. Radio coverage included local news/talk station KOGO AM and public radio KPBS FM. The print coverage the San Diego Union-Tribune, North County Times, San Diego Business Journal, Coast News, El Informador (Spanish paper) and other community newspapers.
STRIVE was flooded by calls after the grand opening (receiving some calls while the segments were still on the air) and signed up twice as many participants for the second class. In addition, numerous companies called offering to hire STRIVE graduates. Several major San Diego employers have committed to hiring graduates, including Sea World, San Diego Transit, Cloud 9 Shuttle, Marriott Hotels, Callaway Golf, National Dispatch Center, United Parcel Service and United Airlines.
The executive director, staff and board members were overwhelmed by the response from the news media, participants and companies, and attributed it largely to our efforts to generate news coverage of the grand opening. By its first anniversary, STRIVE San Diego had far exceeded its target goal of 125 work-ready graduates by 40 percent.
Applicability Strategic planning, writing, media relations, event planning/coordination