The Downtown Staten Island Council

BRIEF
The Downtown Staten Island Council (DSIC)is a nonprofit 501 c3, community and commercial development organization charged with the mission to develop the fastest growing borough in NYC.

CHALLENGE
The DSICs signature event is the Downtown Drive-In Movies, which it expanded to cover the entire month of May, showing a total of 16 movies. The DSIC wanted to raise awareness, increase fundraising and develop community connectivity and programs.

RESULT:
Through a fast-paced communications plan, which was highly adaptable to the changing landscape, contact was made with every major media outlet in NY.

Visibility, branding and awareness increased by 120%. Stories were placed on NY1 News, the Staten Island Advance, Crain's NY Business, the New York Times, 1010 WINS, SI Business Trends, the Village Voice, the Brooklyn Paper, and CBS2.
In addition, sponsor partnerships were negotiated with JACK FM and WKTU.

Fundraising also increased by 100%. Not including the dollar amount negotiated with JACK FM and WKTU, money donations and memberships doubled in five months.

Political Communications

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

PRESS OFFICE
DAY-TO-DAY PRESS AGENT

BRIEF:
The Assembly Minority Office is one of four partisan offices assigned to provide daily legislative and communications support to State elected officials.

Challenge:
The Communications department was understaffed from the summer of 1999 into the 2000 legislative session. The volume of media requests would reach double digits on certain days. And the office was expected to continue to issue 100 external messages a week, including any additional messages for the district offices.

Solution:
In order to alleviate the volume of district office messages, I devised a media training manual and program for district office staff. A comprehensive media list was devised and set up digitally to automate dissemination. A media team was put in place to handle, TV, web, radio and print.

Result:
The office maintained its #1 ranking as the most pro-active communications office of the four. Story placements increased by 25%, most notably the Star-Ledger, Philadelphia Inquirer, NJN, NBC4, CBS2, Channel 11, Channel 9, WOR-AM, and the New York Times.

Public Affairs

34TH LEGISLATIVE CAMPAIGN

VISIBILITY AND PUBLIC IMAGE
How Do You Run a Campaign in a New District and in the Wake of 9/11? And Win!

Challenge:

In 2000, the State of NJ readjusted legislative district lines creating a new 34th District. More than 50 percent of the district was previously represented by an incumbent-Republican State Senator and two Assembly members. Name recognition and visibility in this new district was a challenge from the start. Unfortunately, all of those challenges paled in comparison to the fact that the election was weeks after 9/11, and media and campaign coverage ground to a halt.

Solution:

The three candidates formed a Democratic team for the 34th race. The candidate for State Senate was a current Assembly member in the old 27th District. A clear and focused identity needed to be established to distinguish the Democratic team from the incumbent team. Three issues were promoted, education, helping working families, and healthcare. A schedule of community events, stump speeches, walk-throughs, meets and greets were scheduled. Key placements were made in local print, radio and TV. A community newsletter was created to keep the old base informed and involved. Direct mailers were sent to the new district base promoting the three main issues. Polished speeches were written for each debate, which distinguished the candidates against their opponents, who had not prepared speeches. Media coaching and debate preparation sessions were conducted to sharpen the candidates’ public performance.

Result:

Because of the groundwork, and aggressive grassroots efforts conducted in the early stages of the race, name recognition was increased. The performances at debates and speeches also helped to solidify a positive public image for all three candidates. Despite zero press coverage after 9/11, the key placements in print especially had left their mark. On election night, the Democratic team won in a landslide over the incumbent-Republican team.

Corporate Communications

Michael’s International

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
(Pro-Bono)
HOW CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY CAN INCREASE VISIBILITY AND BUSINESS

Challenge:

Michael’s International is a local NJ salon that provides high-end beauty and fashion services. The owner and proprietor was a former military person and wanted to give-back to the families of American servicemen in Iraq. Two challenges were presented, one, how to give back and two, how much would it cost.

Solution:

A company meeting was held to brainstorm ideas about what to give back as a company to the families. The idea that received consensus was free services for both the spouses and children. A two-week media plan was written. Key article placements were made in regional press the first week and a follow-up article was placed in local press to help promote the free services to military families the second week.

Result:

The public awareness campaign notified the military families in the area that they were eligible for free services at Michael’s. The publicity also increased new business traffic to the salon. Over the two-week period, the salon received 25 new clients excluding families for free services. After six months, the salon had retained 6 of the 25 clients resulting in a total of nearly $7000 in new sales. The net effect of the CSR and campaign was that several families received free services while their spouses were overseas and the new business covered all the costs of the free services.


Israel Baseball League

Leveraging Visibility
(Pro-Bono)
BUILDING A FIELD OF DREAMS

Challenge:

Baseball is non-existent in the Middle East. There are no players, no fields, no fans, no infrastructure. How do you create a league and a fan base where none exists?

Solution:

It was important to partner with key global entities in order to cement the existence of the league. Prior work had been done recruiting players, securing venues and tentatively scheduling games. Public visibility and support was the next step. In coordination with other pro-bono PR agents in other cities and Larry Baras, the founder, Dan Duquette, former GM Boston Red Sox, and Andrew Zimbalist, author and leading baseball economist, events were scheduled across the country. In NJ, a community event was created in a predominantly Jewish community. Media alerts were sent to all press outlets. An overall theme to the event was created, “Baseball and Democracy.” The first NY baseball player to be signed to a contract was also brought to the event to speak and do an autograph signing. A film documentarian was scheduled to videotape the event for an overall documentary about founding the league.

Result:

The press alerted the local community about the event and it was well-attended. The theme of “Baseball and Democracy” had resonance with the community. Kids attended the event seeking autographs, and t-shirts and hats were sold to raise money for fields in Israel.

Overall Success
Because of the cumulative success of the regional events, the Israel Baseball League was able to forge a limited partnership with Major League Baseball. Also through personal contacts, the IBL made a partnership with owners of the New York Yankees.