Sample Pr Campaign

Communications Plan Addressing Most Pressing Reputational Issues suit up Livestrong Background of current leave set somewhat Livestrong rear dig Armstrong the 7 time Tour De France winner, crab louse survivor and founding chairman of the Livestrong Foundation, has been facing a lot of machinateure and criticism from the media and the humankind ascribable to allegations of doping make by the United States Anti Doping action (BBC, 2012). On October 17 2012 Armstrong resigned as Chairman due to allegation of doping (Mary, 2012).In November 2012, transmit Armstrong officially stepped down from the tabular array of directors and suppressed his friendship with the Livestrong Foundation which was then known as The propel Armstrong Foundation (Mclaggan, 2012 Vertuno, 2012). However, despite this, the opinion of the race towards the Livestrong Foundation is one of prejudice. m both companies who formally endorsed Armstrong make believe dropped him from their campaigns. Som e of these companies were Nike, Trek Bicycles, Giro, FRS (energy products), and 24 Hours seaworthiness (Petchesky, 2012).Various reasons were condition by the heads of these organizations as to why Armstrong was dropped. FRS Chief of marketing commented this seems like a good time to straggle ways piece of music 24 Hours Fitness stated our business relationship with Armstrong no yearner aligns with our companys delegating and values (Schrotenboer, 2012). These and many much(prenominal) statements were make in regards to the doping allegations. Armstrongs temperament and protrude is currently deteriorating rapidly.There be many opinions from segments of society ( such as the normal and the media,) regarding the Livestrong Foundation by and by this alleged soil. hither is a brief overview of the situation from various s labourholders (See Appendix for Livestrong Foundation view) The open The public had varied opinions. There has been one section of people who permit sto od strongly by impel Armstrong and the Livestrong Foundation. They stand by the fact that the establishment is still more or less researching a cure for crabby person and so it get out always be view in the eyes of the familiarity.Lou Hablas has moderateed Livestrong for long time and worn the iconic yellow trinket in honor of his uncle, stepmother and friends who collect disoriented loved ones to crabmeat. The 49-year-old Georgia resident registers hell cut through to wear the gaud despite news that embattled cyclist shot Armstrong is stepping down as chairman of the beneficence he founded 15 years ago. But the flyer of Armstrong leading his Discovery groupmates in the team time trial at the 2005 Tour de France is coming down from his office wall amid news that the U. S.Anti-Doping Agency found overwhelming evidence of Armstrongs involvement in doping as a professional cycler. What move initiated through the formation of a invertebrate foot in his name and effo rts through Livestrong far exceed this formal and seemingly closing recognition of darts fallibility, Cancer sucks and it is ofttimes bigger than Lance Armstrong Hablas said in an interview with CNN (CNN, 2012). The feeling of Lou Hablas mirrors the feeling of millions around the being. While they still continue to strongly support the Livestrong, their respect for Lance Armstrong has diminished due to the doping incident.They are able to separate the footing from Lance Armstrong and the controversy surrounding Lance Armstrong does non change their opinion on the Livestrong Foundation. On the other hand, there has similarly been a turgid segment of the public who have lost their faith in the Livestrong Foundation. Wendy Adams of Manchester, Pennsylvania, and her sisters have been wearing their yellow bracelets since their father was diagnosed with end stage prostate cancer in 2004. When her father died in 2005, the family respected his wish to be cremated wearing the brace let and spent $200 dollars on the bracelets for family and friends to hand out.Now, she says she cant wear the bracelet with pride anymore because of its connection to Armstrong and the organization. She has interpreted it off and vows to never again wear it. She says Lance is Livestrong, he is the face of hope. And when that face is that of a liar, a manipulator, for me? I cant wear it with pride anymore. (Ibid) therefore we see that the public has different opinions regarding the Livestrong Foundation by and by Lance Armstrongs doping scandal. But the vast majority of people are able to purloin between the Livestrong Foundation and Lance Armstrong.They recognize that the Livestrong Foundation is about cancer which is much bigger than Lance Armstrong and the psychiatric hospital neednt obtain due to the Lance Armstrong scandal. The Media The media has been investigating the Livestrong Foundation closely after the Lance Armstrong doping scandal. The Livestrong Foundation has been low intense scrutiny recently. Bill Gifford, a journalist from away(p) magazine, released an article stating that the Livestrong Foundation doesnt in fact do much to fund research to find a cancer cure (Gifford 2012).He states in his article Equally interesting is what the foundation doesnt do. Most peopleincluding nearly everybody I surveyed while reporting this storyassume that Livestrong funnels tumescent amounts of money into cancer research. Nope. The foundation gave out a total of $20 million in research grants between 1998 and 2005, the year it began phasing out its support of hard science. A none on the foundations website informs visitors that, as of 2010, it no longer unconstipated accepts research proposals (Ibid. ).Gifford as well goes on to say that the primary goal of the Livestrong Foundation is to advertise and promote Lance Armstrong as he is the face of the foundation. He says I found a specially fuzzy mix of cancer-war goals like survivorship and globa l sense, labels that seem to entail daubing the yellow Livestrong logo on everything from T-shirts to medical conferences to soccer stadiums. Much of the foundations work ends up buffing the image of one Lance Edward Armstrong, which seems comme il fautafter all, Livestrong wouldnt exist without him.But Livestrong spends massively on advert, PR, and branding, all of which helps defend Armstrongs marketability at a time when hes under fire. Such stakeholder viewpoints illustrate that Livestrong has to be careful in all its approaching endeavors as it is under constant scrutiny due to the doping allegations surrounding Lance Armstrong. This whitethorn have serious impacts related to the loss of Livestrongs personality and hence the challenge is in disassociating the Livestrong brand from its founder Lance Armstrong.The put across must be communicated that Livestrong is about the fight against cancer at a global level, rather than a mere doping scandal by its founder. - The l et out issues identified previously in this report set off the importance of make Livestrongs brand image in a manner that refocuses public attention towards Livestrongs over-arching agenda and manifesto To fight cancer with tendency in the face of adversity.The following communications plan outlining key aims, objectives, strategies and tactic has been produced with this message at heart. The formal severing of ties with Lance Armstrong, are the premier(prenominal) steps taken by the Livestrong Foundation towards this process. - kind 1 central Aims * Identify key stakeholders that are currently affected by the crisis, who it may affect and why. * Refocus public attention towards cancer victims and inspirational cancer grinders supported by Livestrong. Ensure that communication is clear, compelling, continuous, consistent and sustained. * Ensure that consumement, instinct and commitment amongst intimate stakeholders is achieved in relation to implementing strategies and t actics to overcome crisis. promotional short letter Public Relations Objective Honest and sincere cite of the problem Livestrong is facing, the action taken and highlighting the need to focus on the true adversary cancer itself. Strategy Communicate in totality to familiar and external stakeholders within the attached 6 months.Tactics 1) Organising a press conference A congressman that holds a prominent role in the Livestrong Foundation volition address the public. In preparation for the press conference, the example go out be given full media training beforehand in responding to questions by the press such as What is Livestrongs current billet on doping? How does Livestrong plan to attract donations when its founding member can no longer inspire donors or call on celebrity contacts? Who forget lead the organisation now that Armstrong has stepped down?What leave behind be the next steps of the charity? etc. (More questions entrust be prepared for media training, juxta posed towards the launch of the press conference). The Spokesperson provide begin the conference by acknowledging the doping allegations made towards Livestrongs former founder which have resulted in the foundation formally severing ties with Lance Armstrong. The spokesperson go away then, make it verbalized that it was a necessary decision made with the true cause at intelligence Fighting Cancer, which at the moment is not receiving ull attention by the foundation and its public due to Armstrongs doping allegations. The spokesperson will highlight the significant difference made by the Livestrong Foundation in its long-term fight against cancer through conducting educational programs emphasising on healthy lifestyle, anti-stigma campaigns and basic fundraising events all through with(p) in order to raise awareness, increase out go across and accelerate collaboration in an effort to improve the situation of cancer patients.Furthermore, the spokesperson will highlight that i t is important for the public to keep in mind these contri entirelyions made by Livestrong in the fight against cancer and will send away the public to look at two separate people Lance Armstrong the cycling champion allegedly turned drug-user and Lance Armstrong the cancer fighter and symbol of inspiration of which the latter was the reason for Livestrongs success until this point.Not but does Livestrong reach out to cancer patients, but also to those who look for inspiration, object and hope, in their darkest hours of need. After these key points are made, the spokesperson will imbibe the press for a Q&A session. 2) Distributing press releases and run around articles online and offline Firstly, a function of press releases will be distributed to key media outlets (offline) and wired agencies (e. g. Reuters online), raising and addressing same points to that of the press conference.Secondly, let stories focusing on Livestrong Foundation support given to local anaesthetic a nd national cancer victims and their families will be distributed (both online and offline) in local and national media outlets. These stories will focus on an angle showing the termination of the cancer victims, survivors and their families and how Livestrong aids them in this journey through emotional and monetary support essentially, communicating in a compelling way to engage the public with Livestrong.Further, by distributing a considerable number of press releases and feature stories online, it would ensure that members of the public will encounter such stories which focus on Livestrongs positive impact on society, in effect, proving to be a cost effective-method achieving search engine optimisation (SEO). 3) Social media engagement Firstly, a video release will be made (utilising YouTube) featuring the incoming carte du jour chairman of the foundation Jeff Garvey, who outlines the next steps that will be taken by the Livestrong Foundation followed by the severing of ties with its former chairman Lance Armstrong.This would mainly involve giving undivided attention towards the Livestrong Foundation mission in providing free financial, practical and emotional support serve for cancer survivors and their families. This video will then be attached to Livestrongs website, Facebook rascal, peep account and Blog. This will be followed by an invitation to the public to give their impartial opinion about Livestrong and suggest ideas about what steps the foundation could take in order to better contribute to its fight against cancer.In addition, a competition will be affix on Facebook and twitter announcing that the winner who suggests the most creative and engaging idea will have their name as part of the next Livestrong campaign title and the opportunity take part as one of the campaign team leaders. Not only will this type of approach promote symmetrical communication between Livestrong and the Public, but also indirectly suggests that Livestrong i s arduous its best to move past the Lance Armstrong doping scandal and refocus all its energy towards fighting cancer. ) Establishing an Intranet system for internal stakeholders of the Livestrong Foundation Given the possibility that not all members, employees and shareholders may be aware of the severity of the issue concerning Lance Armstrongs alleged doping scandal and the strategic action taken to repair Livestrongs reputation an intranet will be established to provide the latest information on the issue and steps taken to rebuilding Livestrongs brand image in a manner that refocuses public attention towards Livestrongs battle against cancer.The intranet page will be maintained by a trained team who will monitor current problems, predict any future revelations and visualize the movements of public and media opinion closely. This will also provide the opportunity for internal stakeholders to ask questions, post responses, and contribute ideas about the crisis in a community sp here. Measurement and Evaluation Firstly, feedback could be gained from journalists, who will attend the press conference, on whether the responses given by the Livestrong Foundation were sufficient in communicating Livestrongs future intentions and vision purely focused on battling cancer.The press releases and feature stories will be evaluated in relation to how consistent, clear and compelling they are in producing communication outcomes (e. g. Whether the key message was fully, partially, incorrectly, negative/positively, etc. conveyed . In relation to evaluating the level of public engagement with cordial media, they will be measured according to the tone of communication. For example, whether the blog, twitter and Facebook responses by the public, were positive, balanced, neutral or negative.Furthermore, this will also be measured by tracking levels of public engagement. E. g. whether target audiences are Lurking, Casual, Active, Committed or Loyal. The activity on the intran et will be measured in a similar fashion although it would also include tracking the amount of internal stakeholder response within a period of 6 months. Given that the above strategies and tactics are prosperous and meet the objective, the Livestrong Foundation can move towards the 2nd phase which involves creatively utilising the promotional channels of Advertising and Viral Marketing.Note The above strategies were considered after examining the cases of Sony and dingle when they faced a product defect issue where they avoided damages to their reputation through responses received through their established crisis website (Larkin and Register, 200863) Further, the case concerning the rebranding of mountain range the charity organisation for cerebral palsy was also examined in detail (Scope, 2012). - - PHASE 2 Promotional Channel AdvertisingObjective Ensure a new and alter understanding of Livestrong by the public. Strategy Creating a new advertizing to deal out Livestrongs new image. Tactics Two different advertizements will be made for two groups of audiences. 1. Advertisement directed towards the general public This advertizing features a little girl frolicking happily in a garden. The entirely frame is colourful. Suddenly, a monster called cancer appears, and a thunder tempest occurs. The little girl begins to cry in fear. At this time, a large number of Livestrong wristbands appear to fight the monster and protect the little girl.The wristbands pick apart the monster down and sunshine prevails. The slogan Let Livestrong Protect the one You Love then appears . The advertisement will be shot in the style of caricature which makes it simple and easy to comprehend. Even children will be able to understand the advertisement therefore, the target audience is broadened. This inspiration comes from late Startthe campaign which is called up by Welsh government to decimal point smoking in cars. This campaign used children as their starting points and stir people stopping smoking. ((2012). GOLLEY SLATER LAUNCHES FRESH START WALES. Online Last accessed celestial latitude 13th). 2. Advertisement directed towards cancer survivors and their families The second advertisement is aimed at back up people who have suffered from cancer to be hopeful and to trust Livestrong. This advertisement will focus on the reliability of the Livestrong foundation. The advertisement has a desolate and white tone to portray peoples emotion after knowing that they get cancer. This scene will simply focus on the facial shots of people who have just found out that they have cancer. Sad music plays in the background to enhance the affect.After this, the Livestrong wristbands appear. The yellow colouration of the wristband symbolizes sunshine and how Livestrong can brighten the lives of those who suffer from this terrible disease. The advertisement ends with the frame being full of sunshine and smiles on the faces of the people who suffer from cancer. co mputer program These advertisements will be played in public places, such as subway stations and bus stops because it has a wider reach in call of viewers. Some posters with a similar theme will also be used as outdoor advertisements. There will also be a donation box near the screen.This is done because people will feel the need to donate immediately after viewing such a touching advertisement. Prediction It is estimated that 6 months into the advertising campaign, the awareness of Livestrong will increase by 30%. Also, the donation towards the Livestrong foundation will also increase about 10%. Promotional Channel Viral Marketing Objective Increase peoples awareness of Livestrong Strategy Take advantage of social media, such as Youtube, Twitter and Facebook to let more people know Livestrongs new image Tactics 1. Flash MobThere will be several flash tamp activities in target cities, such as London and Manchester, which means organizing about 50 people at the city landmark weari ng Livestrong attire and repeat the Livestrongs slogan. All this will be recorded and broadcasted onto social media sites. This tactic is inspired by the popularity of Psys Gangnam Style. Gangnam Styles smash to popularity is attributed to the effective use of social media through which it gained global recognition. 2. Twitter and Livestrong other activity, mainly to do with Twitter, can also be undertaken.A custom designed poster stating Keep Calm and Trust Livestrong will be posted by Livestrong. Every time the poster is re-tweeted, Livestrong will donate 1 pound towards a cancer rehabilitation center. This action will not only help people who suffer from cancer, but will also pique the attention and interest of the people and increase brand awareness. Platform Social media will be the main platform for this strategy as it is currently more popular than conventional means of marketing. Social media will reach a very wide range of audience from the callowness to the older gene ration.Also, the broadcasting speed of social media is faster compared to broadcasting via traditional means. - Prediction In this six months campaign, Livestrongs exposure rate on social media will increase and people will have more positive aspects to discuss about Livestrong. - Word Count 3,275 References British air Corporation (BBC). (2012), Lance Armstrong receives US Anti-Doping Agency charges. Online open at http//www. bbc. co. uk/ variance/0/cycling/18435771 Accessed 1 celestial latitude 2012.Burleigh, N. (2012), Will Livestrong Stay unbendable? Online Available at http//www. bicycling. com/news/featured-stories/will-livestrong-stay-strong? page=0,1 Accessed 1 celestial latitude 2012 CNN (2012) Livestrong bracelet To wear or not to wear?. Online. Available at http//www. cnn. co. uk/2012/10/18/living/lance-armstrong-livestrong-legacy/index. hypertext markup language Accessed 1 celestial latitude 2012 Gifford, B. (2012), Its not about the lab rats. Online. Available at http//www. outsideonline. com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/lance-armstrong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats. tml? page=all Accessed 1 December 2012. Golly Slater (2012), Golly Slater launches Fresh Start Wales. Online. Available at http//www. golleyslater. co. uk/services/public-relations/news/news-detail. php? id=976 Accessed 29 November 2012 Livestrong (2012) Livestrong Milestones Online. Available at http//www. livestrong. org/Who-We-Are/Our-History/Milestones Accessed 10 December 2012. Maclaggan, C. (2012) undivided Livestrong cancer charity drops Lance Armstrong name from title Online. Available at http//www. chicagotribune. om/sports/olympics/sns-rt-us-cycling-armstrong-livestrongbre8ae000-20121114,0,6273785. story Accessed 1 December 2012. Mary, P. (2012) Armstrong Is Dropped by Nike and Steps Down as Foundation Chairman. Online. Available at http//www. nytimes. com/2012/10/18/sports/cycling/lance-armstrong-dropped-by-nike-steps-down-as-chairman-of-his-charity. html? pagewanted=a ll Accessed 1 December 2012. New York Times (2012) Times question Lance Armstrong. Online. Available at http//topics. nytimes. com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/lance_armstrong/index. tml Accessed 1 December 2012. Petchsky, B. (2012), A full list of the bold brave companies that dropped lance Armstrong only after Nike did. Online Available at http//deadspin. com/5952679/a-full-list-of-the-brave-brave-companies-that-dropped-lance-armstrong-as-an-endorser-only-after-nike-did. Accessed 1 December 12. Regester, M. & Larkin, J. , (2008) Risk Issues and Crisis Management in Public Relations A textbook of Best Practice. London Kogan Page. Schrotenboer, B. (2012), Livestrong Only 8 donors asked for their money back. Online. Available at http//www. usatoday. om/story/sports/cycling/2012/11/12/livestrong-lance-arms trong-doping/1700831/ Accessed 1 December 2012. Scope (2012), The Spastics Society to Scope The story of the name change and relaunch November in 1994. Online Available at http//www. scope. org. uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/History/Scope_name_change. pdf Accessed 1 December 2012. Vertuno, J. (2012) Lance Armstrong Cuts full-dress Ties to Livestrong, Resigns from Board Online. Available at http//www. therepublic. com/view/story/c98e415cc01346f19a7a67a12ead195f/CYCArmstrong-Livestrong Accessed1 December 2012.Wall Street Journal (2012) Statement by Lance Armstrong Online. Available at http//online. wsj. com/article/SB10001424052702303734204577464962634804348. html Accessed 1 December 2012. APPENDIX The Livestrong Foundation opinion of Lance Armstrons Allegations The Livestrong Foundation was initially very supportive of Lance Armstrong during the doping incident. However, Lance Armstrong stepped down from the board of directors of the foundation and ended all association with Livestrong. This was done to ensure that the negative publicity directed towards Lance Armstrong would not affect Livestrongs popularity.The incoming board chairman, Jeff Garve y, said that Armstrong was distancing himself from Livestrong to protect it against any damage resulting from his doping controversy. Lance Armstrong was instrumental in changing the way the world views people affected by cancer, Garvey said. His devotion to serving survivors is unparalleled and for 15 years, he committed himself to that cause with all his heart. (The New York Times 2012). Livestrong chief executive officer Doug Ulman, a cancer survivor himself, sees the scandal as little more than a sad perplexity from a noble cause, and he sees no need for a formal distancing from Armstrong. This organization has never been stronger in terms of fulfilling our mission and the support that we receive from literally millions of people, he says. We are trying to tackle a global problem, the number one cause of devastation around the world. And so the investigation unfortunately has become a distraction from our mission. We are literally, positively changing lives every day and we have so much more to do and to be pulled away and distracted even for 10 minutes is