PR Writing Assignment
Description
For your public relations writing assignment you’ll be creating a plan and products to support an advocacy campaign for a cause, group, or initiative of your choice.
If you’re interested in tackling a more government agency (new program announcement, policy change, etc.) or business-focused topic (like a product rollout or something similar), please email me to make sure you have a plan to fulfill the assignment requirements.
Review introduction to PR and building campaign slide decks. All products should be well-organized and should have a professional appearing presentation.
Again, you’ll be creating a strategic plan to support your work. Your strategic plan should be about a page or so and include:
The overall goal of the campaign
A quick statement of the broad goal you want to achieve. How will you “frame” the issue.
Who your audience(s) will be and what you know about them
Tell me about the audiences you’ll be targeting. Be specific. Don’t just say “reporters” but maybe “newspaper and magazine reporters who cover climate change and environmental issues.”
What products you’ll be using
Describe the products you’re creating. You only have to create the products listed below but outline them and explain what purpose they serve and what audience you’re targeting with them.
Risks and Challenges
How will your opponents respond? What reservations will your customers or advocates have? How will you address them?
You’ll also be producing several products to support your campaign. These should include:
A press release that provides a relevant news hook and information (one page or so). Your press release should be in strict AP style. Your press release should include:
An SEO-friendly, descriptive headline
Contact information
Release information (immediate or embargoed)
A dateline (just the date of the release)
A strong lead that gets straight to the point
Quote(s) from key principal(s)
“Boilerplate” information about your organization
A fact sheet (a page or two) with background information for reporters who want to get up to speed on your topic. Your fact sheet should be written in AP style. This can overlap with your release a little, but the goal is to provide reporters with the information, facts, and statistics they’ll need to support an article. Bullet points and grouping information into topics is acceptable and can be easier to use.
Talking Points (one page or so) to help people in your organization speak about the issue. These are for internal use only and should give people in your organization sample ways of talking about and framing the issue when speaking to reporters or the public. Organize talking points by topic and anticipate tough questions or opposition arguments that your surrogates may face.
