1. An Image Worth Sharing Your Club’s Public Relations Plan
PDG Penny Offer
May

2. Public Relations and Public Image
Informs the community about your club activities, events and services … builds awareness and credibility
Public Image:
What your club stands for and how you are perceived… your clubs image in the community
District 5040

3. Effective Public Relations
What are the benefits of an effective public relations plan for your Club?
Enhance the club’s public image
Gain support and resources for projects
Build links with other community organizations
Attract qualified members
Recognize Rotary members for their contribution to the community
Correct misconceptions about the club and Rotary
District 5040

4. Your Club’s PR Plan – 7 Steps for an Effective Plan

5. 7 Steps for an Effective Plan
Your Club’s PR Plan
7 Steps for an Effective Plan
District 5040

6. Step 1: Get Your PR Committee in Place
First Step: PR Committee Chair
Who would you ask to be on your PR Committee?
District 5040

7. Step 2: Evaluate What you are Doing Now
Do your current efforts reflect the image you want?
Who should do the evaluation?
A small group of Rotarians and non-Rotarians
What should you evaluate?
Clubs website
Brochures, other materials and media
Review past news releases
Are you using the new Rotary identity?
District 5040

8. Unites leaders to exchange ideas and
take action to improve communities everywhere
Great brands build their story around simple ideas.
Rotary…
UNITES LEADERS… Connecting will always be our driving force. We’re a membership organization. We are leaders not just because of our titles…we are leaders because we step forward as Rotarians to…
EXCHANGE IDEAS…
and then we TAKE ACTION…to improve our local communities…everywhere in the world.
Simple…and clear.
THIS is the where we gain the greatest value from Strengthening Rotary. This phrase is NOT a slogan...it’s our essence…our core. And as our essence, it provides three simple ideas…that will help your club…will help every Rotary club...tell your story with greater strength and consistency.
District 5040

9. UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK PAGE
Number 3.
Update your online profile.
I’m not just talking about using our new logo. I’m talking about connecting with both your internal and external audiences to tell YOUR compelling story.
This is a bigger ask…a more dramatic change. And the effort will have a far bigger reward…because what we’re talking about is telling the Rotary story…better…answering the question…”What’s in it for a prospective member or donor, or advocate of Rotary?”

10. Step 3: Building your Campaign
What is your goal?
Identify your target audiences….who are they?
Identify your key message or story…. Polio Day, your clubs signature event
What are the five W’s of a news release?
What is more compelling? … an event or service?
Include photos, audio or video
District 5040

11. TELL COMPELLING STORIES WITH CONSISTENT MESSAGES
Real people, real stories
Tug the heartstrings
Focus on the WHY, not the HOW
Define your impact
Second.
Tell compelling stories...about real people…people who connected with other community leaders to make the world a little bit better.
Create an emotional connection with your audience. Tug at their heartstrings…both in your stories…and in your pictures.
Focus on the “why” of the story…the benefits. Tell your readers, “WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM!”
And define the impact of your work. Remember, it’s not about dollars…it’s about lives changed. One child who can see. A town of 200 with clean, fresh water. A classroom of girls who can read and look forward to a more productive life.
District 5040

12. What could you use as a Call to Action?
Step 4: Call to Action
What could you use as a Call to Action?
Exciting community service project
Prestigious speaker
After hours social
Like us on Facebook
Other?
District 5040

13. Step 5: Funding and Resources
Resources to support your club’s PR:
Human capital can be more impactful than financial
Club budget line item for PR
Partner with other organizations
Use of social media
District 5040

14. Step 6: PR Tactics and Tools
What media outlets can you target?
Newspaper articles and ads
Business journals
Local TV/Radio ads and announcements
Billboards
Club and members social media
You Tube
Your website and newsletter
Community Blogs
District 5040

15. Step 7: Develop your PR Calendar
Your events and service projects for the year
World Polio Day October 24th
Rotary’s anniversary February 23rd
Transition of leadership
Rotarians at Work Day
Rotary Day
Sample PR Calendar
“Effective Public Relations – A Guide for Rotary Clubs’’ #257-EN
District 5040

16. BANG THE DRUM AND DON’T STOP
Public Relations Resources
FINALLY. The fifth action you can take is…START AND THEN DON’T STOP. Bang the drum. Keep up your efforts. Momentum matters.

17. Resources District, Zone and RI Resources
The Club Public Relations Committee Manual
Effective Public Relations: A Guide for Rotary Clubs
Rotary PR Tips newsletter
Rotary’s Brand and Media Centers
Tell Rotary’s Story: Voice and Visual Identity Guidelines
Some of this might seem a little daunting and some clubs might think “I understand the theory but now what?”.
The Club Public Relations Committee Manual. This manual provides each club with strategies to help promote local public relations efforts and can be easily downloaded on rotary.org
Learn more about Rotary's official presence on social networking sites at Did you know RI has Twitter accounts in multiple languages? Check out the recordings of past webinars.
Every Rotarian responsible for club or district public relations is encouraged to Sign up to receive Rotary PR Tips, a biweekly newsletter that offers innovative ideas and examples related to sharing the Rotary story.
Remember that the Rotary Public Image Coordinators (RPICs), can be a great resource. Consider inviting your Zone’s RPIC to a club meeting to help in developing you public relations efforts and share updates on Rotary International’s work.
RI advertising materials are on the new Brand center. Rotary’s Media Center is an area for the media to access information on Rotary. Check in on the RI website for updates regularly
District 5040

18. More than 12,000 people visited our Brand Center in just the first month following its launch after International Assembly in January 2014.
The center is open to anyone with a “My Rotary” account. On the center you can explore ways of telling your Rotary story in a compelling way…and more consistent with how everyone in Rotary is telling it.

19. OUR VOICE AND VISUAL IDENTITY
Download the guidelines
Create your own club logo
Use templates as a starting point
Use images to inspire your own photos
First.
Go to our Brand Center and begin by downloading our guidelines. They’ll help you tell your story with power and consistency.
Review the club promotional materials and use our templates as a starting point for your club brochures and fliers.
Look at the sample images and see how they might inspire you to create your own photos…images that reflect your club…your culture.
Download a “DOING GOOD” video for your website. Topics include Rotary’s six areas of focus: providing clean water…growing local economies…supporting education…fighting disease…saving mothers and children…and promoting peace. …Plus “This Close to ending polio.”

20. www.rotary.org/brandcenter WHAT YOU’LL FIND
In addition to logos, you can download our guidelines…and learn more about our voice and visual identity.
The Brand Center gives you access to…images…videos…and ”This Close” advertisements.
You can download templates for PowerPoint…letterhead…business cards…news releases…and club newsletters.
You can create a customizable club brochure and flyers.
And in the future it’ll offer you even more.
[CLICK TO BUILD SLIDE]
Find us in My Rotary. Or go directly to: Did I mention that already?

21. THE END RESULT = = =
1.2
million members delivering a consistent message
stronger brand
more members, donors, partners
greater impact
What do we aim to achieve? Our long-term success will be measured by the increased understanding of Rotary in our membership base and the general public.
We have baseline research data from research undertaken for the Strengthen Rotary initiative. Rotary may also choose to gauge progress through future surveys and focus groups.
BUT WE ALL MUST SPEAK AND LIVE ROTARY’S VOICE. We all need to be “on message”…to use the same language, voice, and kinds of stories when we talk about the Rotary experience.
The increased awareness and understanding of Rotary will have significant results to help us:
Increase membership and retention.
Increase impact in the communities served by Rotary.
Increase donor support to clubs, districts, and The Rotary Foundation.
Increase partnerships at the local and global levels to provide more funding, more relationships, and more expertise to the Rotary cause.
District 5040