The ARRL has two Public Relations (PR) thrusts for 2007. The first one concerns ARES and Public Relations. ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, said, "We lose many good media opportunities because ARES operations are not being covered by Public Information Officers (PIO). Far too often, anything provided to media about ARES activities in a crisis is not shared until long after the event, if at all. To correct this, encouragement is being given for PIOs not only to be media active during any ARES deployment, but also for Section Managers to appoint specific PIOs whose singular job is to work with the ARES Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) to talk with media during a crisis."
The second thrust of the PR campaign is the 2007 EmComm Campaign. There was a short delay on this campaign, due to the FCC eliminating the Morse code license requirement. Pitts and the ARRL Public Relations Committee immediately launched the "30 Day Code Blitz" with custom made audio Public Service Announcements and news releases (including a wire release); many interviews were given for radio and newspapers, and special materials were sent to PIOs and clubs for publication. Most of these materials pointed the public to the new PR Web page, which saw a spike of more than 857,000 hits in February alone.
Pitts said after the "code blitz," the planned implementation of the 2007 EmComm campaign got underway. A collection of integrated PR materials was created and provided for PIOs and others to promote Amateur Radio's EmComm capabilities. "The value of the materials is presenting the non-ham with the benefits of Amateur Radio in providing communications for themselves and their families in a crisis," Pitts said.
The EmComm campaign materials include:
• The 2007 EmComm brochure, Getting the Message Through.
• The 2007 edition of the Swiss Army Knife for PIOs reference CD.
• A Web site, www.emergency-radio.org, based on emergency communications.
• Katrina - The Untold Story, a 5 minute DVD about hams providing assistance during and after Hurricane Katrina.
• A 30 second audio PSA.
• A 30 second video PSA.
• Talk on a Disk CD.
The 2007 EmComm brochure was partially made possible by a $15,000 donation from Dayton Amateur Radio Association. Pitts said that the brochure has proved so successful that the initial printing of 100,000 copies was quickly used, and a second (unexpected) printing of an additional 60,000 copies was needed prior to Field Day in June. A third printing may even be needed before the end of the year. ARRL PR Committee Chairman Sherri Brower, W4STB, said, "These professional-looking brochures are even more popular with representatives of our served agencies than last year's Hello brochure. It gives a favorable and professional image to our Emergency Communications via Amateur Radio and says the only thing amateur is our name."
The Swiss Army Knife CD for PIOs remains a highly desired reference. It provides basic computerized files and information, how-to hints and quick references for PIOs.
Richard Lubash, N1VXW, produced the 5 minute video Katrina - The Untold Story. "With his permission, we edited down the dramatic opening sequence, added in enhanced sound and created an excellent 30 second PSA. This video has shown great acceptance by television stations and has been aired thousands of times already in 2007," said Pitts. In addition, Kevin O'Dell, N0IRW, completed Hello - The Movie, a 5 minute general video introduction to Amateur Radio. Unlike Amateur Radio Today, both of these videos can be broadcast.
The newest item in the ARRL PR arsenal is Talk on a Disk, created as a suite of presentation materials keyed to go with the EmComm brochure. Designed to be used in live speaking presentations to groups, Pitts said it gives the potential speaker all they need to do a first class presentation on Amateur Radio and EmComm work. "The Talk on a Disk was definitely the hot item in the PR booth at Dayton Hamvention®," according to Jim McDonald, KB9LEI, one of the booth volunteers. "We spent maybe three or four minutes explaining the concept to folks and their eyes lit up. Many told us it was something they had wished for to help them do presentations."
North Carolina Section Public Information Coordinator Bill Morine, N2COP, commented: "We used both the EmComm brochure and the new EmComm Web site as tools to show North Carolina legislators the benefits of Amateur Radio in emergency situations. This approach helped with the unanimous passage of a PRB-1 type antenna bill in the North Carolina General Assembly which became law June 29 this year."
Information on how to order PR materials can be found at the ARRLs PIO Web site.
