y
a
d
s
e
u
T
g
n
i
#Giv
FOR
PUBLIC, PRESS
E
TH
H
IT
W
T
EN
EM
G
GA
N
HOW TO MAXIMIZE EN
GTUESDAY CAMPAIG
IN
IV
G
#
R
U
O
Y
H
IT
W
AND INFLUENCERS
If you’re reading this, you most likely already know about #GivingTuesday and
how it has made year-end giving so good—and better each year by leaps and
bounds. The beauty of this inclusive campaign is that it has no boundaries, and
even as it grows more massive, it remains easy to make it your own.
While many understand how to leverage #GivingTuesday and its tools to raise
funds and participation for the causes nearest to their hearts, fewer know how
to raise awareness of their campaigns with the media and local influencers.
That’s where this booklet comes in.
So, how to use earned media (aka “free” media) to make your campaign stand
out in the crush of #GivingTuesday campaigns? And in this evolving media
landscape, what’s the best way to approach the press? To intrigue them? Are
press releases even still a thing? Another unknown: How best to rally support
through social media? And how to use both earned and social media to get an
entire community talking, working together, donating, giving back and feeling
great about it?
I’m the CEO of a PR agency associated with #GivingTuesday since it was just a
good idea, and I’m intimately involved with a variety of organizations that are
part of #GivingTuesday. I’m also a longtime trendspotter obsessed with taking
a hyperlocal approach to cause campaigns.
Want to ignite your #GivingTuesday campaign in the media this year? I have a
few ideas for you.
Marian Salzman, CEO, Havas PR
3
The Making of
a Global Movement
T
he holiday season is a time when giving is top of mind for most of us. It
was against the backdrop of the hangover of the collective overspending
in the 2000s that #GivingTuesday was conceived by New York’s 92nd
Street Y with the partnership of the United Nations Foundation. The idea they
had in mind when launching the internet initiative was deliciously simple and
uniquely appealing.
Our national day of
thanksgiving is immediately
followed by two days of stuffgetting: the rampant frenzy
of consumer hand-to-hand
combat known as Black Friday,
which has spilled over to Cyber
Monday. The splurge and
binge of those days created
the perfect conditions for a
change of pace. We needed
a dedicated day of giving,
this time not just our heartfelt
thanks but also something
more tangible. #GivingTuesday,
the Tuesday after Thanksgiving,
arrived at the moment many of
us were feeling overly stuffed,
fatigued and searching for something more than turkeyed-out shoppers teed
up for the latest conspicuously consumptive items.
At launch in 2012, #GivingTuesday brought together 2,500-plus organizations
and people from all 50 U.S. states. (By 2015, the movement was represented
by partners in 71 countries.) Partners range from individuals to large
4
The Making of a Global Movement
corporations and religious
groups, from Microsoft, which
raised more than $1 million
for youth-serving nonprofits
worldwide in the first two
years of the initiative, to the
United Methodist Church,
which raised $6.5 million one
year for its global ministries
and offered $1 million in
matching funds the next year
in hopes of raising $8 million.
In honor of Twitter’s 10th
birthday, The Washington
Post lauded #GivingTuesday
as one of the top 10 hashtags
that changed the way we talk
about social issues. The newspaper reported that the social initiative, which
generated $10.1 million in donations in its first year, has amassed 3.1 million
#GivingTuesday hashtag uses since then. In its fourth year, #GivingTuesday
raised $116.7 million.
Without the use of print ads or commercials, this grassroots effort has
transformed into a global movement, sustained almost entirely through
earned and social media—one press release, article, blog post, hashtag, “like,”
tweet and #UNselfie at a time—completely saturating the media landscape
during the giving season each year.
Since its creation, our agency has collaborated each year with 92Y and a
group of top PR agencies around the country and the world as part of a
unique communications corps supporting public relations and social media
efforts around the movement. In 2015, Havas PR was proud to lead media
relations in the U.S. for the first time.
5
Why We Are
Compelled to Give
T
he #GivingTuesday initiative is even more relevant with today’s sharing
economy and collective mindset: Ownership is out (Spotify rather than
an iTunes library) and sharing is in (Uber, Airbnb). Constant acquisition
just doesn’t feel right anymore.
The good news: We have become a more generous society not only because
recent financial events spurred us (scared us?) to act together, but also
because generosity feels good. The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof wrote in
an op-ed several years ago about why giving is the nicest thing we can do for
ourselves, citing research that found that when study participants were told
to think about giving money to charity, the parts of the brain associated with
eating and sex were engaged. So giving is scientifically proven to be as good
as (or better than) food and sex. That’s not exactly a tough sell.
Givers are happier than non-givers. And happy people can help spread good
giving news.
• People who give money to charity are 43 percent more likely than nongivers to say they are “very happy” about their lives. Volunteers are 42
percent more likely to be very happy than non-volunteers. (Source: Social
Capital Community Benchmark Survey)
• People who give money are 34 percent less likely than non-givers to
say they feel “so sad that nothing could cheer them up.” They are also
68 percent less likely to feel “hopeless” and 24 percent less likely to say
“everything is an effort.” (Source: University of Michigan Panel Study of
Income Dynamics)
• The happiness difference between givers and non-givers is not due to
differences in personal characteristics, income or religion. Imagine two
people identical in terms of income, faith, age, education, politics, gender
and family circumstances, but one is a donor and volunteers and the other
doesn’t. The giver will be, on average, 11 percentage points more likely to be
6
Why We Are Compelled to Give
very happy than the non-giver. (Source: University of Michigan Panel Study
of Income Dynamics)
Chicken, meet egg: It might not be that giving increases our happiness, but
that our happiness increases the likelihood that we will give. Everyone prefers
to give more when they are happy, and giving has a strong, positive causal
impact on our happiness.
People get happy and have higher life satisfaction with many informal and
nontraditional types of charity, like giving money to a homeless person on the
street or giving directions to a stranger. They can also get happy joining local
causes by broadcasting, sharing and liking news of a fundraising or volunteer
opportunity.
ACTION STEP
Consider ways
in which your
organization
can make giving
more enjoyable
for contributors.
Consider where
you might find the
happiest people in
your community.
7
It’s a Big American
Giving Marketplace
W
ithout charities and nonprofits, the U.S. would simply not be able
to operate:
• Total giving to charitable organizations in 2015 was more than $373 billion
(a 4.1 percent increase from 2014). This accounted for 2.1 percent of our
gross domestic product.
• The majority came from individuals—roughly $268 billion (71 percent).
• Foundations gave $57.19 billion (up 6.5 percent) and corporations donated
$18.46 billion (up 3.9 percent).
• Five types of charities (most of which feel personal) have reached or
surpassed all-time high giving levels since the recession ended in 2009.
• Sixty-three percent of high-net worth donors cite “giving back to the
community” as a chief motivation for giving.
(Source: National Philanthropic Trust)
8
It’s a Big American Giving Marketplace
THE COMPETITIVE GIVING ENVIRONMENT
• In May 2015, there were approximately 1,521,052 charitable organizations
in the United States. Additionally, there are an estimated 316,532
congregations in the United States in May 2015.
• In 2013, 100 of the largest charities reported receiving 13 percent more in
online donations, and 25 of these charities collected more than $10 million
each in 2013 from online gifts.
• In 2013, online giving grew by 13.5 percent, while overall charitable giving
grew by 4.9 percent. Of all the charitable giving in 2013, online giving
accounted for 6.4 percent.
• Small nonprofits grew their online giving the most.
• Faith-based nonprofits had the biggest increase in online giving.
(Source: National Philanthropic Trust)
ACTION STEP
Determine what makes your
organization or congregation
different than all the others. This
may require some considerable
brainstorming, but once you
find a description that is both
unique and authentic, use it
in all your communications
to distinguish your charity’s
“brand” and to tell its story.
9
How to Grow Support
for Your Campaign
P
ublic engagement is any process that brings people together to address
issues of importance, solve problems and bring about positive social
change. For public engagement to be effective, it needs to invite
everyday folks to engage in discourse, dialogue, debate and (most important)
action on issues they really care about. It is vital for a PR campaign, program
or rollout to be successful. But every campaign also needs to include personal
engagement, since the shift from “I know about this” to “I believe in this” to “I
am a part of this” is the shift that makes all the difference in the world.
So, what’s the best way to personally engage the media and the public?
Go hyperlocal.
That’s what these organizations did, and look what happened:
Pittsburgh Charities, Nonprofits Take
Part In National #GivingTuesday Effort
Help Philly’s LGBT Community on #GivingTuesday
#GIVINGTUESDAY: WORLDWIDE, AND IN
R.I., SEASON TO PAY IT FORWARD BEGINS
#GivingTuesday: Why giving is an expression of faith
THE TRUE BEAUTY OF
CANADA? GIVING.
MIAMI DOLPHINS RAISE MONEY FOR CANCER RESEARCH
Donations pour into Maryland nonprofits on #GivingTuesday
10
Hyperlocal: A Buzzword
and a Winning Strategy
H
ome is where the heart is: As the two largest beneficiaries of giving are
religious organizations, mostly local and education (again, the ultimate in
local and intimate), let’s assume that most people are giving to support
the values we nurture at and in home—or in very specific communities or
geographical areas.
“Plans to build a supermarket on a field near your village, a burst
water main at the end of your road, a new childcare initiative at your
local school ... they may not be the most exciting things to read
about, but they have a good chance of attracting your attention
because, unlike a stock market crash, political scandal or natural
disaster across the other side of the globe, they have a direct effect
on you and your immediate surroundings.” —from the description of
“hyperlocal,” a Macmillan Dictionary BuzzWord
“While newspapers have been decimated by the economics
transforming today’s media industry, websites that report news and
deliver other content at the neighborhood, or hyperlocal, level, are
bursting with life, with many of them becoming sought-after targets
by big media and big tech companies.” —The Deal
ACTION STEP
Identify three to four of the most powerful hyperlocal news
sources in your community and figure out how to chat each one
up, to ensure that they share your passion for the cause, your
giving program and a #GivingTuesday action plan.
11
Hometown News Activates
Donors and Fuels Giving
H
yperlocal journalism focuses on a very specific, local area (like a suburb
or group of streets). Unlike mainstream media, hyperlocal news covers
topics of more restricted interest, such as street repairs, new shop
openings or health inspection results for a nearby restaurant. Websites for
such outlets are sometimes described as “place blogs” and can double as an
information service, giving local shops and businesses a cheap and effective
advertising platform.
They often employ a small number of professionals, relying mainly on
content provided by readers (citizen journalists). With the increased use of
digital media devices (cameras, mobile phones, handheld computers) and
information-sharing (blog posts, social networking, etc.), more news is being
reported by ordinary people on the scene than by professional reporters.
Considering the consumer’s interest in hyperlocal causes (think intimate)
and hyperlocal news (think relevant) and the demand for user-generated
content and citizen journalism, it becomes clear that the best way to rustle
up awareness of a #GivingTuesday campaign is one local newsletter or blog
or Facebook® page at a time. (And sometimes it’s about U2Me, Mom2Mom,
Parent2Parent, Neighbor2Neighbor … the operative element is “2”.)
All of the advice that follows in this booklet is geared toward taking a more
personal approach to pitching, engaging and interacting with people.
ACTION STEP
What is your strategy for generating content that hyperlocal
websites can use? Do you know which citizens you can tap to
maximize the number of legs of your stories?
12
Make #GivingTuesday
Work for You
F
rom day one, #GivingTuesday was created on the theory of open-source
philanthropy and designed to be nonbranded, making it ownable and
adaptable. This makes it easy for your organization to own and engage
with, to personalize and run with. #GivingTuesday demonstrates that creativity
can be a bottom-up movement—and that the most powerful movements can
happen when you hand them over to the people.
#GivingTuesday makes partnering easy, providing partners with the tools
they need to join in the movement. It also makes executing and amplifying
campaigns easy, supplying its partners with free online toolkits that include
key messages, sample outreach emails and social media posts, press release
templates and communications timelines.
Finally, it provides individual attention and assistance to partners on a need basis
to support their cause and streamline their participation process. And it allows
opportunities for organizations to piggyback on its global and national mediarelations efforts and to participate in its social channels. For instance, there’s a
standing invitation for partners to submit ideas, quotes and videos about giving
to be featured on the #GivingTuesday Pinterest and YouTube pages.
And if you send #GivingTuesday your stories, it may be able to feature them
in its press releases. For other ways your organization can participate in the
larger movement, please email [email protected].
13
Use the Tools You’re Given
B
efore we tell you how to pitch the media and find and approach local
influencers (the hard part), we want to tell you about the easy part,
which is looking into your #GivingTuesday toolbox and being pleasantly
surprised by all that’s already there. See, with this movement, there is no such
thing as starting from square one; you’re probably already several steps ahead
of where you think you are. That’s because #GivingTuesday provides you with
all the tools you need to make those pitches look sharp and sound smart.
For PR purposes, #GivingTuesday updates its Communications Toolkit each
year for partners. Find it now at www.givingtuesday.org/tools. Thank us later.
The toolkit includes:
• #GivingTuesday mega messages
• Ideas to get involved
• Social media tips
• Sample outreach email
• Communications timeline
• Press release template
• Case studies of successful
campaigns
• Campaign ideas and examples (for
cities, nonprofits, schools, religious
organizations and families)
And there’s a hashtag in the movement’s name for a reason. At GivingTuesday.org,
you will also find a Social Media Toolkit with sample tweets and sample posts
for Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Plus, there are logos, graphics and
videos you can use on your social channels.
ACTION STEP
Take 10 minutes to review all of the ideas and resources available
to you at GivingTuesday.org/tools and plan to take advantage of
as many that will make sense for your campaign.
14
How to Pitch: A Primer
W
hile just about everything in the communications business has
changed in the past few decades, years, hours, one relic of the old
guard has seemed to hang
on well beyond its expiration date.
Or should we say sell-by date, since
the press release is an old-fashioned
sales tool that made a lot of sense
when we weren’t all so constantly
distracted and accustomed to grazing
on bits and bytes of information
throughout the day.
Now you need to be able to sell
brands and ideas in 140 characters,
including the pithy #tellstories
hashtag. Industry watchers have been
discussing the demise of the press
release for a while now. More than
two years ago, PR consultant and
writer Michelle Garrett made a case on Ragan’s PR Daily for the PR stalwart,
writing that she works with editors who actually request releases from her
clients. She adds that releases provide content for social media platforms and
that if PR pros include the right keywords and distribute the releases on wire
services, it helps brands or products land higher in search results.
But the editors and reporters who have held onto jobs are stretched thinner
than ever. No one has time to read multiple paragraphs of a widely distributed
missive to figure out which bits are relevant to them.
In a rant on his blog, TechCrunch Editor at Large Mike Butcher spoke for all
the journalists who feel bombarded by verbose, irrelevant press releases.
“‘Press releases’ are written in the way a PR’s client would write a news story,”
he complained. “They are usually pretty rambling and designed to please the
client (read: stroke their ego) rather than assist the journalist to get shit done,
and fast. So, I think the press release format is DEAD.”
15
How to Pitch: A Primer
Instead, wrote Butcher, publicists need to research who journalists are and
what they really write about, make sure their “news” is indeed new, write email
subject lines like headlines, and always remember that their main job should
be to help the journalist.
Is it any wonder there are so many stories out there about alternatives to oldfashioned press releases? Mashable’s top four:
1.
Leveraging new social media tools such as posting short videos on
your Facebook page
2.
Using Snapchat to reach your community of followers by posting
real-time content with an insider and authentic POV
3.
Using a blog where you can be more casual than the “official news”
voice that’s typical of press releases and contains more personal
information curated by Brand You
4.
Cultivating deep relationships with reporters and bloggers who can
tell your story—quite possibly better than you, as they have some
outsider perspective
In the land of hip and trendy, figuring out how to highjack the sexiest social
tool as virtual megaphone is the name of the game. The same goes for giving
reporters the flush of being insiders when they receive that message through
a channel that’s not quite open to, or at least familiar to, the general public.
Pitching coach Michael Smart set the bar pretty high on that one in a recent
webinar. Among the highlights: “Do something stupendously cool that’s way
more interesting than simply telling the story of their product or service” and
“Employ savvy media relations people who become the brand in the eyes of
key influencers” so that harried journalists have a voice they can rely on.
16
Catering to Individuals
Y
ou do it. I do it. We’ve all done it. And if you haven’t done it yet, you
will. Whether it’s Googling an ex or a potential client or the person who
is about to interview you for your next big gig, it’s easier than ever to
get real-time intel on just about anyone these days. So it’s not surprising
that personalized pitches are more important than ever when dealing with
journalists who expect you to know what they need, want and like. We’ve all
become detectives of sorts in this super-snoopy age, from looking up Yelp
reviews so that we know what to order for dinner at the newest hot spot to
reading up on what car to buy or what person to date. In the same way, PR
practitioners can now learn a great deal about the editors and producers
they’re pitching. As a result, they have a greater opportunity to personalize
pitches—and higher expectations from journalists that they will do so.
Here are some ways to get up close and personal with those who matter most:
Be a connector. It’s important to not only build relationships with a cadre of
writers but also to act as the connective tissue to help them in other venues.
A tale from the Havas PR front: A colleague of ours stayed in touch with a
reporter she met at an event and
continued to track him when he went
to another publication with ties to
our industry. When she was in New
York visiting, she took the reporter
out for coffee and found out he was
interested in the data/tech space. We
were able to connect him with some
influencers in his field. Needless to
say, he always takes our pitches now.
Tap in. Tap in to social media and
see which of the reporters you’re
interested in tweet and post
regularly. Then be sure to read those
tweets and posts. It’s a great way
17
Catering to Individuals
to get a sense of who they are, what inspires them and what they care about
most.
Talk the talk. There is nothing more embarrassing than calling up a reporter
to follow up on an email pitch and then choking on the conversation. Know
the reporter. Know their content. Most important, know what you are pitching.
Even if the reporter isn’t interested
in pursuing coverage on your cause
campaign, you will have at least made a
good impression.
Take your time. Pitching is not always
about instant gratification, even though
with the nature of our work that is
sometimes necessary. It might take a
while, but getting to know reporters
and producers and their beats could
ultimately lead to an organic, mutually
beneficial relationship. Someone on our
team, for example, pitched a producer
at CNN with a special report on the
world economy by our client The Economist. Although the producer wasn’t
interested in covering that particular report, she had a good conversation
with us about opportunities for The Economist in the future. Armed with new
knowledge about the structure of the show and topics typically covered, our
team member continued pitching over the next several months. Now, when
the producer is coordinating a segment, she’ll email the team member to see
if she can facilitate an interview with an Economist editor.
Know when to knock. Do your research so that you know who’s home and
when. If you’re pitching TV, for instance, know when planning meetings and
time-on-air is happening, because no one will answer the door.
Blasters, beware. Do not blast pitches. It’s impersonal, and you’ll be showing
your rookie skin to the wrong people. Targeted pitches to parties of 10 are
better than big blasts to 10,000. The name of the game is, once again, all
about research to reach the right people.
18
How to Transform a
Big City into Hundreds of
Hyperlocal Communities
L
et’s start with the Big Apple. Sure, there is The New York Times, the Post
and Daily News, but New Yorkers live in Rockaway and Bensonhurst,
Riverdale and the LES, Jackson Heights and Forrest Hills—and each
neighborhood has its own influencers, citizen journalists and even hyperlocal
news outlets.
The Boston area includes three states, plus in-town neighborhoods, from Charlestown,
Newton, Natick and Marblehead to Framington, Foxborough and Franklin.
Oakland will be Oakland—also, with some luck, the morning shows in San
Francisco (but we probably wouldn’t land coverage in the papers in Palo Alto,
Petaluma or San Jose, even if the San Jose Mercury News is a dream scenario
for most clients/projects/programs).
19
How to Transform a Big City into
Hundreds of Hyperlocal Communities
ACTION STEP
Create your own map of the key influencers in your community.
Who are the 100 who naturally lead to the creation of a
1,000-person movement?
• Start with 10 local organizations and list five leads from each to support
your charitable ask.
• Add five job titles in your hyperlocal neighborhood and plug in five of
each, from fitness instructor to waiter to school administrator.
• Add the five most connected people you know in the media world, five
more in civic leadership, five in the world of local giving and five who will
sign on because YOU are the one asking.
• This list of 100 should become an email list—and, more important, should
be your go-to organizational list.
How to Socialize Your Hyperlocal Influencers
• Develop an influencer list and distribute a “big mouth” email; follow up to
make sure there’s buzz.
• Electronically arm your influencers—those big mouths—with material they
can read, share, post.
• Line up a local media partner (best case: a newspaper with a
corresponding digital presence; next-best case, but still fine: a wellrespected citizen journalist who will commit to extended coverage).
• Make plans to amplify at each stage of this process: announcing your
program, rolling out the details to sign up participants (leading up to
#GivingTuesday and delivery day) and reporting on your success (with
whom are your announcements and calls to action being shared?).
• Get lists as early as possible: socialized influencers now known as big mouths,
traditional media, dignitaries, in-market social media mavens (be sure to keep
separate lists so that you send the right ask to the right people).
• Know who gets each piece of coverage to amplify it.
20
A Sample PR Plan
Use this timeline as a guide to build
your marketing plan:
• October 29: One month to go!
AUGUST
NOVEMBER
• August 1: Four months to go!
• November 15: Two weeks
Ramp up social campaign.
Figure out your organization’s
unique and authentic story and put
it into words you can use again and
again in your communications.
to go! Promote any events
taking place and engage local
community members to attend
through aggressive short lead
media outreach.
• August 8: Finalize your media
contact list (don’t forget to include
hyperlocal websites and bloggers).
• November 22: One week left to
go! Reinforce messaging and
encourage last-minute program
participation by ramping up social
media activity.
• August 15: If you haven’t already
done so, distribute a concise
press release with initial plans,
partner highlights and past years’
successes, if applicable.
• Monday, November 28: One day
before #GivingTuesday: Now is
the time to do one last media
and social push. Call local TV
stations and newspapers; tap
the community to help spread the
word. Option to post an hourly
countdown to keep your
audience engaged.
SEPTEMBER
• September 12: Finalize your
influencer list, making sure to
include social media influencers.
Study influencers’ websites and
social channels to get to know their
likes, dislikes and interests.
• September 19: Customize pitches
• #GivingTuesday: Today is the big
to local press and influencers
and distribute a fall launch press
release with updates, planned
events and goals.
day! Celebrate donations received
and thank donors on social media
when possible. Keep momentum
by sharing media coverage and
campaign news.
OCTOBER
• October 10: Generate and submit
• November 30, 2016: Create
op-ed pieces or other content (an
infographic, a video, etc.) to local press
and blogs on the power of giving.
report of results and impactful
giving stories. Develop a wrap-up
press release.
21
Questions About
Public Relations Around
#GivingTuesday?
Contact:
[email protected]
646-361-1837
New York. Tucson. The Cloud.
22
200 Madison Ave., 9th Floor
New York, NY 10016
us.havaspr.com
Marian Salzman, CEO
E: [email protected]
C: 646-361-1837