At B2, we are quite specific on what types of clients we want to work with. To be a good candidate for successful public relations efforts, an organization must be interesting or important, either to defined target audiences or to the general public.
A client that’s a good example of being both interesting and important is the Yes on Greenlight campaign. We are the PR agency for the campaign, working on behalf of Friends of Greenlight, the pro-transit political action committee (PAC) for the Greenlight Pinellas referendum, which is on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The Greenlight Pinellas plan will dramatically improve mass transportation in the county by improving bus service and implementing a passenger rail system. The plan would make the county competitive with other major metro areas and would create a transit system that is functional, useful and accessible for all. It would also be the first step toward a regional light rail system for the Tampa Bay area.
Our work includes providing information to the news media about the plan, dispelling misinformation, presenting facts about the success of mass transit in other cities, and aligning our work with other aspects of the campaign.
Over the past 90 days, proactive media relations efforts have resulted in more than 100 positive stories in a wide variety of print, TV, radio and online outlets.
Examples of positive coverage include:
- Editorial endorsement in the Tampa Bay Times, along with favorable columns by Robert Trigaux, Dan Ruth, and John Romano, and strong day-to-day coverage.
- Editorial endorsement in the Tampa Tribune, coupled with a string of prominent stories in its news sections;
- Appearances on "Florida Matters" on WUSF-FM, "Radioactivity" on WMNF-FM, and “AM Tampa Bay” on WFLA-AM 970.
- Appearances on Bay News 9's "Political Connections" and "In Depth."
- Consistent positive coverage in the Tampa Bay Business Journal, SaintPetersblog and Creative Loafing’s “Political Animal”.
- Guest columns in such local publications as Old Northeast Journal, Weekly Challenger, Gulfport Gabber, Tampa Bay Newspapers and Suncoast News.
- Consistent coverage of campaign media events by all five local TV stations, along with the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune and Creative Loafing.
- Endorsement for the Greenlight Pinellas Plan from FOX 13’s John Wilson
That’s in addition to responding to as many as three to five media requests per day.
We also write content for the weekly e-mail newsletter, contribute to the VoteYesOnGreenlight.com website, co-manage the campaign’s social media, provide advice on marketing and advertising, and coordinate with the campaign’s leadership committee and marketing consultant.
Join us in moving Pinellas forward. Like Yes on Greenlight on Facebook, follow on Twitter, sign up for the newsletter or request a yard sign. And of course, vote yes on Nov. 4!