Before you launch the program, plan for distribution, promotion, and process evaluation. Make sure you also develop a launch plan, produce sufficient quantities of materials, and prepare your staff for the work ahead.
Program Launch
You may choose to launch your program quietly, starting activities on a limited basis in one geographic area or with just one partner to test the program. Using a limited approach will permit you to make
adjustments before you fully commit your resources. This can be particularly useful for a large-scale program or for programs using a new technique or involving a new intended audience. Or, you may choose to launch with a kickoff event.
Kickoff Event
A kickoff event can create broader awareness of the program and promote community involvement. Kickoff events are an excellent way to develop relationships with people who may be willing to get involved in the program. Scheduling an event also creates a deadline, which will help your program avoid unnecessary lag time or protracted preparations.
To begin with a kickoff event, you might: • Plan an event to celebrate the start of
the program.
• Tie the kickoff to newsworthy happenings, such as the Great American Smokeout, Talk About Prescriptions Month, or the announcement of the results of a major study.
• Tie into community events, such as sporting events, church activities, shopping mall promotions, or holiday happenings.
• Work with partner organizations to fund events that the intended audience already participates in and that have broad
media interest.
To enhance media coverage of your kickoff event:
• Create a news “hook” or angle that makes the event newsworthy
• Use a checklist to track preevent, event, and postevent activities. These may include room arrangements, speakers, expenditures, media kits, refreshments, transportation, equipment, and
follow-up actions.
• Inform the media of your event in a timely way. Ask about their schedules, if possible, to avoid holding an event that conflicts with other media activities. Conflicts might prevent you from getting media coverage. • Don’t forget to include specialized media,
such as community newspapers, cable TV stations, radio, health-related publications (the trade press), foreign-language publications or broadcast media, Internet “zines” and Web sites, and organization publications. These media may have a greater incentive to use your story than general newspapers or regular TV
stations, and they can ensure an audience at a press conference if the mainstream media don’t show up.
• Launch activities in multiple locales on the same date to make them
more newsworthy.
• Create media kits to facilitate accurate reporting of the issue.
• Invite spokespeople who support your program and who may attract
• Hold the event in a location that is connected to your message and involves members of the intended audience. This might be a youth center for a program aimed at teenagers, a grocery store for a program about nutrition, or a
neighborhood where screening will be offered. Make sure the location has sufficient space for the media and their equipment.
Holding a Press Conference
One effective kickoff event is holding a press conference. Your health communication program launch is unlikely to get much
LAUNCH CHECKLIST
• Are our partners prepared for the launch?
• Have we invited reviewers, gatekeepers, and others who have been involved in program development?
• Have we prepared (or trained, if necessary) our staff and spokespeople? • Are program-related services (e.g., a
hotline, screening facilities) in place? • Do we have a list of the media outlets
we need to contact? • Are all of our promotional
materials ready?
• Do we have enough materials to start the program (e.g., PSAs and media kits) and respond to inquiries (e.g., leaflets for the public)?
• Are reordering mechanisms in place? • Do we have mechanisms in place to
track our program’s progress and to identify potential problems? • Are health professionals and other
service providers in the community aware of our program and prepared to respond if their clients ask about it?
media attention if you just set up a press conference. News media have many opportunities to attend events and at the same time are finding it easier to get information electronically. This means that you must stand out to attract media to your event. Tying the program’s launch to
important health news can help. Such news could include announcing the results of a recent health study, releasing new statistics on your topic, or announcing the start of a comprehensive or multiorganization health program of which your program is a part. Even more attractive is announcing such news plus having representatives of the intended audience or other individuals tell compelling personal stories.
The following are tips for planning and conducting a successful press conference.
Invitations
Be realistic about the media you invite. Local press people and those with whom you already have a relationship are more likely to attend than representatives from national newspapers or TV stations. Don’t forget the health-related trade press, which often needs news and will help bolster attendance. Give reporters three to four days’ notice. If yours is a major story, call wire services to have the event put on their daybooks. Remind the staff person
responsible for contacting the media to call reporters the day before the event to pitch its importance.
Speakers
Decide who will announce which aspects of your news. In general, select people for their recognizable names. If they are not familiar with your program, you can brief them, provide materials, and have knowledgeable people on hand to answer questions your main speakers cannot. Don’t overlook the opportunity for personal testimony by
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patients, physicians, and family members. You may want to pretape their statements at their homes or in the hospital (you will usually need a written release from patients). Remember that all speakers, including patients, will need to be available during the day of the press conference to answer press inquiries and be interviewed.
Timing
The conventional wisdom is to hold press conferences between Tuesday mid-morning and Thursday afternoon. However, it is important to know the schedule of the media you’ve invited. Reporters from afternoon newspapers have morning deadlines and may not be able to attend a late morning or early afternoon conference. Try to limit your press conference to 15 minutes or less, including plenty of time for questions.
Emphasize to speakers the need to keep their remarks short and simple, to avoid scientific jargon, and to focus on the action you want your intended audience to take.
Logistics
Assign a staff person to arrange a suitable room and any equipment you may need, including a “mult box” that allows the media to connect their equipment to the public address system for better sound quality. The staff person should also arrange for parking, tell people where to park, and put up signs to help reporters find your room. You should also plan to have another person who has media experience on hand to distribute media kits, show media representatives where they can set up their equipment, answer questions, and point out who is available for follow-up interviews.
Media Kits
At a minimum, include: • A press conference agenda • A press release
• Local, state, and national statistics about your issue
• Background information • Biographies of your speakers
• Reproducible copies of charts or graphs used in your speakers’ presentations • Copies of other program materials
or reports
• Name and telephone number of someone who can be called to answer questions or verify information
To increase the usefulness of your kit to television reporters, include broadcast- quality stock video (B-roll). If you have invited non-English-language media
representatives to attend, provide materials in their language (have the materials prepared and reviewed by people fluent in the language).
Follow Up
Deliver your new release or press kit in person to key reporters who didn’t attend the press conference. Explain why your news is important.
Maximizing Media Coverage of Your Program
To maximize media coverage, be sure to: • Know what different publications, stations,
and shows typically cover, and which staff, editors, and reporters are responsible for what. Giving your story to the right outlets and the right people shows your
understanding of their work and can improve the likelihood of coverage.
• Understand your media market. Some media, such as those in the Washington, DC, area, see themselves as providers of regional or national rather than local coverage, which makes it more difficult for local stories and issues to receive
attention. In similar situations, pitch your story with a regional or national slant to increase the possibility of coverage. • Respond quickly to requests for
information. If you are able to give
answers or statements within an hour of a request, media outlets will continue to call. • Provide information the media can use. • Be honest about your issue, your
organization, what you know, what you can do for the media, and what you want from them. If you don’t know the answer to a question they ask, tell them so and offer to get the answer quickly.
• Work personally with the media to help them understand your issue; just sending them news releases or PSAs is much less effective. Provide background information so that when a story breaks they have accurate facts on hand.
• Ask for something the media can give besides coverage. For instance, they may be able to provide data about their audience to help you decide which media to use, or help produce broadcast segments or PSAs, or cosponsor
an event.