Will Rogers State Historic Park - California State Dept. of Parks & Recreation
“Welcome Back to the Ranch”
One-day Event and Media Relations
March 25, 2006
OBJECTIVES
To put Will Rogers State Historic Park back in the “limelight” and to attract a new generation of visitors to the 62-year-old property in Pacific Palisades.
To generate a minimum of one pre-event media story promoting the event and to have at least two media outlets cover the event in person.
To have the Governor of California (Arnold Schwarzenegger) attend, as well as other key elected officials at the local and state level.
To have at least three members of the Rogers family attend.
To generate ongoing media coverage of the event and the property across Southern California.
To re-establish contacts with key elected officials and community leaders.
To generate attendance at the event of at least 2,000 people.
STRATEGY
Work closely with California State Parks staff to develop consistent and frequent messages to emphasize recent capital projects to restore the facilities, and to create an appropriate venue for the Rogers collection of Western and Native American art.
Create a “quick-strike” media contact effort, utilizing the Rogers family, key State Parks staffers and other organizations, such as the Will Rogers Cooperative Association, to generate interest in and awareness of this 186-acre jewel, set in the Southern California megalopolis.
Capitalize on the historic Hollywood connection of Will Rogers and his contemporaries, as well as current entertainment personalities, such as Dennis Quaid, who regularly use the park for riding and other recreational activities.
Coordinate local efforts with those of people in Oklahoma who manage and promote the Will Rogers Birthplace Memorial to build additional media contacts outside Southern California.
IMPLEMENTATION/TACTICS
Distribute a statewide news announcement of the event and personally contact key media representatives who have demonstrated interest in the subject.
Capitalize on Killeen Furtney Group’s longstanding relationships within the Southern California media market and identify likely candidates in print and broadcast outlets, to overcome very tight (less than 60-day) timetable.
Offer Will Rogers State Historic Park curatorial staff and recognized historians who have written about the Will Rogers legend as subjects for media coverage.
Follow news release distribution with frequent email and phone contact to insure that the timely aspects of the event and its activities are consistently projected to the media.
Provide information on the event for free calendar listings in all media.
Insure that such media “monitors” as the Associated Press feature the event in their daybook listings.
Encourage the media to cover pre-event activities, such as the book-signing in a Pacific Palisades bookstore by a noted Will Rogers biographer the night prior to the event.
Touch bases with all key media who have indicated they will cover the event, to insure that they have all information regarding their physical arrangements and security requirements.
EVALUATION / RESULTS
Media placement and appearances:
KCAL-TV (KCBS-TV) – pre-event feature with Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry
KNBC-TV – pre-event feature by Cary Berglund
KTLA-TV – pre-event feature with Dennis Quaid (by Sam Rubin)
KNX radio – pre-event feature by Diane Thompson
Los Angeles Times – pre-event feature by Martha Groves
Pacific Palisades Palisadian-Post – pre-event feature by Libby Motika
KNBC-TV – event coverage
KABC-TV – event coverage
KCAL-TV – event coverage
KNX radio – event coverage
Los Angeles Times – event coverage
Palisadian-Post – event coverage
Various Western publications (e.g. American Cowboy) – event coverage
Gov. Schwarzenegger, Maria and children attended
L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, Santa Monica City Councilman Bobby Shriver and many other officials attended, too
Attendance for the event exceeded 3,000
AWARDS/HONORS
Killeen Furtney Group and its clients, California State Parks and Will Rogers Cooperative Association received the Public Relations Society of America, Los Angeles Chapter’s 2006 PRism award (top award) for One-time Media or Special Event (Non-Profit) with a budget of less than $25,000.