Extraordinary PR, Ordinary Budget

A Strategy Guide

Jennifer R Farmer

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781626569935
• eBook ISBN: 9781626569959
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Advertising
• Index: Business

"A practical and detailed guide for building and nurturing relationships with the media . . . that will position your organization to make a lasting impact." —Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director, Advancement Project National Office

Public relations is a make-or-break factor for all organizations, especially those that are small or mission driven. While it can be tempting to think that PR is a luxury only larger organizations can afford, PR expert Jennifer R. Farmer shows how her CCRR framework—being credible, creative, responsive, and relentless—is the silver bullet for even cash-strapped organizations.

Farmer emphasizes that effective public relations is in fact an essential component of organizational development—people need to know about you for your organization to have maximum impact. Her CCRR framework leverages tools everyone has access to, from social media to brand transparency, and requires attentiveness more than money. Farmer shows you that, no matter how modest your budget, you can build a cost-effective communications strategy that will help you break through the noise in an information-overloaded world.

"Jennifer Farmer is one of the smartest and most talented communicators I know. She's passionate, knowledgeable, and relatable about her work." —Ari Berman, Contributing Writer, The Nation

"The noise in the public square is deafening. And yet, more than ever, the ability to penetrate that noise so that your story can be heard is critical to successfully contesting for power. Jennifer defines a way to think and steps to take to ensure your voice is heard. This book, filled with wisdom and practicality, is delivered with humor and passion." —Scott Reed, Executive Director, PICO National Network

INDEX

Abdullah, Khalil, 37

Advancement Project, x, 78

communications campaigns, 6, 20

core issues, 96

litigation, 34–35, 73

media conference calls, 6, 120

persons involved with, 6, 22, 58, 73, 78, 90

pitching stories and, 95, 96

publications, 96, 113, 120

school disciplinary policies and, 20–22, 25, 96, 120

voting rights, barriers to voting, and, 5, 6, 34–35

Allen, Kevin, 117–118

Alpha Dog story(ies)

challenging harmful, 10–11

communicating your, 8–13

overview, 9

Ambrogi, Drew, 45–46

American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), 4–5

Apologies, 130–132

Balogun, Jumoke, 142–143

Barber, William J., II, 47, 61–65, 77, 115, 143

Forward Together Moral Movement and, 7, 65, 143

Moral Monday protests and, 7, 8, 64f, 77, 78, 115, 143, 153n4

North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and, 76, 153n4

overview, 47

Belin, Marty, 51–52, 52f, 78

Belton, Danielle, 80, 118

Bennett, Bo, 66

Big, thinking, 40–41

Big-picture thinking, 41, 61

Blogging, 85

Bold, being, 42–43

Brown, Les, 41

Burnout, preventing, 141

Burns, Mark, 119

Bush, George W., 124

Butland, Dale, 12, 17–18

Byers, Dylan, 33

Call/pitch lists, weekly developing, 106–109

purpose of, 106

Card, Andrew, 124

Cave, Jeralyn, 71

CCRR framework, 86, 92, 94

Chan-Kent, Hilary, 118

Charlton, John, 87

Colburn, Bruce, xi

Coles, David, 37

Color of Change, 4, 5

Communications

acknowledging all, 55–56

for mission-driven organizations, 2–8

scope of the term, 1

and your seat at the table, 13–15

Communications team integrated in strategic discussions, 13

Communicators, 13–14, 19

Confidence Code, The (Kay and Shipman), 138

Contacting the media, 28–34

Cooke, Jessica Thomas, 118

Creativity, xiv–xv, 36–38, 97, 105, 113–114. See also specific topics

in action, 46–52

and challenging oneself to conceive, 38–40

in developing weekly call/pitch lists, 108–109

digital media and, 116–117

and implementation, 43–46

in organizing and facilitating engaging ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• One: The Case for Communications
• Two: Be Credible
• Three: Be Creative
• Four: Be Responsive
• Five: Be Relentless
• Six: Social Media on an Ordinary Budget
• Seven: PR Tactics on an Ordinary Budget
• Eight: Crisis Communications
• Conclusion: Leading in the Midst of Fear Using the Four Principles
• Acknowledgments
• Glossary
• Notes
• Index
• About the Author