Nurturing Our Retired Citizens		Replication Guide

PR Materials

Mission

Program Description

Several items were designed the public relations department of Jewish Family and Children’s Service to “brand” our project and give us an identity in the community. These items helped us talk about the mission and vision of the project. They include: a NORC logo, stationary, envelopes, brochure, note cards, banner, stickers and pens.

Community goals met

Educate residents and service providers about existing resources.

Program leadership

The PR department of Jewish Family and Children’s Service designed all of the PR pieces. The Steering Committee and the Senior Consumer Advisory Committee had input into each item including colors, layout, and font size.

Impact

The PR materials contributed to the success of the NORC program. The materials informed the community about NORC initiatives and encouraged seniors to take advantage of community activities and resources.

Planning Timeline  

• Since the Steering Committee only meets every 3 months, it is important to keep in mind the timeline of a particular project process to take best advantage of committee input.
• If you are using a photographer, allow a month or two for the photo shoots and the proofs to arrive.
• 6 weeks in advance, fill out the PR request of the sponsoring agency.
• When proofs are finished, share them with the committees for feedback.
• Send proof back to PR for additions and corrections.
• The editing process takes at least one week, so allow time for up to 5 people sign to off on the project.
• The PR department sends everything to the printer and turn around time is about one week.

PR Marketing & Dissemination

 This entire project is PR.

Process and Outcomes

 It is important to share the samples of each PR piece with the committee members because with each suggestion the project has been improved. For example: A sample was made of the brochure with photographs taken by a professional photographer. Each photo on the initial proof included photos of seniors. When the final changes were made to the proof it included seniors in activities that connect them to existing resources in the community, rather than just photos of seniors doing a variety of activities. This suggestion broadened the appeal of the brochure.

We also learned to be more generic with the PR materials, so the same materials could be used over a longer period of time and in more communities. All of the original materials included the name St. Louis Park NORC and we later changed everything to NORC so we could use the same materials in new communities.

These PR pieces were essential for communicating to the community.

Budget 

Summary

Branding our project was important to our success. People need to understand who you are and what you represent. Even though this process was time consuming, due to the amount of input we requested, it was valuable because it helped us to clarify our identity and mission.