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Those who follow National Park Issues probably have sensed that certain messages keep getting repeated over and over. Those who follow these issues probably suspect that the messages are, in fact, carefully framed propaganda but may not have any way of confirming their suspicions.
Yesterday I listened to yesterday's Steven Pearce's National Park Visitation Congressional Hearing / Work Goup and heard a repulsive cabal of recreation / toursim cronies conspiring with members of Congress to advance a very particular industrial strength tourism agenda.
Like those within the cabal, I knew the actual source of those propaganda messages.
You see, years ago, I stumbled upon the Olgilvy Message Project for the National
Park Service. Pasted below is how I shared what I'd discoverd with the Wild
Wilderness in 2002.
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Silver" <
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To: "Scott Silver" <
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Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 8:48 AM
Subject: "The Message Project" and "Launching the National Parks Pass"
This morning, numerous Florida newspapers are featuring an AP article that begins ....
Orlando Tourism Officials Urge Federal Money For Advertising ORLANDO -
Orlando's top tourism officials on Monday urged U.S. Commerce Secretary
Don Evans to spend federal money on marketing the United States as a
destination for international tourists.
http://tampatrib.com/Business/MGA7PRW4H6D.html
--
But there is a more interesting, more important and directly related
story that no newspaper has yet reported. It is the story of the
Federal Government's two year old PR-campaign called: "The Message
Project."
The Message Project has been using your tax dollars to market, brand
and eventually sell access to, America's National Park system. You
might think of this project as being in direct competition for the tax
dollars just requested by "Orlando's top tourism officials."
Pasted immediately below is an introduction to "The Message Project"
and following that is a related web page (from the same company) about
how your tax dollars are already being used to market, brand and sell
National Park Passes. It is titled: "Launching the National Parks Pass."
These two web pages are true eye openers. It's unfortunately that the general public never gets to learn of such things.
Scott
--------- begin quoted ---------
http://www.holmesreport.com/holmestemp/story.cfm?edit_id=1675&typeid=2
Tuesday, December 11, 2001
The Message Project for the National Park Service
The message project conducted by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide was
a first of its kind attempt to create "brand awareness" of America's
National Parks and the National Park Service. The seemingly
insurmountable challenge was to first create a common identity and
purpose among the 20,000 employees of the National Park Service and
then communicate the resulting messages to the public.
OBSTACLES TO SUCCES
The National Park Service, one of the most admired agencies of the
federal government, conducted its first ever consumer research in 1998,
and discovered that, while well loved, the agency was not well
understood by the American public. This lack of understanding
represented a significant obstacle to long-term goals of preservation
and protection of America's National Parks. The National Park
Foundation, the Congressionally chartered non-profit supporting the
National Parks, commissioned Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide to
conduct what became known as "The Message Project."
PR PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
The PR program objectives were three-fold:
Increase overall public awareness and understanding of the National Parks, including awareness of lesser-known parks.
Help create a common identity among 379 sites and 20,000 National Park Service employees.
Promote a feeling of stewardship among Americans that engenders philanthropy, volunteerism and resource preservation.
RESEARCH
Ogilvy Public Relations conducted an extensive communications audit to
analyze existing National Park Service communications. The audit
included:
Review of National Park materials, including brochures, Park
newspapers, web sites, media coverage, publications of non-profit
partners and coverage in local and national media.
Site visits to 25 National Parks representing a broad range of natural, historical and cultural treasures.
In depth interviews with more than 125 Park Service employees, non-profit partners, elected officials, and other stakeholders.
STRATEGY
Because of the flexible organizational structure of the National Park
Service, this new message strategy could not be imposed through command
and control. Rather, it needed to be sold in to the rank and file as a
good way to achieve their fundamental mission - preservation and
protection of America's special places. Therefore, our strategy had to
look inward as well as outward.:
Provide National Park Service leadership with the information and
perspective on their own communications operations so that the
potential of those operations could be harnessed.
Develop consistent messages among the 20,000 employees scattered in the
379 units of the National Park Service and hone their tools to
communicate these messages.
Build connections between the American people and their National Parks
by focusing on the very personal nature of the National Park
experience.
EXECUTION / TACTICS
Once we completed our communications audit, we needed to work with our
partners at the National Park Foundation and the National Park Service
to develop key messages and communicate them to the public. To
accomplish this, we employed numerous tactics:
Provided briefings to the National Leadership Council of the Park
Service, comprised of the 20 senior leaders from across the country, to
gain their buy-in and endorsement to the recommendations of our audit.
Conducted day-long workshops at 20 sites across the country to gain the
support of the field staff and motivate them to implement our
recommendations.
Tested our "Experience Your America" tagline in focus groups of primary
Park constituents - affluent seniors, "soccer moms," African Americans
and Hispanics. In all cases, the message proved to be an effective
method for building the desired personal connections.
Developed a bold print and broadcast advertising campaign that relies
on strong visuals and catchy two-word invitations that enticed existing
media partners to offer pro bono space.
Chose seven pilot parks to test tactics and generate examples of
successful implementation. We provided each with localized research,
on-site consulting and media training to equip the pilots to address
their existing communication needs.
Developed design standards for the full range of publications, signs
and other materials and gave Park managers access to these standards
via web-based templates.
Provided the pilot parks with tool kits to help them communicate the
message in a standardized way. The kits included a summary of the
research findings, a "Who We Are" PowerPoint presentation template for
use with public audiences, guidance on using the "Experience Your
America" tag line and the ad series and graphics standards and
templates.
EVALUATION / MEASUREMENT OF SUCCESS
Across the National Park System, managers and employees have accepted
and incorporated the Message Project to communicate with the public:
Our briefings and tools have resulted in increased use of our messaging
architecture, including the mission statement, themes, tagline, ad
series and visual identity guidelines.
In Washington DC, improved signage played a direct role in increased
public support for Park preservation as evidenced by focus group
findings.
Our tools and training led to positive media placements by lesser-known
parks (e.g., Edison National Historic Site, White Sands National
Monument, Ozark National Scenic Riverway).
In the fall of 2000, the implementation of the message project led to
the signing of five corporate partners (American Airlines, Eastman
Kodak, TIME magazine, Ford Motor Company and Discovery Communications)
who will be providing critical resources to National Parks across the
country.
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http://www.holmesreport.com/holmestemp/story.cfm?edit_id=1727&typeid=4
Thursday, December 27, 2001
Launching the National Parks Pass
In 2000, Ogilvy Public Relations helped the National Park Foundation
successfully launch the National Parks Pass. At a purchase price of
$50, the Pass provides the holder one year's entry to National Parks
that charge an entrance fee. The success of the launch was particularly
noteworthy because of the challenges that had to be overcome.
Challenges included the lack of marketing experience by the National
Park Foundation, the large task of educating over 20,000 employees,
lack of overall brand awareness and a marketing budget limited by
federal legislation.
OBSTACLES TO SUCCESS
The National Park Service was directed by Congress to develop and
launch the National Parks Pass although it had little experience with
consumer marketing. Furthermore, the legislation dictated the $50
price point and imposed very strict limitations on sales margins and
expenses, capping all development, production and marketing expenses at
15%, or $7.50 per unit. Therefore, we had a budget of $500,000 for
marketing, media and internal training. Finally, because it was a
completely new product, the Pass had no public recognition.
PR PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
Launch and sustain media and marketing for the National Parks Pass to promote sales.
Drive sales through all distribution channels - in-park, toll-free telephone and via the Internet.
Use the National Parks Pass as a key driver of the overall National
Park Service communication strategy by delivering broader National Park
messages to all Americans about the breadth and depth of the National
Parks.
RESEARCH
Quantitative and qualitative research was used to segment the audience,
identify desirable product attributes and develop marketing strategies.
Among the key findings:
The public had very strong positive opinions of National Parks, but
little knowledge about the breadth and depth of the National Park
System.
Broadening awareness of the System increased the already high public approval.
A National Parks Pass had the potential to be marketed as a collectable, provided that the image on the Pass changed each year.
A significant internal sell-in would be required to encourage
individual parks to promote the National Park Pass instead of local,
park-specific annual passes.
The audience segmentation research identified two categories of buyers, making up approximately 24 million households:
Value buyers: those for whom the primary motivation would be the $50
value Stewardship buyers: a broader group of consumers who would be
willing, regardless of value, to purchase the Pass because it would
support the National Parks.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS
Because of the limited marketing and communications budget Ogilvy
Public Relations and the Foundation devised a strategy that relied on
two low-investment, high-return channels:
Earned Media targeting those most likely to purchase, including outdoor
enthusiasts, family vacationers, seniors and gift purchasers.
Pro Bono Advertising Placements provided by media partners of the National Park Foundation to raise overall brand awareness.
TACTICS
We employed a number of tactics to leverage the limited resources with
the strong, yet ill-defined goodwill for the National Parks:
Internal Education - We developed and produced a training kit on sales
and marketing of the Pass for each of the more than 400 units of the
National Park Service.
Ad Series - we created bold, inspiring print and broadcast advertising
that would entice our media partners to provide ad space. The series
relies on the strong visuals of the National Parks and used a simple
two word invitation to connect to the National Park experience.
Today Show Exclusive - To garner national attention, Ogilvy Public
Relations secured an exclusive with the Today Show for Robert Stanton,
the Director of the National Park Service, which included an extended
on-air interview and a Pass presentation to Matt Lauer and Katie Couric.
National Media Blitz - We conducted a national media blitz, covering
all national print and broadcast outlets in the top 30 markets,
supported by satellite broadcast of a "bites and b-roll" package. We
also provided Parks with turn key kits to conduct their own local media
outreach.
Holiday Gift Promotion - In August, we distributed a special mailing to
long lead publications targeting their holiday gift guides.
MEASUREMENT OF SUCCESS
In the two months following the launch, the story received tremendous media coverage:
Over 100 local stations ran stories incorporating the sound bites and b-roll package we produced.
Over 450 national and local newspapers ran stories, yielding over 65,000,000 impressions.
The ad series received over $1,000,000 in pro bono placements.
Media coverage was overwhelmingly positive. The Pass was perceived by
the media as very consumer friendly and was referred to by a CNN anchor
as "a screamin' good deal!" Media coverage also successfully conveyed
desired key messages, including the breadth and depth of the National
Park System.
Most telling of all, in the first six months of sales, over 200,000
National Park Passes were sold, primarily at National Park entrance
gates where consumers arrived prepared to ask for the Pass. Online and
phone sales were a strong complement to those at the gate.
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