Advertising FIRST:  Politicians and Media

Patricia DePra, FIRST Regional Director – Western PA

November 20, 2010

Advertising FIRST: Politicians

Why? – the cause

What? – the message

When? – how early is early

How? – email, call, letter, in-person

Who? – levels, aides, schedulers

A note about lobbying and FIRST

Contacting Politicians Why do politicians want to hear from you?

To learn about what’s happening in their areas

To learn more about what issues are important to voters

*http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/content.aspx?id=5574&terms=government

Contacting Politicians Why?

To raise awareness of FIRST and the impact of FIRST programs on students

“to invite them to attend FIRST events because ‘the best way is to show them, not tell them.’” – Dean’s homework, 2007*

To increase support of FIRST, and to increase the number of students that have access to FIRST

To influence legislation (this is lobbying – more on this later)

*http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/content.aspx?id=5574&terms=government

Advertising FIRST: Politicians What? – to ask for:

Invite to FIRST events

Request a Meeting

If you get an aide or an assistant – they are he eyes and ears of your legislator –

Advertising FIRST: Politicians What? – the message

How FIRST is unique Positive impact of FIRST in your

school, in your community Challenges overcome, what team

members have learned Be positive – For example, talk about

what more the program could do with more support

Be as specific as possible – tell your stories

Advertising FIRST: Politicians

When? – how early is early

Schedules are set far in advance

Invitations to regional events should go out in mid-January at the latest, with follow-up reminders

mid-January = mid-build season; plan & write them now

Advertising FIRST: Politicians

How? – email, call, fax, in-person

State legislators also have district offices – call them first

Who writes letters (emails!)? – they make a difference (yes letter are read!)

Advertising FIRST: Politicians Who? – levels, aides, schedulers

Find elected officials in your region – constituency

Internet resources for finding officials

Check with your team members – who do they know? Who do their parents know?

Schedulers: they do the obvious…

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

About lobbying

Lobbying by Board Members, Management staff, field personnel members and local committee members on behalf of FIRST and STEM education is encouraged.

FIRST is required by US Federal and State laws to monitor and report lobbying efforts carried out on its behalf.

Lobbying at the State and local level requires compliance with regulations unique to each locale.

More about lobbying

http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/content.aspx?id=6358&terms=regional+planning+guide

More about lobbying, cont.

Even more about lobbying

Political Campaign Activities – not allowed at FIRST events,

websites, etc. Political Campaign Activities carried out on

behalf of FIRST or using its resources could result in the loss of its Not-for-Profit status and are not allowed.

This includes any activity that supports or opposes any candidate for any office, and includes links on websites to any such material, any biased or partisan comments on any FIRST website, handing out leaflets at FIRST events…

If in doubt, call me or FIRST

Advertising FIRST: Media

Why? – the cause (same as above)

What? – the message

When? – how early is early

How? – email, call, in-person; press releases; inverted pyramids

Who? – tap into your organization’s resources

Advertising FIRST: Media

How? – email, call, in-person; press releases

Always follow an email or faxed press release with a phone call

Invite reporters to visit your team; prepare the team

Press releases: inverted pyramid; contact your friendly RD

Advertising FIRST: Media

Who? Tap into your organization’s resources Also - Look at smaller, local publications

Longer lead times; more in-depth articlesFree-lance reporters

Who writes similar articles?

Advertising FIRST: Media

Why didn’t we get media coverage? lots of reasons – but be

prepared and do the up-front work to increase your chances -

Potential Sources of Publicity beyond the media

Team Website

Blog

Vlog, YouTube

Social Networking sites like Facebook, Twitter

Publicizing through alumni

Economic development councils

Chamber of Commerce

Demonstrations

Attending off-season events

Volunteering

Community Events

Chamber of CommerceNeighborhood FestivalsSchool Events

Consider inviting your Regional Director who can provide FIRST brochures/displays, (or provide them with brochures if they like), a monitor / slide show, and be available to answer questions about FIRST. Note: My roles at things like this are to help with team promotion first and regional promotion second (i.e. I stand back and let the students and mentors promote the team, and will talk about FIRST when asked).

The FIRST Logo/Brand/ID

Why is this important?

Help protect the FIRST Corporate ID FIRST is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Branding Check the proper use of the logo

Questions?