This is the third year in a row where September is our time to get busy with UNICEF’s annual Trick-or-Treat campaign.

Every October since 1955, UNICEF Canada has been raising money for children in underdeveloped nations around the world. This year, the campaign might surpass the $100 million milestone. I hope that our PR services here in Manitoba and Saskatchewan will help put them over the top.

Dooley Communications oversees all the media relations for the campaign across the Prairies region. We also do some event management for the campaign and this year will be hosting the second annual Celebrity Pumpkin Carving contest at Kildonan Place on October 27.

Please give generously and support UNICEF’s efforts to raise money to build and outfit schools in Rwanda and Malawi.

www.TrickorTreatforUnicef.ca

Occasionally someone will ask me if we do news conferences. Yes and no, I answer. We’ll set up news conferences for clients when they’re appropriate, but those circumstances have become increasingly rare. It might still be possible to fill a room with reporters in Toronto or New York, but it’s not easy in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

It wasn’t always this way. Only a decade ago, local news conferences were much more common. Public relations people would dutifully set up rows of chairs, podiums with urns of coffee at the back of the room. Displays and demonstrations and other things of visual interest were set up and media kits full of information assembled. And the rooms would fill with radio, television and print reporters.

That was at a time when news people were more plentiful. Today, there are scarcely more than half a dozen newsrooms of any size and energy in Winnipeg. For radio, you have CBC Radio One, Radio Canada (CBC French) and CJOB, all of which are staffed with more on-air hosts than reporters. For television, there’s CBC, Global and CTV (easily the most important of the three based on ratings). There’s also CITY TV which still airs local news on its Breakfast Television broadcast. In print, there’s the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press. It’s instructive that even The Free Press, which has the largest and most active newsroom, is a tough sell to get out to news events.

All these newsrooms have been shrinking in recent years and many radio stations have given up the idea of generating their own news entirely. So there just aren’t that many reporters around to show up to a news conference.

As a result we tell our clients that the traditional news conference isn’t the way to go except in circumstances where you have intense public interest in a subject and limited time to satisfy multiple interview requests. For example, you might have a genuine crisis on your hands that is of great public interest and you need to release information to a broad audience all at once. (The police still do this on a regular basis as do many other emergency services organizations, though they characterize these events as briefings rather than the more formal ‘news conference.’) On the other hand, you may also have a visiting celebrity to whom you need to restrict access (due to his or her popularity and limited availability).

In the main, except for special events, media relations efforts in Winnipeg and Manitoba are more commonly one-on-one efforts. We tend to pitch our stories more actively and directly than we did before to individual reporters, editors, news directors and on-air hosts. There’s just too much competition for the attention of a dwindling pool of news people.

This scenario is even more pronounced outside of Winnipeg. Brandon has the Brandon Sun, CKX TV and a couple of local radio newsrooms. There are small weekly papers and rural radio stations across Manitoba who are even more strained for resources than their big city counterparts. In Saskatchewan, where we regularly reach out to both urban (Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Prince Albert) and rural audiences, the problem is even more pronounced with even smaller newsrooms. The same goes for Northwestern Ontario where geography and a battered regional economy combine to reduce the local news pool (it’s a five hour drive from Thunder Bay to Kenora and I’d be surprised if there are even two dozen local reporters to cover the whole area).

Notwithstanding the challenge it places on our democracy where the media have long formed an ‘unofficial opposition’, it also makes our job of media relations that much more challenging.

It’s interesting to note that where traditional newsrooms have fallen away from covering some stories, hyper-local news websites have begun to pick up the slack. In Winnipeg, for example, you should check out www.ChrisD.ca. ChrisD.ca is one of many local bloggers we reach out to on behalf of clients. In fact we spend as much time using social media - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Picasa - and talking to bloggers on any particular topic as we do talking to reporters.

Get used to it. The days of multiple, large newsrooms are over.

Dooley Communications is pleased to be celebrating its second full year in business this summer, offering senior level public relations and corporate communications services. From our base in Winnipeg, Manitoba, our firm now serves clients from across Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

We have organized small and large media events for clients and created entire public relations strategies for others. We regularly conduct media training seminars, and counsel organizations through the minefields of issues management and crisis communications. We’ve helped write and produce annual reports, newsletters, brochures and websites, and we’ve written countless blogs and advised on the best use of social media.

It continues to be a fun, exciting challenge as we build a service-oriented public relations firm here in the Canadian Prairies.

So thank you to all our clients. We look forward to serving and growing with you in the future.

City affairs columnists have it easy. Local politicians serve up mistakes and miscues like so many softballs at a Blue Jays batting practice. I’m glad we have two daily papers in Winnipeg holding city politicians to account. It’s just too bad when facts get in the way of righteous outrage like they did with Tom Brodbeck’s column in the Winnipeg Sun today.

Brodbeck is famed in political circles for his surly, populist attacks on the misuse of public cash, the laziness of bureaucrats and the general incompetence of society in general. Today, he attacked the city for supposedly increasing its budget for public relations staff and consultants. Citing the increases to salaries to a couple of city staffers, he expressed holy roller indignation over the sheer waste of it all.

Too bad it isn’t true, or at least not wholly true. As I noted here last year, the City of Winnipeg has actually gutted its communications and public relations staff over the past few years, slashing the head count from 20 in 2004 to 4 in 2008 and now it’s down further with the departure of one more senior staffer this summer.

Contrary to what Brodbeck thinks, or doesn’t as the case may be, having a capable communications team is a vital business function these days for corporations and municipalities alike. And no, it’s not about spin. And it’s not just about media relations. As important as it is to have good relations with the media, it’s not all about them. For the city, it’s about communicating about significant issues, policies, regulations and services directly to taxpayers and clients of city services. Whether that’s a website, a brochure, a leisure guide, a tax form, a garbage day calendar or a radio commercial, it’s all important.

Communications departments also take on the job of making sure employees are well informed about a host of issues - from regulations and service issues to employee benefits and right down to department picnics. This kind of thing is vital because it informs people and when people are armed with knowledge, they can do their jobs better. When they’re robbed of it, morale skids, taxpayers complain, and the business of running the city slows to a grind.

Brodbeck’s larger point of how the city’s payroll is rising too quickly is worth examining, but don’t hoist this one on the PR folks, Tom. They’ve already been run through. Perhaps the remaining rump of PR people were paid more because they were doing the jobs of 20?

Dooley Communications was very pleased to work with Global Wind Group Inc. to help the local company unveil a major installation of vertical-axis wind turbines today in Rosenort, Manitoba.

We helped coordinate the media relations and social media efforts for the company and were happy to get coverage on CTV Winnipeg (watch it tonight), CBC Television (last night), CJOB, CBC Radio Noon, BobFM, CFAM and the Golden West Media network, Altona Echo and the Emerson Southeast Journal.

 Here are some photos from the event.

Here’s our news release:

The RM of Morris first to feel the winds of change

RM of Morris will unveil the first ever vertical-axis wind turbines installed on a Manitoba public service garage

Rosenort, Manitoba, June 24, 2009 – The RM of Morris has become the front line in the battle against greenhouse gases and airborne pollution from fossil fuels thanks to an innovative Manitoba company specializing in renewable energy.

This morning Global Wind Group, Inc. unveiled an installation of three new roof-mounted, vertical-axis wind turbines on the Morris Municipal Public Service Garage. The installation is the first of its kind in the province and will generate enough energy to power the building’s geothermal heat exchange pumps, effectively giving the building a carbon footprint of almost zero.

“Global Wind Group is a North American leader in wind energy technology. We specialize in easily transportable designs that help urban, rural and remote communities realize green alternatives to fossil fuels,” said Alex Stuart, President of Global Wind Group. “The cost of non-renewable energy is only going to rise in the future. These turbines will play an important role in helping Manitoba meet its Kyoto targets.”

Dignitaries from around the province were on hand to help celebrate the occasion, including MLA Rob Altemeyer who brought greetings from Hon. Stan Struthers, Minister of Conservation; Herm Martens, Reeve of the RM of Morris; Alex Stuart, President of Global Wind Group, Inc. and Ernest Buhler, Chief Administrative Officer for the RM of Morris; and MLA Mavis Taillieu.

The Rosenort installation has three 1.2kW vertical-axis wind turbines delivering a total of 3.6kW of clean, renewable energy. That is enough to power a typical energy efficient 1,000 square foot bungalow. Global Wind Group turbines are well suited for mounting on roof tops and can exceed green building standards. The turbines’ vertical-axis design offers many advantages over traditional propeller style wind turbines, including silent operation, very little vibration, and no bird-kill. The wind turbine installation in Rosenort is an important step towards reducing Manitoba’s carbon footprint and is a symbol of our innovation in developing new sources of renewable energy. The new turbines now give many other locations around the province a new alternative for renewable energy.

The installation was partly funded by a grant from Conservation Manitoba Sustainable Development Innovations Fund. The fund supports and encourages processes, practices, materials, products, substances or energy that avoid or minimize the creation of pollutants and waste, and reduce the overall risk to the environment and human health.
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Adam Dooley
For Global Wind Group
Phone: 204-291-4092
adooley@dooleycommunications.ca

About Global Wind Group (www.globalwindgroup.com)
Global Wind Group (GWG) is a Manitoba-based company that sells and installs durable, quiet and versatile vertical-axis wind turbines in Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario and Nunavut. In addition to providing wind testing services, the company helps its clients identify, and apply for, available rebates, to achieve cost-effective solutions for their energy needs. GWG is a leader in vertical axis wind turbine technology and wind-energy generation. The company is member of a the Manitoba Chapter of the Canadian Green Building Council, Manitoba Environmental Industries Association (MEIA) and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.

There was good news for fans of quality, locally-produced food and supporters of the Manitoba cattle industry earlier this week: Keystone Processors Ltd. opened its doors and announced it was shipping Manitoba-raised beef to local stores.

Dooley Communications organized an official “tenderloin cutting” ceremony (in lieu of a ribbon) that generated a significant amount of publicity. Media covering the event included: Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Sun (I love that print reporters make video now), CBC English TV, CBC French TV, CTV Winnipeg, CKX Brandon, CITY TV Winnipeg, Global Winnipeg and the Manitoba Cooperator. The story was picked up by a number of other print and radio outlets across the province.

So why is a new beef packing plant a big deal? Well, if you’re a fan of high quality, locally-produced food, then you’ll be pleased to learn that Keystone Processors is planning on launching a new premium-quality brand of aged, Manitoba-raised beef this spring. It’s difficult to find premium, aged beef as it is and nearly impossible to find Manitoba-raised products.

But more important is the potential impact the plant could have on the provincial cattle industry. The company plans to make this the first sizable, federally-inspected beef packing plant opened in this province in a generation. That federal licence is needed to sell to national retailers and to export our beef products to the world, including fast growing markets in Asia (where forecasters are predicting most food demand growth will be in the next 50 years).

It also marks the start of the creation of a Manitoba brand of beef. Keystone Processors has an opportunity to capitalize on consumers’ demand for high quality, premium products.

Having a local plant will also be a great benefit to local cattle producers who currently are forced to truck their animals across the continent (Alberta, Ontario or into the U.S.) to get them to market. Once Keystone Processors ramps up its operation, there’ll be another local option that will create more competition among buyers of cattle and one that will save local cattle producers significant transportation costs.

Dooley Communications is working with Keystone Processors on its branding and public relations efforts. Stay tuned. We cooking up some good things together.

 CPRS Manitoba joins Marketwire in hosting second annual award

WINNIPEG, January 19, 2009 - The Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) is inviting nominations for its second annual Manitoba Communicator of the Year Award.

The organization established the award to honour individuals or organizations that have demonstrated excellence in public communications in business, politics, entertainment, non-profits, or the community at large.

Gail Asper and Kim Jasper were presented with last year’s award for their work promoting The Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Their efforts included using a wide variety of tactics - from public presentations to advertising, media and government relations - to secure public, corporate and government support for the museum.

“Last year’s pool of nominees was very impressive and we expect this year’s competition to be just as spirited,” says Adam Dooley, past president of the Manitoba CPRS chapter.

“Nominees, or self-nominees, can be communications professionals, CEOs, community leaders or grassroots activists,” says Dooley. The nominees will be evaluated on the overall strategy, scope, and results of a campaign.

“Creativity is vital for communicators to get messages across credibly and honestly, but equally important is when the message results in significant contributions to the community,” said John Hamilton, president of CPRS Manitoba. “We’re very proud to be able to recognize the best in our profession.”

The Communicator of the Year will be selected by a panel of senior CPRS Manitoba members. The winner will be introduced at a gala luncheon on March 18, 2009 at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg. This year the gala will also offer a program of professional workshops during the morning. The event is made possible through the generosity of principal sponsor, Marketwire. Nomination, workshop, and luncheon ticket information are online at www.cprs.mb.ca. Deadline for nominations is February 13, 2009.

Government Relations Workshops

Kicking off the Communicator of the Year celebrations is a special morning of professional development with a workshop on government relations: “Influencing Government, Regulating Influence”; an educational opportunity for anyone who wants to engage governments constructively and proactively to influence policy or raise awareness about a program, product or service. CPRS Manitoba has assembled high powered experts who will explain Canada’s new Lobbying Act and how to effectively work with governments and strengthen advocacy efforts.

CPRS Manitoba

As the leading professional association for communicators in the province, CPRS Manitoba includes members from corporations, public relations agencies, government departments and non-profits. Members represent a wide variety of fields, ranging from agriculture and health care, to financial services and manufacturing.

For more information on the award, see the Web site www.cprs.mb.ca or contact Adam Dooley, past president of CPRS Manitoba, at (204) 291-4092, or e-mail: adooley@dooleycommunications.ca.

I love my job, because it often puts me into contact with some extraordinarily bright people. Yesterday was a case in point when I attended CREED Seminars‘ “Educating with the Middle in Mind” conference at the Radisson Hotel. CREED is a new client of ours and the conference reinforced why I am so glad to be working with them.

The conference attracted about 450 teachers and school administrators from across Canada. There was a buzz of excitement from the participants because CREED’s speakers are among the most highly regarded in their field. All of them were focused on helping our teachers deliver a higher standard of education … and for me, that is the best possible use of our collective time and resources.

Our job for CREED to develop a media relations program for their conference and their speakers. We were pleased that CBC Radio jumped at the chance for an interview with keynote speaker Dr. Todd Whitaker. It’s somewhat disappointing that speakers of this quality didn’t draw more coverage from local media, as it’s a rare instance that we have easy access to people like this all at once… but that is a digression into the sometimes mercurial world of ‘what makes news’.

We’re continuing to pursue media coverage for CREED’s speakers by direct outreach to long lead trade parenting and education publications. Judging by the quality of the stories we’re pitching, I expect we’ll be successful with media that focus on these issues.

We’ll be pitching the story, for instance, of Dr. Sharon Faber, an expert in improving literacy rates in our schools. If a child isn’t reading and writing well by the time he or she enters the middle years (Grade 5-8), then that child is in big trouble of falling further and further behind, and becoming what we euphemistically call ‘at risk’ (shorthand for drug addicted gang members).

She offers some excellent insights into how to reach kids and help them become literate. For example, often the curriculum our schools follow is based on content that has no relation to the lives of our most disadvantaged children. We need to help them learn to read using their own vocabularies. Once engaged and once these kids have the tools to read and write, then they also will have the skills to learn and expand their horizons and thrive.

It’s Halloween - National UNICEF Day in Canada. As the PR agency for UNICEF’s Prairie Region, we’ve been very busy securing media coverage about this year’s Trick-or-Treat campaign. We’ve run several events this month and fielded interviews across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Our goal with this kind of campaign is to work creatively with our client and the media to ensure the messages we want are getting across and that the media is getting good stories to cover.

To do that, we staged our first ever celebrity pumpkin carving contest here in Winnipeg. We also organized three simultaneous school events in Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg where children ‘walked for water’ to simulate how millions of African children must walk to get their daily drinking water. We were on the phone to radio hosts for the past three weeks and collaborated with  Shaw TV and CityTV’s Breakfast Television to help them produce UNICEF-themed segments.

All in all, we’re very pleased that our ‘earned media’ was way up this year compared to last. We certainly hope that once all the money is counted that the ‘earned fundraising’ is also up this year too.

In addition to the widespread coverage on television and radio, here are a few of the stories we generated in print and online:

Winnipeg Free Press
Pumpkin carving is not for the fainthearted

Winnipeg Sun
Pumpkin Prowess

Regina Leader-Post
Coming together to make Halloween safe
Learning about life in Africa

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix
Walk for Water

If you haven’t donated to UNICEF this year yet, please do so at www.trickortreatforunicef.ca.  The campaign raises money to build and outfit schools in Rwanda and Malawi.

I just came back from the first annual UNICEF Celebrity Pumpkin Carving Contest at Kildonan Place and have to take the time to thank everyone for making it a wonderful success.

Thanks to Kildonan Place, Subway and Maggie’s Pumpkin Patch. And thanks to all our celebrities, including Fred Penner and his son, CTV’s Syliva Kuzyk, Doug Speirs of the Winnipeg Free Press, Dave Angus of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, Clear FM’s Billie Jo and Jay, CBC TV’s John Sauder, Breakfast Television’s Jon Cameron and John Ljungberg, Jolene Bailie of the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers, and MTC’s Mairi Babb and Peter Mooney, Hot 103’s Steve Adams and Bubba B, QX104’s Mike Alan, Peter Havens of Kildonan Place, and Tom Vaeth of the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Our Judges’ Choice winner was Fred Penner. Scariest pumpkin went to Breakfast Television. People’s Choice went to Kildonan Place. Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers received Honourable Mention. And Hot 103 was Runner Up.

See our photos here.

We had a lot of fun, raised money for UNICEF’s Schools for Africa programme and put a lot of smiles on faces.

Dooley Communications manages the media relations and public relations efforts for UNICEF Canada’s Prairies Region, which overs all of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. We’ve run a number of events this October as part of the annual Trick-or-Treat campaign.  Our communications goals have been to support UNICEF’s mission of educating people about the needs of children around the world as well as to help them raise money to meet those needs. We’ve done that through publicity events, news releases, media advisories, social media (such as Facebook) and event management.