Purpose and Goals of the Chapter

This chapter introduces community relations. It examines the purpose and value of engaging the community in meaningful ways and provides several concrete examples. Overall, it demonstrates how important community relations is to an organization, and how strong brands use it to effectively not only maintain but also build their reputation.

Outline of Key Chapter Themes

• Community relations is an important, but often overlooked aspect of public relations. With trust in organizations falling dramatically over the past decade, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, engaging with the community can be extremely valuable in helping rebuild that trust.
• The Lights in the Night case study indicates that a public relations campaign with event execution was more valuable to the client than accumulating votes or winning a cash prize.
• Belmont University’s SVA campaign’s success was about leaving a legacy where student veterans would feel valued and find community, and where civilian students would recognize the value of student veterans and be provided tangible means to honor student veterans.
• Seizing a landmark opportunity to leverage the centennial spotlight, the Cleveland Foundation developed a campaign to celebrate its 100-year history and the birth of the community foundation field, while elevating the foundation’s reputation locally and nationally as it entered its second century.

Chapter Outline

Lights in the Night: Lanterns Make Community Connections

Situation
Research
Action Planning
Communication
Evaluation

Success, Value, Advocacy: Building Awareness for Student Veterans of America on College Campuses

Situation
Research
Action Planning
Communication
Evaluation

The Cleveland Foundation Centennial Campaign

Situation
Research
Action Planning
Communication
Evaluation

Case Summaries

Lights in the Night: Lanterns Make Community Connections

The ArtPrize competition features contributions from around the world displayed in various venues in three square miles of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. First-time ArtPrize artists Dan Johnson and Mark Carpenter presented a dream to 8ThirtyFour Integrated Communications (8ThirtyFour) in May of 2012: 20,000 Chinese sky lanterns, launched at one time by attendees, carrying wishes and hopes as a “community’s entry.” Called “Lights in the Night: Where Hope Takes Flight” (LITN), the approach brought numerous risks. Obstacles such as fire, crowds, open water (the Grand River flows through downtown Grand Rapids), nearby highways and traffic on secondary roads, pedestrian traffic, and increased waste at the launch location (a park) loomed as significant concerns. But Johnson and Carpenter saw that these potential hurdles could be overcome to offer a safe event that could communicate message of unity to the community and convey the importance of art. 

Success, Value, Advocacy: Building Awareness for Student Veterans of America on College Campuses

Belmont University’s student public relations agency Red, White and Bruin (RWB) sought to increase awareness of this nonprofit and positively impact SVA’s work with student veterans on college campuses in the Greater Nashville community. Primary and secondary research suggested that the campaign’s major stakeholders, civilian students, and student veterans were segregated from and knew little of one another. SVA’s mission and values were shared via red, white, and blue support ribbons attached to information cards throughout the 30-day campaign. In addition to the support ribbons, RWB successfully launched a student veteran Week of Honor February 21–27 across the state of Tennessee. RWB utilized many one-way communication tactics, including traditional print tactics as well as digital resources; both helped distribute campaign information effectively and efficiently.

The Cleveland Foundation Centennial Campaign

Seizing this landmark opportunity to leverage the centennial spotlight, the Cleveland Foundation developed a campaign to celebrate its 100-year history and the birth of the community foundation field, while elevating the foundation’s reputation locally and nationally as it entered its second century. Focus groups and interviews with board members, foundation leaders, and other key stakeholders revealed that, despite the foundation’s long-standing presence and widespread impact in the community, many were unfamiliar with its catalytic role supporting key community assets and institutions. On January 1, the foundation launched an Internet microsite commemorating the joint centennial of the Cleveland Foundation and the community foundation movement. To thank Greater Cleveland for a century of support and celebrate the foundation’s ties with so many of the community’s premier assets, the foundation’s cross-disciplinary centennial team developed the concept of giving a gift to the community each month during the foundation’s 100th year.