GOOD PUBLIC RELATIONS

Millions of travelers who pass through Philadelphia International Airport have one thing in common, says Rotarian Joe Batory: They wait for luggage in the baggage claim area.(more after the break)

And that’s why District 7450 (Pennsylvania, USA) for two years has used an RI Public Relations Grant to purchase two backlit displays in the busy baggage claim areas used by more than two million passengers a month. The district customized Rotary public service announcements about water and polio that are part of the Humanity in Motion campaign.
Batory, district PR chair, says that finding the most prominent place for your campaign ad is key before applying for a grant. His district’s research found that 8 of 10 travelers read the messages posted in the airport.
“Why not have tens of thousands of people read about Rotary while they wait [for their luggage]?” says Batory, who is also president of the Rotary Club of Philadelphia. “Find a place where you know a lot of people will have the time to actually read the ad.”
District 7450 also got its vendor, Clear Channel Airports, to donate one of the 42 x 63 inch color displays, getting two for the price of one. Such in-kind contributions help stretch PR grant funds, says Batory.
Batory thinks it’s a mistake for districts to try to quantify these grants in terms of potential membership gains, saying that it’s more important to focus on raising awareness. “We have a story to tell that has not been told very well,”
he says. “We want people at that airport to say, ‘Oh, that’s what Rotary does.’ If Rotarians don’t tell our story, then who will?”
District governors-elect, PR chairs, and other club and district leaders are encouraged to work with district governors to plan ahead and budget for 2011-12 PR grants. To give district governors more time to plan PR grant projects, the deadline date will be 15 August 2011.