Public Relations Campaigns Case study analysis: The Trayvon
Martin Story
BY: BRIANNA KESSLER
Public Relations Campaigns MCO 4332
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Analyzed using the RACE model
Research- Action- Communication- Evaluation
Category: Media Relations, Public Service, Legal, Media Training, Crisis Management,
Multicultural, Diversity, Fundraising
Organization: The TSA Group, Trayvon Martin Foundation, The Miami Foundation
Industry: nonprofits, Legal
Date: Jan. 1 2014
Background:
February 26, 2012 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot in Florida by George Zimmerman.
George Zimmerman was a mixed Hispanic man. Trayvon Martin was an African American young
man. Protest broke out after police refused to arrest Zimmerman. National debate and
controversy spread rapidly.
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“Hoodies up” Protest- society racial prejudice against young African Americans.
SYG- stand your ground
Situational Analysis:
The Miami foundation paid the monthly retainer with the funds collected by the Trayvon
Martin Foundation. The foundation knew that the TASC group had experience with high profile
crisis communications. The foundation picked a good company to represent them and did their
research on the company before hiring them, which is also good.
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Opportunity/ Problem- Increase public understanding of societal issues, positive media
for Trayvon Martin’s family before the trial, during, and after, Promote the mission of
the family, Raise money
Audience- Young adults 18-34, middle class families, urban communities, suburban
soccer moms, political leaders, celebrities, liberal demographic groups
Research:
Qualitative:
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Analyzed media outlets to find out who had previously covered the story accurately and
fair v. Scandalous
Researched Stand Your Ground Law
Did not state that this was qualitative
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Primary secondary Research
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configure public attitude about Trayvon and Zimmerman
Saying that its primary secondary research isn’t clear.
Quantitative:
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8 month media timeline
6 weeks of protest against Zimmerman not being arrested
Chicago.org petition with over 2 million signatures
Secondary research and anecdotal research
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concluded- race, geography, and age played a role in public opinion ( younger crowd
more supportive of Trayvon’s story)
My Analysis:
The campaign conducted the above research in order to properly prepare for a crisis
communication situation/media relations campaign, to understand the
situation/opportunity, to understand public opinion on the situation, and narrow an
audience to promote the foundations mission.
Pros
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Specific and detailed target audience consistent to research
Researched client and organization before PR campaign
Positive goal- used a high profile murder case and took advantage of a new opportunity
to promote a civil rights campaign
Hired company and started campaign right before the one year anniversary of Trayvon’s
death- Opportunity/good timing of the organization
Cons
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Random research
Unknown media outlets were analyzed
Unknown dates in media timeline, it states 8 months but no specific dates
Unknown public attitude about Trayvon and Zimmerman recorded in research
My Analysis:
In a crisis situation there is no need for a vast amount of research. One must act fast and
deal with the problem, (Kay Colley.) This campaign acted fast and planned ahead of time
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to deal with the situation and cease the opportunity. They took a problem and not only
dealt with it but made an opportunity out of it. The organization and its leaders emerge
with their reputations intact is based not on the underlying crisis, but on the timeliness
and quality of the response (Fred Garcia). The opportunity was to create awareness about
race issues in America. They researched the media and found a target audience which is
important when trying to advance public understanding. A campaign must narrow its
audience in order to be effective. The research concluded that this was a controversy and
caused public debate according to the hoodies up protest on change.org Therefore they
knew they had an opportunity. They also researched Stand your ground laws and found
this would be key in implementing an outcome.
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Planning and Programming- 4 Step Media Plan
Months leading up to the start of the trial
Trial
Post-trial
What do we do now
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ObjectivesPrepare /media train the family
Defend Trayvon’s reputation
Avoid violence
Use national media to launch foundation and raise money
Public awareness campaign to amend SYG Laws
Partner with national advocacy organizations
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Objective Goals- Control the media, send a positive message about Trayvon and his
family, and reduce youth violence.
My Analysis: The case study had a good strategic plan, well thought out and precise. It was
clear, organized, and specific. Establish specific goals for your public relations campaign (Mary
Schnack). They planned ahead to time. “If you don't prepare, you will incur more damage
(bernsteincrisismanagement). The media plan was chronologically outlined in 4 chapters. The
objectives were numbered and each had a specific goal that tied to the overall mission. Tie
your objectives to the organization’s goals and objectives (Mark Weiner). They trained and
prepared a team to speak on their behalf and made sure they could fight back against
misinformation. Categorically, any organization should ensure, via an appropriate policy and
training that only authorized spokespersons speak for it, and this is particularly important
during a crisis (bernsteincrisismanagement). This was the campaigns best step they
implemented panning and programming perfectly by having an audience, goals, and message.
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They had a plan and excellent objectives, this was the success of this campaign. While each
component of the public relations process is essential, the initial objectives-setting stage is
the basis for the entire program (Mark Weiner). It provides a framework for strategy, tactics,
execution and evaluation Develop an outline of strategies to be followed, including target
audiences, key messages, schedules and news release opportunities (Mark Weiner).
Execution/Action:
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Public awareness campaign to amend SYG Laws at Chance.org- sent to 21 governors
Used celebrities such as Jamie fox, Harry Belafonte, and Russell Simmons to generate
more media attention.
Prepared Trayvon’s Mom on what to tweet after trial
Communication
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Tactics- Controlled/Uncontrolled Media
Daily message/ responding to media attacks
Proactive/reactive outreach
Promote/ create questions about the foundation
Website/twitter advertised in media relating to story
ABC, CBS, NBS live interviews- reached 16 million viewers
Case study communication: Crisis communication approach through media relations, Used
every opportunity to promote the foundations mission. Media coverage is one of the most
effective—and inexpensive—ways to generate awareness about an organization (Mary
Schnack).
My Analysis: By using a crisis communication approach to deal with the media the campaign
was able to act fast and proactively to all opportunities. This is a good thing to do when
dealing with the media. They prepared the family and legal team before media appearances.
It is critical that anyone who may be a spokesperson for your organization go through media
training (Mary Schnack). They controlled the media by preparing the TV networks on
questions they could and could not ask. This organization used a murder trial to communicate
their mission. They responded to media attacks and delivered a daily message. Make sure
you send the media information on a regular basis (Mary Schnack). Nonprofits can position
themselves as a valuable media resource, industry expert or industry representative by
consistently sending the media information (Mary Schnack).
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1. Evaluation
Case study Evaluation results:
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Estimated over 50 million media impressions
Hundreds of thousands of dollars
A-list celebrities and national organizations joined advocacy
Treyvon Martin amendment to SYG law
Peaceful nonviolent protests across country
Beyonce promoted message
Jay z promoted message
Whoopi Goldberg promoted message
My Analysis:
Cons: They could have evaluated the campaign better a formal analysis of what was done
right, what was done wrong, what could be done better next time and how to improve
various elements of crisis preparedness is another must-do activity for any Crisis
Communications Team (bernsteincrisismanagement). The evaluation of any campaign is key
to continuing success. They could have done this step much better. Without a doubt,
evaluation and measurement are the Achilles’ heel of the communication profession
(Caroline Kealey). Important factors left out in this stage. Your analysis should extend beyond
the traditional PR purview to include factors such as financial performance, vision and
leadership, workplace environment, social responsibility, and other drivers of organizational
and brand success (Mark Weiner).
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Measure objectives better
Have a plan for measuring objectives
More statistics/ Numbers to show results EX: exact dollar amount of money raised
Did a post survey of public opinion
Pros: The results related to the objectives, they raised money, got A- list celebrities involved,
and used nonviolent approach to a civil rights campaign, Trayvon Martin amendment to SYG
laws. They met the goals they desired and used supporting evidence such as quantitative
research results in the campaign to show results.
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Summary/Personal Analysis of Campaign:
The case study was familiar with the background of the crisis and started a public relations
campaign in honor of the life of this young man to promote civil rights, aid in his legal defense
and create public awareness of societal issues like these through media relations. The
research conducted was effective in targeting an audience. However some research was not
specific and created an unknown effect on the campaign from my perspective. The Planning
and programming was the best work of this campaign. This step was implemented
strategically. The media plan was organized into a chronological timeline around four key
events. The campaign stated six major objectives each including a goal related to the
campaign goal. The tactics were easily tied back to the objectives and were implemented
accordingly. However I feel they could have done more with social media to promote their
message. They campaign focused more around News stations. The evaluation of the
campaign was where I found the most wholes and weakest stage of the campaign. They could
have done so much more to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign and prepare for the
future. There was no evaluation of the effect on the target audience just the celebrities. The
awareness, understanding, attitudes, preference and behavior achieved among target
audiences as a result of outputs. Example: “Boost brand awareness in our top 10 markets by
15 points in six months.”( Mark Weiner).
The campaign: Print
Pros
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The campaign was grammatically correct
Divided into the proper steps
Cons
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All in paragraph form
Boring/unappealing
Text only
Under planning they could have organized better with a list
Works Cited:
Bernstein, J. (n.d.). The 10 Steps of Crisis Communications. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/articles/10-steps-of-crisis-communications.html
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Garcia, F. (n.d.). The Human Dimension of Crisis Response | ComPRehension. Retrieved February
17, 2015, from http://comprehension.prsa.org/?p=88&wpmp_switcher=mobile
Kealey, C. (2013, January 1). Real Value - IABC. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from
http://www.iabc.com/real-value/
Schnack, M. (2008, September 28). Media Relations for Nonprofits: Position yourself as an expert in
your field - IABC. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://www.iabc.com/media-relations-fornonprofits-position-yourself-as-an-expert-in-your-field/
The Trayvon Martin Story: Inspiring a Dialog about Race in
RetrievedFebruary17,2015,fromhttp://www.prsa.org/searchresults/view/6be1401d15/0/the_trayvon_martin_story_inspiri
America.(n.d.).
Weiner, M. (2010, August 1). A Checklist for Setting High-Quality Objectives - IABC. Retrieved
February 17, 2015, from http://www.iabc.com/a-checklist-for-setting-high-quality-objectives/