Public
Opinion
Matters
A Campaign for the
Mayor’s Office
PRE 466 Spring 2014
Professor: Steven Peters
Teaching Assistant: Laura Colon
Director of External Relations: Jessica Reilly
Director of Internal Relations: James Glassman
Public Safety Manager; Christian Kernozek
Coordinator: Ashley Lopez
Digital Relations Manager: Rene Bean
Coordinators: Adrienne Watts, Alyssa Shiel, Joel Pantoja
Tourism Manager: Marissa Blaszczyk
Coordinator: Ken Tan
Civic Engagement Manager: Tenya Blake
Coordinator: Danielle Tiso, Adam Zakrzewski, Jessica Miles
Media Relations Manager: Jajce Waltz
Coordinator: Colleen Murphy, Devonne Dragoon, Sam Capobianco
Employee Relations Manager: Kristine Wheeler
Coordinator: Greg Dipietro
Intramunicipal Relations Manager: Zach Novick
Coordinator: Pat
Special Thanks to Mayor James Calnon for giving our class this opportunity and experience. We
appreciate it!
Group 1: Public Safety
Manager: Christian Kernozek
Coordinator: Ashley Lopez
Goal: Develop means of communicating to a greater amount of community members
Why is this important? Whether you’re simply visiting a region, or if you reside there, it is
always reassuring to look around and see members of the community happy and safe. While this
is already true for the members of the Plattsburgh community, our team wanted to create a more
cohesive and unified system of alert for the residents. With this implementation, residents of
Plattsburgh will be able to sign and receive notifications of a range of alert-worthy topics with
simplicity and ease.
Objective: To establish a safety alert system within the Plattsburgh community to inform 20% of
current community unaffected by currently means of alerting.
How will we accomplish this? Our strategy will include Mobile, social media, and print
campaign to include updates relating to emergencies, cancellations, etc.
Currently, the city of Plattsburgh has an existing alert system whereby residents can tune into a
radio station, check the ‘news’ tab on the website, sign up for e-mails and receive signs on their
door. The city also has lights on the streets that flash during a parking ban.
So what else would we propose? SUNY Plattsburgh has a highly cohesive alert system for the
entire campus that alerts both students and faculty to anything from a water leak to a snow day.
While we recognize that the Plattsburgh region is not as unified as the SUNY campus and it
would be nearly impossible to replicate the SUNY system, there are several parts of the system
that we would like to implement for Plattsburgh.
Suggested Changes:
1)
Printed Alert Flyer
The flyer (similar to the one presented during the meeting) will be a handbook of sorts that will
spell out clearly what to do in a number of situations. The flyer can either be mailed or a handout
at city hall. This flyer can be equipped with a magnet and be referred to on a refrigerator when a
situation arises and a citizen is unaware of how to deal with the situation at hand.
2)
Text Alert System
This system will be something that will have to be signed up for; however, instructions to do so
will be in the printed flyer, social media posts as well as a number of other locations. This system
will serve both community members residing in Plattsburgh as well as members of the
community that may not actually be in Plattsburgh come to time of a safety crisis. This system
will be used to compliment existing means of communications to reach a broader audience.
Below is an example of a community that uses such a system.
Ex.) Montgomery County in Maryland is using a government text alert system to send
out messages about important matters in the area. The alert system is administered by the
Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Citizens can
choose to have their alerts sent to their cell phones, email addresses, and even social media
networks such as Facebook and Twitter. At the bottom of the page there is a link to the latest
updates in case someone missed an alert.
https://alert.montgomerycountymd.gov/index.php?CCheck=1
3)
Social Media Initiative
This will serve in accordance with the social media aspect of the overall campaign but will
include public safety concerns in the posts. This can be Facebook, twitter etc. the aim of which is
to reach a broader audience and inform on a multitude of fronts.
Safety concerns that we wish to address in these alert systems include but are not limited to:
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Winter Weather Warnings
Parking Alerts
Intruder Alerts
Water/ Gas Main Breaks
Floods
Heat Warnings
Group 2: Digital Relations
Manager: Rene Bean
Coordinators: Adrienne Watts, Alyssa Shiel, Joel Pantoja
Goal: To improve communication with the mayor’s office by creating multiple channels of
communication.
Why is this important? More and more people are relying on the internet to gather information.
In a 2011 report by the U.S. Census Bureau 70% of people 30 and older reported to using the
internet from inside the home or another location.
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76% of people 15 or older reported using a Smartphone
 Another study by the PEW research center found that 94% of adults use e-mail
These numbers represent a huge portion of the population that is reachable by channels of digital
communication.
Objectives: Create at least 5 new digital outlets for community engagement by 2015
Provide the community with easy access to relevant updates and information
How will we accomplish this? We would like to focus on social media channels- Facebook and
Twitter, RSS/News Feeds, a system for private feedback, media tracking- Bitly and devolving a
mobile app.
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Twitter- Allows you to “tweet” (write) posts up to 140 characters. The community can
sign up to get e-mails when you update your twitter. You can also share, or “re-tweet”
posts from local news sources and other followers who can share yours in return. 59% of
social media users use Twitter. (Study conducted by Public Relations Journal).
Facebook- Your posts will show up on your fans’ newsfeed. You can share updates,
links, videos and pictures that enhance community engagement because people can share
these posts and/or comment on them. 91% of social media users use Facebook.
RSS/News Feed- Allows subscribers to see updates from multiple channels in once
central place. When a user subscribes to an RSS Feed they will receive e-mails to inform
them about new updates.
Private Feedback System- Allows people to explain what they like and don’t like
without spreading inaccurate information in a public forum. Such a system would also
help the community feel like their input matters and is heard. Online surveys, polls and a
“suggestion box”-type e-mail would be effective ways to receive private feedback about
specific tops or general questions and concerns.
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Bitly- Uses “link shortening” to gather information such as what content is being clicked
on and from where. This provides insight into what digital channels are working best and
how effective your posts and messages are.
Secondly, we would like to rebuild the Plattsburgh website. This would serve as an easily
accessible, central place for people to find any information they want and need about
Plattsburgh. We want to use the website as a hub to integrate the other channels of
communication so everyone can choose their preferred way(s) to stay informed and engaged.
This would include:
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An updated events page that is open to all businesses and organization in the community,
which Civic Engagement will elaborate on.
Integration of the crisis alert system that Public Safety discussed.
Doing these things will allow the Mayor’s Office to respond to the wants and needs of the
community is ways that were never possible before. The more channels of communication there
are, the more people you are able to reach and connect with.
Group 3: Tourism
Manager: Marissa Blaszczyk
Coordinator: Ken Tan
Goal: To promote tourism by instilling a positive attitude towards the Plattsburgh by raising
awareness of the communication vehicles aimed at the tourist.
Why is this important? The more outlets you have for potential tourists, the more informed
they can be about the opportunities in Plattsburgh. The more they know, and the easier it is to
obtain that information, the more people the region can attract.
Objectives: To increase traffic to Adirondack Visitors Coast Bureau website by 10% from 2014–
2015.
To increase attendance at yearly community events by 10% in from 2014-2016
Make residents more proud to live here.
How will we accomplish this? Our strategy will include an advertisement campaign, the use of
social media and national recognition of the Plattsburgh region.
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Make an advertisement campaign for the Visitors Coast Bureau
Increase promotion of yearly events through digital and traditional media
Get voted as a top place to live by a national magazine, such as Money Magazine or
Business Today
Have a print ad showcasing what beautiful things are in the area for them and use local
residents enjoying it in the print ad
Group 4: Civic Engagement
Manager: Tenya Blake
Coordinators: Danielle Tiso, Adam Zakrzewski, Jessica Miles
Goal: To increase communication simplicity through multiple channels of communication.
Why is this important? "Civic engagement refers to the ways in which citizens participate in
the life of a community in order to improve conditions for others or to help shape the
community’s future." Journal of Transformative Education. People want to be involved in the
community in which they live, and by having multiple channels of communication, the city
increases the simplicity of getting involved.
Key words: Involvement, Information, Accessibility, Need, Value, Community
Objective: Increase community involvement by 10% by summer of 2015