Communications/Public
Relations/Marketing
A Regional Tribal College
What is Communication?

Information is sent from a sender or
encoder to a receiver or decoder

Could be the most important thing you do
to be successful
What is Public Relations?

One of the earliest definitions of PR was
coined by Edward Bernays. According to
him, "Public Relations is a management
function which tabulates public attitudes,
defines the policies, procedures and
interest of an organization followed by
executing a program of action to earn
public understanding and acceptance.”
What is Marketing?

Marketing, as suggested by the American
Marketing Association, is "an
organizational function and a set of
processes for creating, communicating
and delivering value to customers and for
managing customer relationships in ways
that benefit the organization and its
stakeholders"
Starting from Scratch

Know your tribal college history

Know the direction of college

Know the priorities

What is the personality of your college?
Mission Statement

Mission Statement:

One sentence statement of the goals and
mission of your tribal college
“Through education, Northwest Indian College
promotes indigenous self-determination and
knowledge.”
Create your PR/Marketing Plan

Basic parts of the PR/Marketing Plan
1.
2.
3.
Brainstorm Your Messages
Brainstorm your target audience
Brainstrom how you can get your message
to your target audience
The Message

Definition of “The Message”:
Core ideas, statements and information you
want to convey: Tell YOUR Story
 No matter what, your goal is to get your
message out there
 Think of it as a short, to-the-point Instant
Message or Email to your audience

Free vs. Paid Messaging

Free Messaging

Public Relations
• Target Audience Networking or
working with “connectors”
• Reporters/gate keepers networking
• Events
• Creating/Updating your website
• Press Conference
Free vs. Paid Messaging

Paid Messaging

Marketing
• Paid Advertising
• Creating an event to get your message out
The Art of Free Press
Public Relations is an art form
 Building Relationships with Gatekeepers
 Creating the “Bang”

Creating a good press release
 Pitching the story

Public Relations As An Art

News stories/Messaging
Either you love it, hate it or don’t care
 Need to take time to think about your
strategy
 Need to put resources behind it
 Think with the visual person or target
audience in mind

Building Relationships
Networking is the heartbeat of PR
 Create your contact sheet: key name(s),
phone numbers, email addresses
 Use the contact numbers you have
 STAY CONNECTED
 Set your calendar by it

Create the “Bang”
Reporters/Gatekeepers have hundreds of
emails a day
 Separate your story from the rest

How is your group, unique from others
 Events
 Photo Opportunites

Press Releases
Appetizers for most media
representatives
 Basics of a Press Release: by-line, date,
the message, quotable, contact
information
 Outside-the-box ideas: connect with a
national story, always have a picture,
connect with your website

Pitch the Story
Set up time with your media contact
 Remember, not every story is a story
 Talk about the story, the uniqueness of
it…SELL IT!
 30 minutes to sell your stories, make it
quick, but illustrative
 Isolate the story

The Media Never Sleeps
Always looking for “the story of the year”
 When things get “interesting.”
 Never Lie
 Always Communicate Something
 Use credible sources
 Stay on message

What is Branding?

A brand is a collection of images and
ideas representing an economic producer;
more specifically, it refers to the concrete
symbols such as a name, logo, slogan,
and design scheme.
Strategize for 2007
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
 PR/Marketing ALWAYS gets lost in the
translation
 Define your communication style:
Intentionally transparent, accidently
transparent or not transparent
 Have fun!

Aaron Thomas
www.nwic.edu
 2522 Kwina Road, Bellingham WA 98226
 Athomas@nwic.edu
 (360)392-4211

Hyshqe siam e ne schaleche siam!
 Thank you!
