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Thrivent Builds Publicity Newsletter Archive
July 2008
- Still a challenge to bring exposure to Thrivent Builds: Two possible solutions
- Best Practice: TV spots are great but don't they cost too much? Not always!
- Thrivent Builds Mobile in the News
- June Media Watch—June was busting out all over!
- What's new on www.thriventbuilds.com: Thrivent Builds Worldwide El Salvador Community Update and Journals
- Feedback
- Newsletter Archive
Still a challenge to bring exposure to Thrivent Builds: Two possible solutions
We are now in the third year of a four-year alliance and it is still difficult, much of the time, to get the media to correctly cover the Thrivent Builds alliance. Habitat for Humanity has such a powerful and well-recognized brand that reporters often assume that a Habitat house is a Habitat house is a Habitat house. They don't take time to read the information sent to them about the alliance and how it is not the usual "house sponsor." Libby Kathman, Affiliate Manager of Red River Valley Habitat for Humanity in Grand Forks, N.D., tells her own story regarding this issue: "We were so pleased when we got the (Grand Forks) Herald reporter to come out to finally do the story, but when I read it in the Herald I was surprised to see that she had made absolutely NO mention of Thrivent. She had interviewed three of us and we all had given her background on the partnership. I was extremely disappointed. It was a good article, but definitely missed the point. I wrote the Letter to the Editor immediately but it took a week for it to get in."
Taking matters into her own hands, Libby made sure that all of the pertinent details were included in her Letter to the Editor (PDF, 37K). Thank you, Libby, for an excellent idea that all Habitat affiliates and Thrivent regional offices can consider using when the media just don't "get it!"
Another way to make sure that all the right messages have a better chance of being included is to simply write your own article and submit it to your local paper. Generally, weekly or bi-weekly papers will be the most accepting of an article written by someone other than their own staff. These smaller newspapers are often under-staffed and looking for content.
Paul Oliver, Vice-chair of the Habitat Lehigh Valley Board of Directors in Allentown, PA, asked Mary Youtz, one of his Public Relations Committee members, to write an article. Paul's plan was to send the article with art to two smaller papers in hopes they would publish it. Read Mary's article (Word, 27K).
If you decide to write your own article and submit it to a local paper, know that you can call on media specialists Cheryl Winget and Kelsey Midthun to assist you with content ideas, editing and discerning the best publication to receive your submission. Contact information for Cheryl and Kelsey can be found in the Media Center on thriventbuilds.com.
Best Practice: TV spots are great but don't they cost too much? Not always!
Betsy Whitney, Deputy Director of Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley, Roanoke, VA, wanted to recognize and promote Thrivent Builds in a memorable way. Naturally, her thoughts turned to television, but she didn't believe that any sort of television spot would be in her affiliate's budget.
Undaunted, Betsy decided to contact the local station anyway, just to explore the possibilities.
"What is the least expensive, most effective possibility you can offer me?" she asked her contact at WSLS-TV, the NBC station in Roanoke.
What she was presented with—and subsequently agreed to—was a "billboard" ad that was about 5 seconds long and would air 30 times during the week that led up to their Thrivent Builds home dedication. Created to look like a billboard, the station used b-roll of volunteer activity from its archives as the background.
"Five seconds is a lot longer than you think," noted Betsy. And when the ad is simple and to the point with limited information included, it can be very, very effective. View this simple, but powerful ad (Windows Media, 2MB).
The station advised Betsy that the regular cost of a series of such ads would be $600, but for HFH in the Roanoke Valley, the station would absorb half the cost and ask the affiliate to pay only $300.
"It was worth every penny," Betsy declared.
Consider investigating "billboard" ads with your local TV station—and be sure to ask them if they have a special nonprofit rate.
Thrivent Builds Mobile in the News
"I really thought that Habitat for Humanity gave away homes. I'm glad that the potential owners actually have to work to receive a house. I love Habitat for Humanity! If only more organizations like Thrivent would get involved, this world would be a better place." (Female/40's – Tennessee Association of Crafts Artists in Nashville, Tennessee)
The Thrivent Builds Mobile crew have traveled to events and festivals in 11 states over the last three months touting free air-conditioned tours, nail-pounding contests and prizes for the kids, all in the name of helping people understand the problem of substandard housing and how they can help. After the visitor numbers are accumulated from upcoming state fairs in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, the Thrivent Builds Mobile hopes to have reached 45,000 people across the country this year.
"I really like helping people. I talked with the Habitat for Humanity lady and I got her phone number so I can help. I had no idea you had the Habitat Restore - I just bought a new washer and dryer and I bet I could have saved a lot of money. I will tell all my friends about this. Thanks!" (Female/40's – Alive Christian Festival in Canal Fulton, OH)
Besides reaching thousands of people through events, the Mobile has garnered a great deal of media attention for Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity. Through the outreach efforts of Habitat affiliates, Thrivent regional offices and the Thrivent Builds communications team, literally millions of people across the U.S. have learned about the Thrivent Builds alliance. This year's tour has been especially successful with TV coverage, obtaining news spots such as:
- Joe on the Go's Fun Free Events on KXTV News in Minot, North Dakota
- Habitat for Humanity at State Fair on KMOT-TV News in Minot, North Dakota
- Helping with a Hand Up not a Hand Out on WWTV News in Traverse City, Michigan
"I'm interested in going on a worldwide trip to build. I have been wondering how to make the first step and they pointed me in the right direction. I got the Web site and all your brochures. Thanks!" (Male/20's – Strawberry Festival in Crawfordsville, Indiana)
"Man, you really know how to put on a show. This was fantastic. I am going to investigate what Thrivent Financial is all about. It seems like they are a wonderful organization." (Male/30's – National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan)
Help us continue the momentum! We still have those three large-scale state fairs to draw visitors to the Thrivent Builds Mobile. If you've been asked to assist with outreach for one of them, you can help make it a success by encouraging your family, friends, colleagues and volunteers to also visit and/or help out. And if you have been asked to reach out to the media on behalf of the Thrivent Builds Mobile, it's as easy as a mouse-click. Visit www.thriventbuilds.com/resources and click on Thrivent Builds Mobile>Promotion-Event for promotional tools. For other questions, contact Cheryl Winget or Kelsey Midthun.
Upcoming tour stops:
- Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis, WI from July 31-August 10
- Illinois State Fair in Springfield, IL from August 14-17
- Minnesota State Fair in Minneapolis, MN from August 21-September 1
June Media Watch; June was busting out all over!
June was busting out all over! We had a great media month in June with the top 15 print articles resulting in a cumulative circulation of 3,739,731! While this number is impressive, it is not the full story.
The strength of any newspaper is its ability to capture the interest—and be read by—more than one person. The total number of readers estimated by a publication is called its "readership" number. Some papers claim that as many as 3 people, on average, read their publications. Others offer a more modest 1.5 multiplier. At any rate, circulation is generally the least number of people who have been exposed to a newspaper's contents.
As for our own June successes in getting stories published, we can safely estimate that somewhere between 5.6 million and 11.2 million people had the opportunity to read articles about Thrivent Builds—just from the top 15 publications in our June media report!
Read the June Media Report (Word, 61K) to view the list of 15 articles printed in June newspapers with the largest circulations.
Be sure to let us know whenever your affiliate or RFO receives media attention for your Thrivent Builds projects. You can alert your LCSS-TB to your media successes or send them directly to Cheryl Winget.
What's new on www.thriventbuilds.com: Thrivent Builds Worldwide El Salvador Community Update and Journals
Thrivent Builds Worldwide El Salvador Community Pilot Update
Read about the El Salvador Community pilot trips, including the importance of building a community in El Salvador and updates from each pilot team. This will continue to be updated as new teams return from their pilot trips in the next few weeks.
Thrivent Builds Worldwide El Salvador Community Journals
Read first-hand experiences from our El Salvador Community pilot teams, describing their feelings and adventures each day of their trip.
Feedback
Is this newsletter helpful to you? Do you have additional ideas for articles you'd find helpful? Please send your feedback to Nicole Doebert.
Newsletter Archive
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