COMMUTERLINK

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT TOOLS

Strategic Communication Planning

We develop communication plans to serve as customized campaign guidebooks, complete with tactical execution timelines and centered on a specific strategy relative to our clients’ goals.

Research

We use quantitative and qualitative tools such as interviews, focus groups, surveys, polling and balloting to collect public opinion. Once we have the data in hand, we analyze the results to develop, refine and perfect PI efforts.

Public Outreach

We seek to infuse our clients’ issues into the dialogue of decision-makers and influencers. We employ grassroots tactics, speaker’s bureaus, mobile information displays, door-to-door canvassing and many other methods to involve stakeholders.

Government & Legislative Relations

Strategy development, public hearings, public meetings, briefings, coordination meetings, presentations, VIP events, fact sheets and information kits, support to lobbyists, etc.

Media Relations

Whether proactively pitching the media on our clients’ issues or responding to media requests with appropriate strategic messaging, our PI team is well versed in working with the media throughout our clients’ campaigns.

Stakeholder Groups, Meeting Preparation and Facilitation

PPBH knows how to identify and gather key players together to elicit their involvement through stakeholder committees, task forces, panels, advisory committees and interagency partnerships.

Event Planning

We’re experienced in organizing traditional public hearings, town meetings and open houses, but we always consider whether there are better, non-traditional ways to elicit involvement. We may identify appropriate local events, develop a workshop or conference, or even recommend a Talk Truck® mobile open house.

Crisis Communication Planning and Training

Whether it’s a labor strike, litigation, a workplace accident or an act of nature, we have the experience to guide clients through the unexpected. We help create proactive emergency communication plans and train teams to communicate effectively through resolution of the crisis.

Non-Paid Publicity

No tactic fits a client’s budget better than free publicity, which can greatly extend the reach of a campaign. We help identify appropriate and reputable communication outlets and negotiate the placement of the message.

Media, Presentation and Spokesperson Training

We prepare clients to talk with journalists, give presentations, handle upset stakeholders and train employees on communication policies; all in accordance with the strategic communication plan.

Public Information Point of Contact

Whether our clients need to give or receive information to or from the public about projects, PPBH can develop contact lists, send notices, collect public comment or respond to stakeholders’ questions and concerns. We also make sure the public hotline number and/or email address is well circulated among stakeholders.

Writing

Our talented writers convey your key messages in a format that is understandable and appropriate to the audience. PPBH prepares media materials, information kits, reports, issue papers, case studies, speeches, talking points, letters, website copy, brochures and more.

Graphic Design Development, Execution and Production

Our PI team has the advantage of coexisting with a full-service graphic design team under the same roof. We help clients communicate visually through maps, diagrams, charts, fliers, brochures, reports, posters, signs, banners, booth graphics, websites and interactive tools.

Advertising

PPBH’s media department researches the best ways to reach key stakeholders through advertising, based on the communication strategy. Our copywriters, graphic designers and interactive developers make sure the message is compelling and motivates action. PPBH develops and places print ads, billboards, legal notices, inserts, radio and TV ads, Internet and search engine ads, etc.

Name, Brand and Logo Development

We believe our clients’ programs should have an identity that reflects their communication strategy and that resonates with their stakeholders. Our agency’s history is rooted in brand development, including branding for top agencies and programs in Utah.

Interactive

PPBH was one of the first in Salt Lake City to become a truly full-service agency by offering interactive services. We develop websites, database and form tools, animated graphics, video, HTML emails, interactive presentations and so on. Our developers love the challenge of creating new interactive tools to address our clients’ needs.

Business Issue

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), in conjunction with Utah’s Traffic Management Committee, completed the first phase of Utah’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) in the spring of 1999. This network of traffic signals, fiber optics, traffic sensors, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, electronic variable message signs (VMS), ramp meters and personnel was designed to help reduce congestion on Utah’s roads and highways. As part of this new system, UDOT also constructed a building, called the Traffic Operations Center (TOC), in west Salt Lake to house the core ITS computer equipment. PPBH was hired to introduce Utah’s ITS to the public and manage the grand opening of the TOC. The goal was to design a public involvement campaign that would build public support for Utah’s ITS, allowing the system to be used to its full capacity and ensuring support for future legislation, cooperation and funding.

Solution

The objectives of the PR plan revolved around building public awareness of the system, its components and the partners that made the project possible. The first step to achieving these objectives was naming the system. After extensive research and testing, the name, “CommuterLinkSM,” was chosen. PPBH then designed a logo and tagline, “Technology in Transportation,” to give the name character. With the system image in place, PPBH moved to the next public involvement step — delivering this image to Utah residents and explaining how CommuterLink would benefit them.

Because anyone who travels can benefit by using the system, the media proved to be a valuable tool in targeting the mass of potential consumers. Government audiences and investors of the system were targeted through more personalized mediums.

On April 27, 1999, CommuterLink was launched. PPBH worked with UDOT to plan a day filled with strategically timed events, all with the purpose of targeting the right people with the right messages at the right time. The day began with a VIP breakfast for ITS partners and government leaders. This breakfast was held at UDOT’s Region II campus, which is also the location of UDOT’s Traffic Operation Center. At the breakfast, VIPs were introduced to CommuterLink and shown a six-minute video (produced by PPBH), featuring UDOT’s ITS partners and Utah Governor Michael Leavitt. Significant contributors were also recognized at the breakfast and each person was also given an information packet, compiled by PPBH, which included detailed information on CommuterLink. After the breakfast, VIPs were taken on tours of the TOC.

After the VIP tours, a press conference was held in front of the TOC. A national federal highway administrator, Utah Transit Authority’s general manager, the governor and UDOT’s executive director spoke at the event. After addressing the audience of approximately 350, Governor Leavitt activated the system and unveiled the CommuterLink name and logo. News crews from all four major local television stations attended the event, along with numerous print media. Media kits, which included slides for print media and B-roll for broadcast media, were distributed at the event and sent as follow-up to media outlets that did not attend the event.

Following the conference, the media were taken on an exclusive tour with the governor and allowed to broadcast live from the TOC control room. After the media tour, all other attendees were invited to tour the facility under the direction of PPBH. After tours, individuals were asked to complete an evaluation survey created and distributed by PPBH.

In conjunction with the event, New Moon Media, a joint venture with PPBH, developed the CommuterLink web site. This site, at www.utahcommuterlink.com, is a unique resource for commuters and a quantitative measurement of the project’s successes.

Client Value Delivered

Media coverage of the event included two front-page print placements, a live interview of a CommuterLink expert on Salt Lake’s most popular news radio program, and coverage on all four local broadcast news programs. In fact, three of the stations featured live broadcasts from the TOC. Each station included the story on at least two newscasts, and Salt Lake City’s CBS affiliate invited two CommuterLink experts to be guests on its half-hour “Take Two” show on Sunday, May 2.

In addition, a Web site report the morning after the event, revealed that there had been over 200,000 hits on the CommuterLink site. The busiest hours were between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., which was attributed to broadcast news coverage. A significant percentage of the site visitors accessed the site via broadcast news station web sites.