Third Quarter 2014 – Earned Media Relations Summary In the third quarter, Mfa worked alongside KaBOOM! on select key initiatives to advance the organization’s position as a thought leader in the realm of play. From the KaBOOM! Play Together Tour in six cities across the United States and Playful City USA Leaders’ Summit, to the 9/11 Day of Service build alongside the President of the United States, to the Go Out and Play! Collection of products, earned media outreach efforts continued to focus on cementing KaBOOM! as the expert on balanced and active play. As the first ever KaBOOM! Play Together Tour took shape, Mfa worked seamlessly with KaBOOM! and Disney to set the tour up for success. An earned media strategy was developed for a nationwide campaign, supplemented with local outreach, and enacted as the tour made its six-stop tour across America. In efforts to promote family play, Mfa distributed the announcement of the tour to national lifestyle, parenting, travel and news media. A KaBOOM! news bureau (press releases and media advisories) was maintained by Mfa to keep local media informed and raised awareness for all six stops. In addition, Mfa was on-site in Anaheim, San Francisco, Chicago, and Atlanta to facilitate media and blogger requests. Earned media efforts generated a total of 66 placements with a circulation of 62.9 million in outlets spanning local newspapers, parenting blogs, magazines and calendar listings. Mfa also prepared for the Playful City USA Leaders Summit (Oct. 23-24), with efforts including creation of a targeted communications plan, and pitching the ideas42 research slated to be released at the summit. During September, Mfa: confirmed participation in a panel discussion by GOOD.is’ Grace Kim and Forbes’ Jordan Shapiro, invited regional media and national Midwest bureau reporters, and targeted the Harvard Business Journal, along with Forbes and Next City, for publication of the white paper. In addition, Mfa’s positioning of KaBOOM! as a play industry thought leader resulted in attention for the organization in a number of news, parenting and social outlets. Through outreach surrounding playability, The Wall Street Journal highlighted the organization’s efforts to illuminate the competitive advantage playability provides for cities striving to attract families. Mfa secured a partnership with popular motherhood blog Mommy Poppins for its ‘Summer of Play,’ working with both bloggers and KaBOOM! to identify guest blog post themes, giveaway items, graphics and more. Mfa also facilitated an op-ed in The Oklahoman authored by Darell Hammond surrounding a disaster relief-related build, and confirmed interviews with highranking KaBOOM! leaders with several leading publications, including BBC Radio, BetterWorldians Radio, and the New England Psychology Journal. During the first half of September, Mfa focused efforts on the playground build in honor of the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance at the Inspired Teaching School in Washington, D.C. As the team prepared for presence by the President and First Lady, a communications strategy and contingency plan was developed. Mfa maintained close contact with the White House Advance team leading up to the build, and was on the ground in Washington, D.C. to facilitate coverage of the build in the morning, and the press pool while the President and First Lady were on-site. Mfa also distributed an announcement release, and continued to highlight the appearance to build a “ripple effect” in the media. Outlets such as USA Today, Washington Post and My FOX DC covered the build, while a moment at the site with President Obama and a child volunteer went viral.
1
Mfa also continued to work on holiday gift-guide and back-to-school outreach for the Go Out and Play! Collection. Placement was secured in Kiwi Magazine, Family Circle and other publications, as well as a feature in Metro US, highlighting a collection of products as the best toys for fall. We are proud to report that a total of nearly 433 placements with a circulation approaching 240 million appeared this quarter, landing in both national and regional outlets. These include The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, BBC Radio, Metro U.S., Yahoo!, Forbes, San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Tribune, and more. Please find a summary of this quarter’s coverage results, along with all coverage garnered to date, below:
KaBOOM! Earned Media Coverage through September 30, 2014 Quarter 3
Year to Date
Placements
433
1269
Circulation
239,764,583
614,073,089
Highlighted Results: KaBOOM! Play Together Tour: • ABC 7 Los Angeles, http://bit.ly/1sPjbwQ • CBS News, http://bit.ly/1vqIvJa • OC Register, o http://www.ocregister.com/articles/anaheim-631382-play-time.html o http://bit.ly/1mP6lXU • NBC News (KCRA), http://bit.ly/1ABl6Ge • Sacramento Bee, http://bit.ly/1nBDCwd • ABC 7 (KGO-TV), o http://bit.ly/1qEFCOY o http://bit.ly/1mBWzZu o http://bit.ly/VJhJ0w o http://bit.ly/1twZ6ct • San Francisco Chronicle, http://bit.ly/1q8ZWLX • ABC 7 News Chicago, http://abc7.ws/1pEfao2 • The Chicago Tribune, o http://trib.in/1CbOuEN o http://trib.in/1wBhpSk • Macaroni Kid, o http://chicagoloop.macaronikid.com/calendar/2014/8/31/ (Chicago)
2
•
•
o http://downtownatlanta.macaronikid.com/calendar/event/2513209/ (Atlanta) Red Tricycle, o http://bit.ly/1q90Kk4 (San Francisco) o http://bit.ly/1BwA5BK (Atlanta) The Osceola News-Gazette, http://www.aroundosceola.com/?p=11114
9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance: • • •
• •
USA Today, http://usat.ly/ZWT4Io Washington Post, http://wapo.st/1okrI4C My FOX DC o 6am: http://bit.ly/1pT1J3q o 7am: http://bit.ly/1CWaaVX o 8 am: http://bit.ly/1pbHWw7 o 9am: http://bit.ly/1pT31LD o 10am: http://bit.ly/1pbIn9B TODAY Show, http://bit.ly/1tPHyuI Christian Science Monitor, http://bit.ly/1qOy3bz
Thought Leaders/Play Products: • • • • •
The Wall Street Journal, http://on.wsj.com/1lxPatI BetterWorldians Radio, http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/80200/kaboom BBC Radio, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016tl04 Metro, http://bit.ly/1DW6Pqo Huffington Post, http://huff.to/1CmRkXu
Key Initiatives: • The KaBOOM! Play Together Tour • Thought Leader positioning for Darell and James • Play Products back-to-school and holiday gift guide pitching • Initial preparation for the Play Summit Media Interactions with Key KaBOOM! Spokespeople: The Wall Street Journal—Mfa developed the opportunity with WSJ reporter Anne-Marie Chaker, who was intrigued by KaBOOM! and playability, for Darell to conduct a feature interview. The piece focused on shining a light on cities that continue to make strides toward becoming more playable and that are looking to attract more families to inhabit their respective communities. The piece includes quotes from Darell and examples from some of the KaBOOM! Playful City USA honorees. The piece also emphasizes the work Mayor Emmanuel is doing in the city of Chicago, and how KaBOOM! has had an impact on such actions. ABC 7 News Chicago—During the Chicago Tour stop of the Play Together Tour, Mfa ensured that ABC 7 News Chicago conducted a live stand-up interview from the site during which Meredith spoke on behalf of
3
KaBOOM! (along with Megan Navarette from Disney) while being interviewed about the Play Together Tour. Meredith was able to include PCUSA and Play Summit in Chicago messaging, along with overall Play Together Tour key facts, highlights, and messaging. Huffington Post—Mfa provided support for Darell in the development and publishing of the blog post titled “Helping Kids Thrive”. The post was published and featured on the sites homepage. BetterWorldians Radio—Mfa arranged an interview for James where he spoke about KaBOOM! and creating programs where people and ideas can change the world. The segment aired in the aftermath of the POTUS Build, a fitting theme and connection to the National Day of Service and Remembrance commemorated through play. The radio program was broadcast on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel, one of the largest providers of Internet talk radio with more than 4 million monthly listeners. BBC Radio—Mfa helped facilitate James’ interview on BBC Radio, where he spoke on behalf of KaBOOM! and its efforts stressing the importance of play in communities throughout the country. Living Cities—Mfa arranged an interview where Darell and Ben Hecht sat down together with Nadia Owusu (Living Cities’ Assistant Director, Strategic Communications & Storytelling to discuss play and ways in which KaBOOM! needs to position play to get it on city-wide agendas throughout the country. New England Psychological Journal - An interview was conducted between James and a reporter, who was interested in the mental health benefits play provides. After talking about key POVs and Play Summit, the reporter decided to delay story publication until there were updates on specific pilot play programs in the Providence, Rhode Island community. Live Happy – Jessica was interviewed by a reporter on the benefits of free play and KaBOOM!’s role in advocacy. WHYY – Myeta was interviewed on the city-level benefits of playability and specifics regarding the designation of Allentown and Reading, PA to the 2014 Playful City USA list. The reporter is delving into the economic angle of playability, and is researching further before the story progresses. News Bureau/Press Releases: • KaBOOM! Play Together Tour Powered by Disney Parks Brings Playtime to Families Across the United States • KaBOOM! Play Together Tour Powered by Disney Parks Kicks Off in Anaheim • KaBOOM! Play Together Tour Powered by Disney Parks Makes a Playful Stop in Sacramento • KaBOOM! Play Together Tour Powered by Disney Parks Brings Playtime to San Francisco • Playful Chicago Welcomes KaBOOM! Play Together Tour Powered by Disney Parks • KaBOOM! Play Together Tour Powered by Disney Parks Skates to Atlanta • KaBOOM! Play Together Tour Powered by Disney Parks Closes the Curtain in Kissimmee • President Obama and the First Lady Join KaBOOM! and AmeriCorps to Dedicate National Day of Service and Remembrance to Improving Kids’ Lives through Play Upcoming Quarter Plan: • Playful City USA Leaders Summit in Chicago
4
• • • •
Finalizing play products transition Continued Thought Leadership emphasis and placement 2015 planning for earned and social media Birthday Club Launch
Please see a full categorized breakdown of earned media coverage to date below:
Earned Media Coverage, January 1st through September 30th # of Placements
PCUSA
391
Playgrounds
454
Thought Leader
53
Play Products (Rigamajig & GOAP)
11
KaBOOM! Play Together Tour
66
Circulation
85,270,888
265,784,080
213,426,323
1,887,630
62,929,679
Key Media Outlets NJ Star-Ledger, Washington Times, Triangle Business Journal, Examiner, Associated Press, Yahoo! Finance, Chicago Tribune, Pittsburgh PostGazette, The Statesman Journal ABC 7, WWE, The TODAY Show, HuffPost Live, NPR, Reader’s Digest, Governing Magazine, Yahoo! Finance Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, HuffPost Live, BBC Radio, BetterWorldians Radio, The Guardian, Governing Magazine, The TODAY Show, WNBC Metro U.S., FastCo. Design, Macaroni Kid, Mommy Poppins ABC 7, CBS News, NBC News, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Macaroni Kid, Osceola News-Gazette
POTUS/FLOTUS Build on 9/11 National Day of Service
237
64,837,458
USA Today, Washington Post, My FOX DC, TODAY Show, Christian Science Monitor
Partnerships (WWE, Mattel, Nathan’s, DPS)
32
39,248,818
WWE, Market Watch, YardBarker, The Examiner
5
Definition of Measurements: •
Impressions: o Newspapers: daily circulation. o Magazine: monthly circulation. o Online: unique monthly viewership. o Online newsletter: subscriptions. o Broadcast: viewers at time of broadcast for particular show. o Radio: listeners tuned in at time of broadcast.
•
Ad Equivalency Value (AEV) is calculated based on what an ad would cost if it were the same length/size as the earned media placement. AEV in this report comprises of print and broadcast coverage, as well as major online placements (NYTimes, WallStreetJournal, Washington Post, and MSNBC). Not all online coverage can be converted into AEV; it is nearly impossible to quantify the dollar value for much Internet exposure because sites do not publish their ad rates and approximate values are inflated or too low, neither which properly quantifies reach. The major news sites are trackable because their rates are publicized and measurable.
6
Selected Coverage Highlights
7