Airport Development Program
Maximizing Positive Publicity
 The
Challenge: Oakland International Airport was about to release
the draft environmental documents for its expansion program. Because
of opposition to the expansion by some neighbors, the issue was
certain to get some publicity. The goal was to increase the percentage
of positive publicity, and to be certain that the resulting news
coverage reflected the airport's view on the importance of the expansion.
The Solution: We prepared an extensive
press package about the expansion plans, including benefits to the
community, a list of proposed projects and a time line. To enhance
television coverage — critical when dealing with an issue that
requires political support, we developed video "B" roll,
emphasizing the airport's importance to the economy. Our footage
showed the congested take-off times (around 6:30-8 a.m.), as well
as the large number of jobs created by United Airlines' large maintenance
base and the Federal Express and UPS regional operations. This video
is of strong interest to televisions stations, but it is difficult
for them to shoot it themselves because much of the activity occurs
at inconvenient times of day such as 6 a.m. or 9 p.m. and in locations
that require a security escort. We also provided still photography
to the print media.
We held a press briefing on the environmental
impact reports, working with local elected officials and business
executives who also spoke. In addition, we supplied the media with
a list of additional contacts who supported our position.
Results: All four networks (ABC, NBC,
CBS and Fox), two news radio stations, four daily newspapers and
two weekly newspapers reported on the press briefing. All television
stations used from one to two minutes of our B-roll, almost doubling
the air time for the story while showing scenes that illustrated
the airport's viewpoint. The project also won a first-place Excellence
in Communications award from Airports Council International.
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