Launch of National Media Campaign Drives Message of Need
On May 13, the Cedar Rapids Public Relations (CRPR) group, a team of local marketing, communication and media professionals, launched a national media campaign called the Cedar Rapids Flood Story.
The Cedar Rapids Flood Story media kits, carrying the universal community message that "Cedar Rapids has suffered a disaster in the billions and only received funding in the millions", were mailed out to targeted media sources on Friday, May 8. The kits are packaged in donated Quaker Oats oatmeal tubes and feature a paper copy of the media kit, a flash drive containing all necessary information and milk and cookies for the "story".
The CRPR committee began meeting February 2009 on a volunteer basis to help address one of the primary post-flood communication challenges.The committee has been working to get their project to national media in advance of the one year anniversary. Committee members have spent countless volunteer hours creating a communitywide flood message, listing viable story leads, designing an interactive website, producing a collaborative video and crafting a compelling media kit.
“National media attention is critical after a disaster, they can help create widespread awareness about the calamity our community has experienced and is still facing while balancing the delicate message that Cedar Rapids is doing all it can, but is still in desperate need of additional assistance,” states Catie Kriewald, Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce and committee member.
Committee member Quinn Pettifer with the Cedar Rapids Downtown District says, “June 2009 marks the anniversary of the fifth largest national disaster to public infrastructure in the U.S. It is a milestone locally and nationally and we need to capitalize on this date for added exposure and coverage, which in turn creates national awareness of our plight.”
Contributors to the National Media Campaign include: City of Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Cedar Rapids Community School District, Linn County Non Profit Resource Center, Arts and Culture Community, Cedar Rapids Downtown District, Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Priority One, Corridor Recovery Group, Quaker Oats, deNovo Marketing, Marketing and Communication Strategies, CorridorRecovery.org , Metro Studios, Corridor Business Journal, Gazette Communications, KCRG-TV9, Iowa Public Radio and KGAN Channel 2.
To view the Cedar Rapids Flood Story campaign, visit www.cedarrapidsfloodstory.org.
