J. Faith Peppers
Public Service Associate

Brad Haire
News Editor

Sharon Omahen
Public Relations Coordinator

Dan Rahn
Public Service Associate
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Background

While other states across the nation were facing heated attention from the media and the public over biotechnology, Georgians didn't seem to be weighing in on the discussion. Communicators at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences became aware that UGA researchers were about to make a major breakthrough in biotechnology -- the birth of the first Angus cloned calf.

The group began to develop a marketing strategy to help make maximum use of the media and favorable public opinion climate, to create a positive image of the work UGA scientists were developing.

Following the Tennessee model, the group began developing a media plan to announce the research.

In the meantime, a group of communicators and researchers was charged by the college's dean to develop a media program on agricultural biotechnology for the Georgia media. This offered an opportunity to lay the groundwork with local media, to introduce them to the major biotech researchers at the university and to familiarize them with the work going on in the field.

Method

The biotechnology media committee developed a plan to bring media to the university to see firsthand the research being conducted. The program included a morning session of overview presentations by some of the university's leading researchers to set the stage and address the issues in plant genetics, animal biotechnology and environmental issues. The session was followed by lunch with the scientists. The scientists sat one or two to a table, and the reporters could pick whom they wanted to have lunch with.

Following lunch, the reporters toured the researchers' laboratories and got a hands-on experience.

To market the program, the groups developed a Web site and on-line registration form. We also partnered with the Atlanta Press Club and the Georgia Press Association. These groups offered free publicity to our target audience and gave media credibility to the program.

The second part of the plan was to introduce the cloned calf. The calf was born shortly before the media day event, and some consideration was given to introducing the calf there. However, the health of the calf was in some question, and there were some patent problems the researchers needed to work out, so the announcement was postponed.

This allowed the communicators time to develop a detailed media plan for the announcement. (See Appendix 1.)

By the time the researchers were ready to announce the research, they had not one, but eight cloned calves. Using the target list developed during the Biotechnology Media Day event, the media was alerted to the pending press conference.

Results

The Biotechnology Media Day was by all measures a success. We had representatives from our key media present, plus other secondary media and industry representatives. We did lose our television participants to an unscheduled visit by President George W. Bush, but we made valuable contacts at each network affiliate.

Postevent evaluations from participants got a 60 percent response rate. All of the respondents said the event exceeded expectations and they would attend another similar CAES event. Many went so far as to suggest a topic for another event they would like us to host.

The highest-rated segments were the presentation on animal biotechnology, the tour of the cloning lab (where the researcher let the reporters actually use the equipment to extract and insert DNA into an egg) and lunch one-on-one with the scientists.

The reporters attending each published at least one story they learned about during the day. One newspaper did a three-part series covering each of the areas presented. All of the stories were positive and reflected well on the university's research.

Just as the media swell following the media day was dying down, the announcement of the cloning was ready to go.

More than 80 people attended the announcement, including crews or individuals representing Atlanta affiliates for CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, CNN, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Associated Press, Southern Broadcasting, Athens' CBS affiliate, National Public Radio, Athens Banner-Herald, UGA News Service, Georgia Farm Monitor, Red and Black and CNN radio. Many more media outlets picked up the story from our Web site.

The story was also fed to the national network news programs and morning shows. It appeared on Good Morning America and the Today Show.

Analysis showed all of the coverage to be positive.

Conclusions

These two programs helped the University of Georgia get positive coverage for agricultural biotechnology and cutting-edge research being conducted at the university. They also established our communicators as reliable sources of biotechnology information.

One lesson learned through the press conference is the value of a complete walk-though and mock question-and-answer period. This exercise helped us establish with the researchers who would answer certain questions if they arose, helping the media questions flow quickly and easily.


Appendix 1

Preserving the Best: Georgia's First Cloned Calves

A Communications Plan

Developed by

Education, Communications and Technology
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
The University of Georgia

Friday, March 9, 2001



Executive Summary


As biotechnology faces resistance in some areas of the country and outright condemnation is parts of the world, we have been spared in Georgia. Talk of biotechnology in the state's media has been limited and mostly positive. It is crucial that we take advantage of positive opportunities presented to us to showcase the work University of Georgia researchers are doing in the field.

One such opportunity is the recent birth of cloned Angus calves.

The successful cloning and birth of the calves will allow the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to present this story to Georgia's news and trade media in the best possible light, while highlighting the beneficial collaboration between the CAES, the Georgia Research Alliance and ProLinia.

The following is a media plan developed by the public affairs team of the CAES Education, Communication and Technology unit. The plan will outline our recommendations for how to best promote the professional strengths of the scientists involved in the cloning work, using the expertise available in ETC.

Communication Goals

* Release news of the first successful cloning of Angus calves at the University of Georgia. The news will be released to the Georgia news and trade media through a press conference, listserv releases and Web page announcement.

* Prepare faculty and stakeholders to present the results of their work in the best possible light to mass media and agricultural trade press reporters.

* Anticipate and prepare for concern expressed by organized opposition groups.

* Recognize researchers involved in the cloning project.

* Elicit a positive impression of this new technology.

* Frame success for an agricultural audience by showing how the technology can be used to improve the industry.

* Showcase cooperation between the CAES animal and dairy science department, the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, Georgia Research Alliance, industry (ProLinia in particular), the cow's owner and other stakeholders.


Press Conference Format

ECT will plan and facilitate a press conference to announce the research results. The conference will be on a Thursday (TBA) between 10 and 11 a.m at the Animal and Dairy Science Building or Coliseum in Athens.

To begin the conference, Stice will lead out the calves with the mother to a holding pen. Stice, inside the holding pin with a wireless microphone, will give a review (five minutes) to conference attendees, introducing the calves by name.

Benyshek will give a two-minute briefing on the benefit for Georgia agriculture.

The veterinarian(s) who delivered the calves should be available for interviews.

The briefings will be followed by an open question forum.

Recommendation: We strongly recommend staging a mock press conference the day before the event, with conference presenters and ECT reporters asking questions to help give an idea of what to expect. ECT staff can help researchers frame responses to anticipated questions. Advance questions would be sent to presenters at least two days before the mock press conference.

ECT's Contribution

(The approved communications plan will become a reference document of agreement for CAES and ProLinia.)

* Organize and support a press conference announcing the research results.

* Provide editorial, video, graphic and Web support for the effort. (See details in Public Affairs Team Section)

* Coordinate with University Communications News Bureau in promoting the story.


ECT Public Affairs Team Contribution

* Disseminate media alert about the press conference 5 to 7 days in advance.

* Prepare a comprehensive press kit for the media attending the event.

* Write, edit and release the announcement of the cloned calves.

* Write, edit and release a story on how this new technology will benefit Georgia's agricultural economy and the cattle industry in general.

* Promote the overall success of the cooperation between ProLinia, Georgia Research Alliance and UGA CAES.

* Provide CAES-related content for Web site shared with ProLinia.

Ancillary Suggestion

* We suggest organizing a viewing of the animals with Stice immediately after the press conference for industry representatives, special guests, faculty members and political officials.

Evaluation

* The initial faculty and staff members involved should evaluate the effort within seven days of the event. Evaluation will be based on the quality of media placements and a content analysis of the coverage, supported by a survey of journalists' attitudes toward the event and the technology.

Animal and Dairy Science Support/ProLinia

* Access to animals and to researchers involved.

* Funding for noncustomary expenses such as clipping service and press conference equipment needs.

*Provide ProLinia company and biographical information for the press conference materials and Web site.

As luck would have it, the cloning press conference was held the day before the annual meeting of the Georgia Press Association. We had already developed a biotechnology exhibit to display at the meeting. The story of the cloned calves appeared on the front page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the opening day of the meeting. The publicity and the exhibit helped us extend the reach of the story to smaller papers who couldn't travel to Athens for the press conference.

Also, the two events helped us familiarize the local media with our biotech experts. When President Bush announced that the federal government would continue to support stem-cell research for a limited number of existing lines, our cloning expert (owner of three of the lines getting federal support) was primed for the media attention. He was quoted across the nation in the stem-cell research debate, helping bring even more attention to the work at UGA.

The events also helped us get good publicity for new public-private partnerships that help fund much of the biotech research at the University of Georgia. (See Appendix 1 for details).

There is nothing more valuable to a media relations program than getting in on the front end of public debate. The programs outlined in this paper helped the University of Georgia do just that with the biotechnology debate in Georgia.