reprinted from US 1, 1/22/03

Creative public relations is not about stunts. So says Michael Redpath, a PR pro whose accomplishments include bringing MTV’s summer house to Seaside Heights not once, but twice, making that resort the only spot to host a repeat of the popular program. Creative — and effective — public relations, he says, is about partnerships, about asking “how can I help you?” This is particularly true for non-profits competing for scarce dollars in a down economy. 

Redpath speaks on “Creative P.R. Ideas” at the annual Community Works confer­ence on Monday, January 27, at 5 p.m. at the Frist Campus Center on the Princeton campus. His is one of 19 workshops de­signed to enable boards, staff, and volunteers in the non-profit community to work together more effec­tively by developing skills, networking, and building partnerships. Other work­shops include “Sugges­tions from the Grant Reader’s Perspective,” “How to Ask for Money in Tough Times,” “Advocacy, Lobbying, Politics, and Non-Profits,” and “How Vol­unteers Can Learn Organizational and Leadership Skills.” Cost: $25. Call 609- 924-8652. 

Redpath learned PR in the Navy. He en­listed during the Vietnam War, and after being trained at the Defense Information School, was assigned to Lakehurst. The son of an executive with the RCA Service Com­pany, he had grown up all over the country, and decided to remain at the Jersey Shore after being discharged from the Navy. Even before he left the service, Redpath started his own company, at that time Management Systems Association, an organization that managed non-profits. He was then recruited by Donald Trump to direct marketing for the Trump Castle Casino Hotel. When three Trump executives were killed in a helicop­ter crash on the Garden State Parkway, his division was dissolved and he went back into business for himself. 

Soon he was recruited to direct market­ing for Seaside Heights, which he did for six years before starting his own marketing firm, Redpath Associates, which is based in Toms River. 

Besides attracting MTV’s summer house to Seaside Heights, Redpath brought Nick­elodeon and VH 1 to the town, persuaded movie companies to film features and com­mercials there, and even persuaded the U.S. Bobsled organization to hold try-outs on the town’s boardwalk. In no case, he empha­sizes, were these events the point. “With the Miss America Pageant, the event is about the event,” he says. On the other hand, bringing television, movies, and even bobsleds to Seaside Heights was about much more. 

Redpath says he heard from one teen whose grand­mother took him to on a beach vacation every sum­mer, usually to the Caroli­nas. Hearing about the MTV beach house, he talked her into bringing him to Seaside Heights. The teen is a candidate to come back again -and again- says Redpath. Likewise, the MTV program held a contest to give away Jeeps. Redpath tracked the addresses of entrants on a map, noting that they came from all over the country. Someone from Arizona, watching the program, might end up working in New York City, he points out, and might make Seaside Heights his beach town. 

Attracting the programs brought in some money, and created some jobs. (The MTV beach house used 40 interns; and the crews needed places to sleep, eat, and shop.) But that was not really the point. Redpath says raising awareness of the resort among a desirable group was his objective. MTV’s audience, he is quick to point out, is not made up entirely of penniless stu­dents. Its median family income is $41,000, a good match for Seaside Heights. At the younger end, the audience is made up of 14-year-olds, who could be expected to per­suade their families to visit. At the upper end it is made up of young adults with small children, another group Seaside Heights would like to have visit. 

MTV worked for the municipality for which Redpath was seeking publicity. It would not work for most non-profits, or even for a good many New Jersey towns, but there are lessons for all in the partnership underlying the MTV/Seaside Heights col­laboration. They include: 

Know your objectives. Redpath empha­sizes this key point again and again in an hour-long phone conversation. Non-profits need to know what it is they need. More volunteers? Bigger contributors? Corporate ­partnerships? New board members? Cash? Knowing the objective points the way to­ward achieving it. For Seaside Heights, the objective was more visitors. For Atlantic City, another town for which Redpath has conducted public relations events, an objec­tive was to raise awareness that the city was, in fact, a beach town, and not just a gam­bling venue. 

Be clear on your image. MTV’s beach town was just right for Seaside Heights, but it is a little difficult to imagine Cape May, which has worked hard, and with great suc­cess, to bill itself as “Victorian Cape May” benefiting from exposure on MTV. Ditto for quiet Spring Lake or for upscale Bay Head. 

An astronomy organization, Redpath suggests, could benefit from holding a comet viewing session at a local school athletic field. A diabetes organization, pro­moting healthy eating, might do well to sponsor a cooking event. While Redpath agrees that MTV would be all wrong for Princeton Borough, he suggests that a cook­ing show on Palmer Square could bring visitors from around the state. 

Don’t be too eager to lay down the law. Many towns react to television and movie production teams with a regulatory stance, Redpath has seen. They are so eager to lay down the law on parking and hours and noise levels that they drive the productions away. Seaside Heights, on the other hand, approached MTV, and other networks and producers, by asking what it could do for them. 

“You don’t have to have a regulatory stance when you have a collaboration,” he observes. He created collaborations with production companies by suggesting how the town could work with them in a partner­ship that would benefit both. “What can we do to be a better community for you?” was his question. The result was an ever-widen­ing circle of partners within the entertain­ment industry. 

Always ask what you can do to help. “A lot of organizations go out with hat in hand,” says Redpath. “Their stance is ‘everyone should support me!’” Well, he says, “get in line.” 

Far better to approach a potential partner by saying “I have a great marketing oppor­tunity for you.” Maybe a new store needs exposure. A non-profit could offer them a spot at a fund raising fair in exchange for 10 percent of the store’s take at the event. 

“Don’t say ‘we’re looking for $5,000,’” says Redpath. “Say ‘we’re doing this event, and we’d like to feature you. We ask that you add $1 on to your price for us.’” 

Dollars are hard to come by. Offering value in return, suggests Redpath, is the best way for a non-profit to get its share, and perhaps more important, to build lasting relationships.