Posts Tagged ‘public relations’

Ginny Richardson and Andy Richardson of GR-PR reviewing the list of free speakers

Hinsdale-based Free Speech speaker’s bureau is celebrating its 15th anniversary of service. Groups, businesses, and organizations from Chicago and almost every suburb utilize the speaker’s bureau which provides an outstanding roster of speakers, all of whom speak for free.

With the down economy, being a speaker is an effective way for the entrepreneurs and business owners to market themselves and/or their businesses. In addition, organizations are finding it difficult to finance professional speakers. Free Speech helps in both situations.

“You know, it’s hard to get new members these days,” said Bill Johnson of the Lombard Senior Men’s Club. “Everyone is busy with other things, but since I’ve started using Free Speech, my club members keep coming back. They ask me ‘Bill, how do you do it? You get the best speakers!’ and then they come back next time. I really think our club would fall apart without Free Speech. Every organization needs something to hold them together. For us, it’s Free Speech and the speakers it provides. No kidding”

Free Speech was launched officially in 1996, and the response was, and continues to be, enthusiastic. At the end of its first year, Free Speech represented 36 speakers. Today, more than 170 speakers are available. During the first six months of 2011 alone, more than 250 requests for speakers were made by Chambers of Commerce, Rotaries, Kiwanis Clubs, retirement communities, church groups, women’s groups, men’s groups, and libraries.

Free Speech is just what it says – free. The clubs and organizations pay nothing to engage a speaker. All speakers speak pro bono, and neither Richardson nor her company makes money.

“A few years ago we had to institute a one-time-only new speaker fee of $35 to help promote new topics to the groups via an e-newsletter service,” said Andy Richardson, vice-president of GR-PR, and director of Free Speech. ”A speaker can stay in the bureau forever, and he or she will not be required to pay this – or any other fees – ever again.”

The benefits to groups and clubs are obvious. For the speaker, Free Speech provides opportunities to hone speaking skills, market themselves, make contacts, convey a message, teach, and give back to the community and sometimes all of the above.

“Free Speech has given me the opportunity to talk to a diverse range of groups,” said Terry Bass, President, Chadons Resources Group. “It also has resulted in some of the best testimonials that I’ve received from attendees.

People who call for speakers for the first time are always incredulous that no money of any sort is expected of them,” Ginny said. “Some of them are suspicious and want to know where the catch is. We tell them we do this as community service, and they still can’t believe it.”

What is not allowed is blatant selling of anything. An author may bring copies of his or her book, but offering the book must be very low-key.

Free Speech History

Ginny Richardson is owner and president of Ginny Richardson Public Relations (GR-PR), a Hinsdale firm specializing in social media and traditional media relations. Free Speech is an outgrowth of this PR business.

In 1996, Ginny received a phone call from a client who asked if she knew anyone who could give a dynamic talk at a chamber of commerce meeting. She recommended four people – a friend with an exercise business, a banker with a terrific sense of humor, a motivational speaker she knew, and a camera buff whose talk was titled, “How to Take Better Pictures.”

Later, Ginny had lunch with a reporter from a daily newspaper, and she mentioned her “just-for-fun” speaker’s bureau. The reporter found it fascinating that no money changed hands.

“My friend wrote a short story that ended up on the front page of her paper,” Ginny said. “The day the story came out my phone rang non-stop. Here it is 15 years later, and it’s still ringing.”

Ginny typed up the growing list of names with short descriptions of each person’s topic. This list was snail-mailed, at her own expense, to clubs and organizations in DuPage County. Today, Free Speech is run entirely online and with a much longer list of speakers. It reaches beyond DuPage County and into the city and north, south and far west suburbs.

The response from the groups has been tremendous.

“It seems many groups need and want good speakers,” Andy said, “and not all groups have big budgets. Free Speech fills that need.”

“Many people don’t understand why we, as a PR company, would spend time on a division that doesn’t make money,” Ginny said, “but we are rewarded with loads of contacts and maybe most important – proof that some things in life are free.”

For more information, visit: http://www.free-speakers.org.

Andy Richardson, 35, vice president of Ginny Richardson Public Relations (GR-PR) received the Golden Trumpet Award for outstanding achievement from the Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC) on Friday, May 6, at a luncheon and awards ceremony for 600 public relations professionals at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.

He accepted the award from celebrity presenters Dean Richards of WGN-TV and Peter Sagal of National Public Radio.

Richardson won the PCC’s top honor in the category of marketing for his work on the grand opening of Tom & Eddie’s, a new gourmet burger restaurant which opened in Aug., 2010, in Lombard.

Tom & Eddie’s was founded by two former executives from McDonald’s – Tom Dentice and Ed Rensi – who dreamt of starting a burger restaurant from scratch. They brainstormed: “If we could do anything at all …” They originated recipes, set up shop at the culinary kitchens at College of DuPage, and began taste testing by offering free meals in exchange for written questionnaires.

GR-PR was retained in May 2010, and expectations were high. The firm was responsible for social as well as traditional media and charged with building anticipation, then maintaining interest. The launch would be primarily social media and publicity driven; there would be very little advertising. Read the rest of this entry »

Ginny Richardson is celebrating 30 years in public relations. With the nickname GR-PR, Ginny Richardson Public Relations is located at 15 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 317, Hinsdale. 

The first 15 of those 30 years, Ginny did PR on evenings and weekends. Fifteen years ago, the sideline business had grown to a point where she was making more money than at her full time job as director of PR for Hinsdale’s Wellness House. She made a decision to pursue GR-PR full time.

Thousands and thousands of press releases later, GR-PR is a company that now includes her partner (and son) Andy Richardson.

Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, a disclaimer: during my many years in media relations, I have managed to do every single “do not” on this list. I learned this field not from college, not from post-graduate studies, but by invaluable experience as a reporter in Chicago where I was able to observe all manner of public relations practitioners and their press releases.

I paid attention to which releases were irresistible, and I learned which PR pros were wonderful to work with. Through it all, I was a human sponge, and I learned as fast as I could. You see, to me, the field of public relations is endlessly fascinating and rewarding.

1. Do not launch into your pitch without asking, “Is this a good time?” Reporters and TV producers are frequently on deadline and cannot take the time to listen to a story idea. You must tap softly at the media’s door and show the utmost respect for the high pressure scramble to make deadlines. If they tell you a better time to call, remember to call! Read the rest of this entry »

Public speaking. One end of the spectrum is you’d rather be tortured for eternity. The other end is having a professional speaker’s bureau represent you charging thousands of dollars per speech. There is life in the middle, however, and that’s the subject of this post.

Many people find that no-fee public speaking yields wonderful advantages both personally and professionally. First of all, it’s terrific public relations. Second, it’s networking at its finest, and third, it’s goodwill and community service.

Read the rest of this entry »

Many – I’ll wager the majority – of healthcare marketing staffs are gasping for air from too much to do, too many meetings, and not enough time to imagine, create and execute. One task that frequently gets pushed to the back burner is pitching stories to the media when, in fact, such stories in newspapers, on the Internet, and on TV are not only free (talk about cost effective!) but yield the greatest credibility.

Picture this. A positive story about a new procedure at your hospital or practice appears in a newspaper with an impressive circulation. The article involves an elated patient and his or her compelling story. It quotes the physician(s) and/or CEO and contains two photos, in color of course, and a graphic.

Read the rest of this entry »

Case Study

After 14 years in the suburbs, Von Heidecke’s Chicago Festival Ballet (CFB) decided to bring their rendition of “The Nutcracker” to Chicago in 2005. With only three months left until the first performance date, they hired Ginny Richardson Public Realtions to launch the Chicago performance and promote the continuing suburban performances, at which ticket sales had begun to decline.

GR-PR swiftly introduced CFB to the city with 25 million media impressions, and helped increase ticket sales in the suburbs by 16.5 percent through strong media relations, careful image-building and creative positioning.

Read the rest of this entry »

Case Study

Hinsdale Hospital nestles in a corner of Hinsdale, Illinois. Founded in 1904 by a married couple with immense zeal, prayer and a Civil War officer’s generosity, this Seventh Day Adventist hospital grew and prospered into the 21st century. To commemorate the 100th year, Hinsdale Hospital leaders endorsed the writing of a hard-bound, comprehensive history book. GR-PR was engaged (and privileged) to be the sole writer, and a year later – “Century.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Case Study

The DuPage County Fair, had a record year as attendance grew 16.6% and introduced a new style of music for a local county fair. GR-PR’s public relations program generated more than 52 million impressions in Chicagoland through strong strategic planning and creative positioning.

Read the rest of this entry »