Postcard Campaign Used to Influence State Legislators
Source: Public Relations Services
On a limited budget, educate and influence state
legislators to generate support for an optometric
therapeutic pharmaceutical bill sponsored by the
Oregon Optometric Association.
The Public Relations
Services Solution:
A series of six postcards, each with a brief fact and
unique design, sent weekly to legislators and the governor before the
start of the 1992 legislative session. A second version was sent to
health care reporters and news directors around the state.
Rationale:
Legislators receive a lot of mail; a packet of information might not
be read. Postcards sent to legislators' homes provided nuggets of information
in attention- getting formats. The postage rate was cost-effective.
Result:
Lobbying by optometrists after the postcards
showed that legislators had paid attention to the cards. Follow-up calls
to reporters by Public Relations Services resulted in several stories,
including a cover story for an influential weekly. The postcards were
part of the successful activity that passed the bill.
