Danni Eickenhorst's presentation to Nebraska PRSA at the Public Relations Development Conference in Omaha on January 20, 2012.

1. Danni R. Eickenhorst
Communications Specialist
Salvation Army Midland HQ

2.  Acts of War
 Fire
 Tsunami
 Blizzard
 Avalanche
 Volcanic Activity
 Hurricane
 OilSpill
 Chemical Leak
 Flooding
 Earthquake
 Tornado

10. Incident Commander
Finance &
Operations Planning PIO Logistics Liaison Safety
Admin

11.  Centralmedia point of contact in/out
 Relationships with media
 Arrange interviews – Speak/Prep
 Internal Communications
 External communications

12.  Historian/Photographer/Videographer
 Work with liaison and outside agencies to
stay abreast of upcoming events.
 Work with field personnel to stay updated
on stories as they happen.

13.  Limitedcommunications channels
 Carnage and
destruction
 Non-stop activity
 Doing good while delivering the message
 Doing good BY delivering the message
 Exhaustion/Burnout
 Physical conditions

14.  Hot spot  Inverter
 Flash Drive (multiple)  Logoed materials
 SD Cards  Maps
 Laptop  Portable printer
 Camera (hi-res, portable)  Hand Sanitizer
 Flip camera  First Aid Kit
 Tape/Voice Recorder  Business Cards
 Flashlight  Photo ID
 Bug Spray  Pre-loaded drive
 Sunscreen  Templates
 Water/Snacks  Media contact list
 Cash  Master contact list
 Backup batteries for all (organization)
equipment  Links and logins
 Chargers  Generic fact sheets
 Appropriate clothing and
shoes

15. “Disaster sites are often chaotic and
unpredictable places where good intentions are
easily lost in the details of difficult logistics and
poor communications. Disaster scenes can
include human misery as well as hope, courage
and conviction – also failed plans and lack of
preparedness. The way these scenes are
interpreted and presented to the public is critical
to the reputation and morale of the organizations
involved in the response. Managing the process is
a critical component of the overall disaster
response.”

16. Communities Served: Joplin, Missouri
Services Rendered:
Hydration and sandwiches served to
responders and survivors; clean-up
assistance; long-term social services
such as rent and utility assistance; lost
item replacement; short-term shelter,
and ministry/spiritual aid to responders
and survivors.
Hot Meals Served: 102,174
Beverages Served: 253,897
Clothing Items Provided: 495,000+
Volunteer Hours: 8,942
EDS Staff Hours: 9,500
TSA Assets Dispatched:
8 canteens from Oklahoma, Springfield, St. Louis and Sedalia; 5 staff vans; 3 generator
trailers, and SATERN mobile response unit.

17. Information to Include
1. How many people are affected by this disaster?
2. Organization response to date?
3. Partnerships in the response effort?
4. History of organization within the community in
questions, and brief general background of organization’s
history.
5. What do affected people need, if
anything, at this time?
6. What does your organization need at this time
to help them?
7. What telephone number and internet link are being used for people with
inquiries or wanting to help?

18.  Let’s talk about news consumers so we can decide
who we should target with our efforts in a disaster:
 46% of Americans say they get their news from 4-6
media platforms on any given day.
 Just 7% get their news from a single source.
 28% of online news consumers have customized their
home page to include news on the topics of their
choice.
 37% of internet users have contributed to the
creation of news, commented about it or shared it
via Facebook or Twitter.
 65% of online adults use social networking sites.

19.  Free/Low Cost
 Immediate
 Global reach
 PR Disaster –
Early Detection
 Developing
strategy in
advance

20.  Print
 Daily local newspapers
 Weekly community-based newspapers
 Special interest or non-English language newspapers
 Newsletters for employees, service recipients, etc.
 News magazines
 Radio
 Talk
 Sports
 News
 Christian/Religious
 University-affiliated
 Public Radio
 Satellite
 Music
 Television
 Broadcast (commercial and public)
 Local and national cable news/weather
 Pay (cable or satellite)
 Online
 Almost all print, radio and TV outlets have a presence online
 News is aggregated/curated by blogs, ISP’s
 Some news sources are online-only
 Blogs
 Networking Sites/Social Media
 Photo/Video Sharing (YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Picasa)

21.  First
24-36 hours
 Global
 Knocking on Doors
 Coming Prepared

23.  Services offered to those in need
 Why services are critical to disaster response
 Plan-of-attack for disaster response by
organization/client
 Statistics and numbers
 Quantification of actual needs and benefits
provided by company
 Find creative ways to make numbers
relatable

24.  Human interest stories about
survivors, volunteers and responders
 Man on the street videos
 Photography
 Candid/Action, not “grip and grin”
 High resolution
 Test resolution settings and capacity to
transfer files electronically prior to
disaster

25.  Privacy
 Protection
 Approach
 Developing
Trust
 Informed
Consent

26.  Information
 Advocacy
 Power to
deliver aid
 Power to enact
change

27.  Incident Command Role Determination
 Training
 Policies
 Mental Preparation & Research
 Build social media presence
 Jump Kit
 Prepared language
 Cultivated media relationships
 Plan for after-care

28.  Corporate donors
 Donation drives
 Memorials/Anniversaries
 Joplin Relief Video