Case Studies
Internal Revenue Service
Tax experts get the PR star treatment
Situation
L&M Production Design Group manages and produces Tax Talk Today®, a live, interactive, monthly webcast sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Each month, the webcast features a different panel of IRS officials and tax experts that discuss current hot topics in the world of federal tax issues and provide up-to-date, in-depth information to the tax professional community. A total of 10 Webcasts air each year.
L&M needed a public relations team to handle pre- and post-Webcast media relations activities to “get the word out,” increase Webcast viewership and media visibility, and improve the quality of coverage.
Objectives
- Identify opportunities for Tax Talk Today coverage outside of the usual pre- and post-webcast announcements.
- Develop contact databases for key media and professional organization targets.
- Secure and track media coverage for pre- and post-webcast announcements.
Tactics
In order to support the ongoing nature of the Tax Talk Today webcast program, Boscobel developed a comprehensive system of repeatable processes to manage regularly occurring pre- and post-Webcast public relations activities. These processes included development and maintenance of key contact databases, as well as creation and distribution of news releases and media reminders.
To address the need for media coverage of Tax Talk Today, outside of the usual pre- and post-webcast announcements, Boscobel launched a targeted bylined article campaign, pitching guest articles by a Tax Talk Today expert panelist related to the latest Webcast topic. As a part of this campaign, Boscobel also developed media pitches, secured panelist participation and authored each article.
Results
Press hits for Tax Talk Today more than doubled each year with Boscobel’s support and contributed to a substantial growth in webcast viewership. Just two years after its PR launch, Tax Talk Today registered its 500,000th viewing — a major milestone for the program.
Bylined article placement also increased steadily. On average, Boscobel placed more than 10 bylined articles a year, including a quarterly guest column in Investment Advisor, a key magazine for Tax Talk Today’s target audience.