Client: Rhode Island Department of Education, Governor's Reading Initiative
Industry: Government

Rhode Island & Matt Lauer Read to Succeed

When the State of Rhode Island won a $4 million Reading Excellence grant from the federal government, Governor Lincoln Almond instituted changes in educational standards and teacher training to improve the reading skills of the state’s children. To support of this initiative, Akins conducted a statewide public awareness campaign to promote reading, with emphasis on adults reading to preschool and primary grade school children. We developed a campaign slogan and logo which was applied to promotional materials such as bookmarks, t-shirts and lapel stickers. The campaign logo and press kit material were also added to the Governor’s web site and linked to the RI Department of Education’s web site.

For high visibility, we enlisted Matt Lauer of NBC’s Today Show to serve as celebrity spokesperson for TV and radio public service announcements placed with all Rhode Island broadcast media. In creating the PSAs, we filmed Governor Almond on site at the State House in Providence and Matt Lauer on the Today Show set in New York. WJAR NBC 10 agreed to be our media partner for news coverage and the involvement of their on-air personalities in campaign events. We also got commitments from Barnes & Noble, the Preservation Society of Newport County and Roger Williams Park Zoo for in-kind services as sponsors of the campaign. To support the public relations effort, we created a press kit. We generated op ed pieces for the Providence Journal, working with key educators and editorial writers, researched and wrote articles for corporate and community newsletters statewide, and provided additional stories and articles to Rhode Island print media.

For media coverage and photo opportunities, we planned five events:

• a Kick-Off Press Conference held at the State House in Providence with the Governor, 25 preschool children and reading and educational experts.
• a Readathon held at the Warwick Barnes & Noble Bookstore, with 18 radio personalities as celebrity readers.
• a reading by the Governor of Cornelius Vandermouse, the Pride of Newport, on Opening Day for The Breakers in Newport.
• a team of college volunteers reading in all of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns during National Reading Week.
• a reading by the Governor at Roger Williams Park Zoo.

The Kick-Off Press Conference, at which Governor Almond read Paddington Bear donated by Barnes & Noble, was covered by all three network affiliates as well as the Providence Journal and the Associated Press. The Barnes & Noble Readathon was attended by over 150 children and was promoted and covered by WJAR NBC 10. The Newport event was sold out with over 350 parents and children attending. The Roger Williams Park Zoo event was covered by Providence broadcast media, including the Spanish-language radio station, WPMZ.