Case Study
Federal Emergency Management Agency // Traditional Marketing and Public Relations
The Challenge
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) noticed that after Hurricane Katrina many small businesses did not come back because they were not prepared for disasters. In response, FEMA launched the Private Sector Preparedness program, better known as PS‑Prep™, to foster a culture of emergency preparedness and make it an essential practice in the private sector business community. The program encouraged PS‑Prep™ participation in one of three ways—follow best practices, align to a standard, or certify to a standard. IGS was hired to deliver strategic communications and public relations services to promote the PS‑Prep™ program and increase the number of early adopters.
The Solution
IGS designed and conducted an integrated outreach plan targeted to municipal, healthcare, religious, first responder, and academic stakeholders. We worked closely with city and state officials to develop outreach materials tailored to eight specific audiences: 1) emergency preparedness organizations; 2) states; 3) cities; 4) hospitals; 5) places of worship; 6) police and other law enforcement; 7) fire and ambulance; and 8) universities.
We authored the first article for PS‑Prep™, which was published by the International Franchise Association, and helped to acquire the interest of four early adopters of the PS‑Prep™ program.
The Results
As a result of the project, IGS was able to get 100 businesses to commit to a voluntary private-sector preparedness-certification program.