Speakers Bureau Plan

The NAB Speakers Bureau will narrow the gap between hearing/reading about the transition and fully understanding it.

Goals of the NAB Speakers Bureau:

  • Provide an effective means of promoting education and understanding about the transition;
  • Firmly establish NAB as the leader in consumer engagement regarding the transition with Capitol Hill, Opinion Elites, Third Party Advocates and Consumers;
  • Raise public awareness about the transition;
  • Increase NAB's visibility along with the visibility of state broadcaster associations and our television stations;
  • Increase public understanding of the transition and what it means to people individually and collectively;
  • Educate the public as to why the transition is happening;
  • Attract media coverage; and
  • Showcase NAB's dedication to widespread consumer education on the transition to federal, state and local governments.

The bureau will be tasked with identifying and training 1,000 speakers who will talk about the transition with 8,000 audiences nationwide beginning early fall 2007 through January 30, 2009. This equals approximately 20 speeches per day seven days a week for the duration of the campaign. With a goal of reaching an average audience of 125 per speech, we will directly reach one million people over the course of the campaign.

Speaker Recruitment
NAB's 1,105 member television stations will constitute the backbone of our speakers bureau. This group includes 878 broadcast affiliates, 139 public television stations and 88 independent stations. These stations have a vested interest in communicating the transition to their viewers.

Each affiliate will be asked to designate one person to give 10 speeches over the 19- month duration of the bureau. Our recruitment effort will be supplemented by a push from the ownership groups requesting that each of their stations designate an individual to participate, with preference given to an on-air personality.

Each station will be provided an initial kit explaining the speakers bureau. The stations will then be asked to fill out a form identifying:

  • Name and contact information of their designated speaker
  • Biography and picture
  • Cultural background of speaker
  • Foreign languages spoken
  • Position at the station
  • Familiarity with the transition
  • Personal views about the transition (good/bad? necessary? undue burden on consumers?). These will be vetted to help guarantee there are no surprises.
  • Times and days of the week the speaker would normally be available

NAB member speakers will be supplemented with key stakeholders. These will include former broadcasters and legislators; people such as the Mayor of Oklahoma City, Mick Cornett who is a former sports broadcaster. Our goal is to identify and recruit 20 such individuals who will be responsible for speaking to national audiences.

Speakers Training
For the first six months, speaker training webinars will be held on a bi-weekly basis. Each speaker will be asked to participate in one webinar. During the two-hour training sessions, participants will learn:

  • The history behind the transition;
  • Information regarding the converter box voucher program;
  • FAQ's and recommended answers;
  • The importance of their participation;
  • How the speakers bureau works;
  • How to obtain materials for their presentations;
  • How to recommend a potential speaking opportunity; and
  • What to do in case of a last minute scheduling conflict.

Speakers Kit
Each speaker participating in the bureau will be provided a kit that includes:

  • Converter Box (for demonstration purposes);
     
  • Five minute DVD and VHS video detailing the history behind the conversion and showing the steps for installing the converter box;
     
  • Three different recommended speeches including a PowerPoint presentation supporting each; and
     
  • Collateral materials to hand out during the presentation:
    • When and how to apply for a converter box voucher;
    • How to install the converter box; and
    • Benefits of the transition.

Targeted groups
Groups to be targeted for speaking engagements include:

  • Business Groups - The Rotary Club and local Chambers of Commerce
  • Service Organizations - The Kiwanis Club, YMCA, AARP
  • Religious - Congregations
  • Workers - Manufacturing plants, call centers
  • Training Groups - Technical Institutes, Volunteer training for social service agencies
  • Political Groups - League of Women Voters
  • Education - Schools and universities
  • Professional organizations - Unions
  • Cultural or minority groups - NAACP, La Raza
  • Congressional & Mayoral - Town Hall meetings
  • Institutional - Community centers, nursing homes

Booking
NAB has already begun the process of creating lists of groups complete with contact information to generate speaking opportunities. Our seven-person NAB Speakers Bureau Operations Center will be responsible for booking speaking engagements beginning March 1, 2007 for engagements to begin early fall 2007. Our goal is to arrange an average of 20 future speeches each work day for the duration of the program.

Once a particular date and time has been confirmed by the requesting organization, the operation's center staff will contact the scheduled speaker via email requesting confirmation that they can in fact speak at the scheduled event. Once confirmed, a confirmation letter will be sent to the contact person at the group including a postage paid feedback form requesting the groups input on the information provided during the speech.

One week prior to the engagement, we will contact both the speaker and the group to reconfirm the speech.

National Speaking Opportunities
As part of our speakers bureau plan, NAB will develop a regular, systematic approach to maximizing the value of each speech. Our goal is to make NAB the trusted resource for information regarding the transition.

This process includes the following four steps:

  1. Identify speaking opportunities with built-in media attendance as priority items.
     
  2. Work with NAB to build news "hooks" into each speech.
     
  3. As appropriate, work with DTV media relations to book interviews with local media for the individual delivering the speech in advance of his/her appearance.
     
  4. Post-event, convert remarks into articles for placement at the national media level.