Work Begins Under Contested DTV Outreach Contract With Burson-Marsteller
In the week since landing its contested $3.5 million contract to provide the FCC with DTV transition consumer education support (CED May 12 p1), Burson-Marsteller has given the commission “a comprehensive list of media outlets that directly serve our at-risk constituents in the 49 hot spot markets and beyond,” said Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Chief Cathy Seidel. Speaking at the commission’s Wednesday meeting, she was referring to those who are least prepared for the June 12 analog cutoff.
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“This list specifically targets non-English-speaking consumers, senior citizens, consumers living in rural and tribal areas, people with disabilities and low-income communities,” Seidel said. “This list includes a focus on ethnic and other specialized media.” Burson-Marsteller also has given the commission “feedback toward ensuring that all of our key messaging is in place and will be effective as we begin our final push today at the 30-day mark for putting into motion a host of media mechanisms to aggressively push” that messaging, Seidel said.
“Our goals for the media initiative are simple,” first to support all the personnel and programs “that have been put into place on the ground,” including walk-in help centers and local outreach events, Seidel said. Next, the commission will work with Burson-Marsteller to craft “messaging to the remaining issues that have been most problematic for consumers to date,” Seidel said. Since there’s “the ever- present need for unprepared consumers to act,” the commission’s campaign needs “to create the sense of urgency to these consumers,” Seidel said. The campaign also will drum home the need for consumers to scan and re-scan their DTV converter boxes and DTV sets and be sure they have the right antenna, she said.
“We'll make great efforts to target the messaging to broadcast markets as well as average consumers because each broadcast market has its own unique and localized issues,” Seidel said. With the public relations agency’s help, the FCC also will organize a nationwide soft test on May 21 and run a series of satellite media tours, she said. They also will provide “key news outlets nationwide with DTV broadcast and print media toolkits” and hold news conferences, she said. They'll also run “targeted advertising placements if warranted by conditions in specific communities,” she said.
Under the contract signed May 5 and posted publicly two days later, the FCC agreed to pay Burson-Marsteller $35,000 for the targeted media distribution list and about $54,000 for two- and three-hour satellite media tours on TV and radio. The commission will pay it another $40,000 for the broadcast and print media toolkits, the contract said. PR firm Weber Merritt has filed a protest at the Government Accountability Office alleging that the FCC improperly awarded Burson-Marsteller the contract that should have gone to a small-business contractor. Citing the urgency of the June 12 DTV transition, the commission said it can’t wait for the GAO’s Aug. 17 decision on the Weber Merritt protest and has decided to forge ahead with the Burson-Marsteller contract rather than stay the award.